Dr King And His Legacy

Today is the day we celebrate a great man the good Reverend and Doctor Martin Luther King born on January 15, 1929 and died April 4, 1968. He was truly a man for those times born into the segregationist policies of the state and federal governments that oppressed blacks in our nation from the time Republican President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves up until his untimely demise. His people will never have another leader as great as he was and he is still today sorely missed by those of us who are enlightened in our society.

To say he lived an extraordinary life is an understatement to say the least. To say that he is a civil rights icon is just scratching the surface of this mans makeup. From leading the 1955 Bus Boycott in Montgomery Alabama to his I Have a Dream speech in 1963 he has not only been a leader and a teacher to his own people but to all of us as well, whether we are White, Hispanic, Asian, or whatever ethnicity you might care to mention. His was a lesson in love, tolerance, compassion, and equality for your fellow man, and he did not limit those ideals to one race or group of people, he was truly color blind when it came to it.

His most notable achievement was his work in the arena of civil rights and The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was proof of the mans effectiveness as a prominent leader in the movement. The bill was originally introduced by Democratic President John, F Kennedy in his civil rights speech in 1963. Kennedy then sent the bill to congress on June 19, 1963. Although the bill did include some good provisions it did not include all of the provisions deemed necessary by civil rights leaders such as Dr King.

The bill was sent the House of Representatives and referred to the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Democrat Emmanuel Celler of New York. After leaving the House Judiciary Committee it was referred to the Rules Committee chaired by Democrat Howard R Smith of Virginia. However Smith attempted to stall the bill in committee and a discharge petition was considered. Ultimately due to the political skill and use of the bully pulpit by the new President Lyndon B Johnson in his support of the bill it was allowed to pass the House Rules Committee went to the House floor and was passed.

Passage in the Senate was the next hurdle and Johnson made sure the bill would be quickly considered by them. However many Senators like Democrat James O Eastland of Mississippi who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee opposed the bill, and it didn’t seem likely to pass. Thanks to Senate Majority Leader Democrat Mike Mansfield the bill had a chance because of unique approach to keeping the bill out of the Judiciary Committee.

The bill came before the full Senate for debate on March 30, 1964. The Southern Bloc as it was called was made up of a group of Democratic Senators including Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Richard Russell of Georgia. After 54 days of filibuster by this group of Senators two Republicans Thomas Kuchel of California and Everett Dirksen of Illinois, along with two Democrats Mike Mansfield of Montana and Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota introduced a compromise bill that was finally passed. Ultimately the conference bill was passed by both Houses of Congress.

Dr King and other civil rights leaders played significant roles in the introduction of the idea of civil rights and the ultimate passage of this ground breaking piece of legislation although Dr King along with John Kennedy and L.B.J was obviously the catalyst for the successful passage of the bill. It was too bad that John Kennedy could not be there to see the bill to fruition. There had not been another bill affecting the topic of equality for a race since the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870. Not since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has there been another. However there have been additions to the Civil Rights Act since 1964.

That is all I have for today my friends. I hope you have found this post to be both informative and enlightening. Have a great day, CIAO4NOW!!!!!