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| | ====1964 Civil Rights Act==== | | ====1964 Civil Rights Act==== |
| | + | President Johnson finally signing the [[bi-partisan]] [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], which he called "the N****r Bill."<ref>http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/lyndon-johnson-civil-rights-racism</ref> In lobbying fellow Democrats for the bill, Johnson said, {{quotebox|"I'll have them n*gg*rs voting Democratic for two hundred years."<ref>Said to two governors regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to then-''Air Force One'' steward Robert MacMillan as quoted in [http://books.google.com/books?id=lJz-yIZNE2sC ''Inside the White House''] (1996), by Ronald Kessler, New York: Simon and Schuster, p. 33.</ref>}} Democrats tried to block passage by filibustering for 75 hours, including a 14 hour and 13-minute speech by Sen. [[Robert Byrd]], who later became Senate Democrat Leader in the Reagan era. The filibuster failed when the Senate invoked cloture for only the second time since 1927.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Civil_Rights_Filibuster_Ended.htm|title=Civil Rights Filibuster Ended |work=Art & History Historical Minutes|publisher=United States Senate|accessdate=}}</ref> The law was intended to block Republican gains in the South and buy off Blacks with [[affirmative action]] programs. |
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| | + | ====1964 Convention: Mississippi Freedom Party==== |
| | + | The Mississippi Freedom Party was organized by African Americans to challenge the establishment Democratic Party, which allowed participation only by whites. The party ran a slate of delegates with close to 80,000 people casting ballots.<ref>[http://www.crmvet.org/tim/tim63b.htm#1963msballot Freedom Ballot in MS] ~ Civil Rights Movement Veterans</ref> The party hoped to replace the Regular Democrats as the official Mississippi delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. |
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| | + | At the convention the party challenged the Regular Democrats' right to be seated, claiming that the Regular Democrats were illegally elected in a segregated process that violated both party regulations and [[federal law]].<ref>[http://www.crmvet.org/disc/mfdp.htm The Mississippi Movement & the MFDP] ~ Civil Rights Movement Veterans</ref> The Equal Protection Clause had been on the books for nearly 100 years already. The Democratic Party referred the challenge to the credentials committee,<ref>{{cite book |
| | + | | last = Branch |
| | + | | first = Taylor |
| | + | | title = Pillar of Fire |
| | + | | publisher = Simon & Schuster |
| | + | | date = 1998}}</ref> which televised its proceedings and allowed the nation to see and hear the moving testimony of several delegates and the retaliation inflicted on them by Democrats for attempting to vote.<ref>Carmichael, Stokely, and Charles V. Hamilton. ''Black Power: The Politics of Liberation,'' (New York: Random House, 1967), p. 90.</ref> |
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| | + | After that, most observers and pundits thought the credentials committee were ready to unseat the Regular Democrats and seat the Freedom Party delegates in their place. But some Democrats from other states threatened to leave the convention and bolt the party if the Regular Democrats were unseated. President Johnson wanted a united convention and feared losing support. To ensure his victory in November, Johnson maneuvered to prevent the Mississippi Freedom Democrats from replacing the all-white Regular Democrats. |
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| | + | Two future Democrat Presidential nominees, [[Hubert Humphrey]] and [[Walter Mondale]], denied Blacks [[equal protection]] and made a mockery of the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2011/05/sad-story-humphreys-role-1964-democratic-convention/</ref> Johnson held a private meeting with Humphrey, Mondale, Roy Wilkins, [[Andrew Young]], [[United Auto Workers]] President [[Walter Reuther]] and [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] A plan was hatched to offer the Freedom Democrats two non-voting ''At-Large'' seats with observer status, rather than replace the all-white delegation which had been undemocratically and illegally elected.<ref>Mills, Kay, ''This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer,'' (New York: Plume, 1994), p. 5.</ref> Johnson arrogated to himself the right to pick which two, and Johnson chose one white and one black. Johnson dispatched Humphrey and Mondale and ordered them to make sure that “that illiterate woman," Fannie Lou Hamer would never be a delegate. Dr. King protested and was told by Reuther to shut up. |
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| | + | The offer was rejected, but Humphrey and Mondale remained powerhouse liberals in the Democratic party for another 20 years. |
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| | ====Selma==== | | ====Selma==== |
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