is another reason why we dare not temporize with the issue which
is before us. It is essentially moral in character. It must be resolved.
It will not go away. Its time has come.
Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen supporting the move to end debate
on the Civil Rights bill,
June 10, 1964
In the 1950s
and 1960s, a wave of protest aimed at ending discrimination and
segregation against African Americans, especially in the South,
brought civil rights to the forefront of national debate. Civil
rights had its champions in Congress, but they had to work to surmount
institutional impediments in the House and Senate to pass the landmark
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
to the Civil Rights bill took the form of keeping it bottled up
in the House Rules Committee. In the Senate, opponents attempted
to talk the bill to death in a filibuster. In early 1964 supporters
overcame the Rules Committee obstacle by threatening to send the
bill to the floor without committee approval. The Senate filibuster
was overcome through the floor leadership of Senator Hubert Humphrey
of Minnesota, the support of President Lyndon Johnson, and the efforts
of Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois, in convincing
Republicans to support the bill.
law, on July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed segregation
in businesses such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels. It banned
discriminatory practices in employment and ended segregation in
public places such as swimming pools, libraries, and public schools.