(NBC News) President Obama and the First Lady head to Austin Thursday for the Civil Rights Summit at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library.
Former President Bill Clinton spoke to attendees of the three-day event Wednesday, after living legends of the civil rights movement discussed the half century after the signing of the landmark Civil Rights Act, as well as the path forward.
When President Barack Obama arrives today he'll be one of four American presidents to speak there - Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush will all speak, marking a half century since President Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The act outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, or gender and was followed a year later by the Voting Rights Act.
Speaking to a crowd packed with students and activists Wednesday night, President Clinton slammed new voting laws that tighten up access to the polls.
"These divisions and the lack of a spirit of coming together put us back in the dust bin of old history," said Former President Clinton.