Killing Me Softly With His Song

I would say that this is a very strong, far-reaching bill. Certainly

It is the strongest bill that has ever been presented by any

President of our nation. This does not mean that it has everything in

It that I would like to see. For instance, I had hoped that a federal

Fair Employment Practice bill would have been submitted with the

President's bill, and some other things such as giving the Attorney

General the right to initiate suits in any area where there is a

Denial of civil rights, wherein this bill only calls for the Attorney

General having the right to initiate suits in the area of school

Desegregation. But with these points missing, I think by and large it

Is a strong and forthright bill. Now I would have to disagree with

The Honorable Senator of the state of Georgia, which happens to be my

Home state, when he says that this is an inhuman bill or a sinister

Bill. I think on the contrary, it is in line with the deepest

Principles of our American democracy, and I think it really carries

With it all of the deep insights of the democratic ideal as well as

The American dream. Deeply, or rather, one of the basic things in

Our country is the Declaration of Independence, which speaks of the

Fact that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with

Certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty

And the pursuit of happiness. And I don't think these things can be

Meaningful and real until all of the citizens of our country are

Guaranteed their basic civil and constitutional rights, and I think

This bill is in line with the Declaration of Independence and the

Constitution, and I think it will carry our whole nation back to

Those great insights and those great principles if it is enacted and

Implemented. I think the vast majority of people in the United States

Would vote favorably for such a bill. I think the tragedy is that we

Have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided

Senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people

From even voting. They won't let the majority of senators vote, and

Certainly they wouldn't want the majority of people to vote because

They know they do not represent the majority of the American people

In fact, they represent in their own states a very small minority

Senator Eastland of Mississippi represents a very small minority of

The number of people who live in that state, and I think this is true

All across the south. Let us take the state of Mississippi as an

Example. You have about 20,000 Negroes registered to vote in the

State of Mississippi. Now many of these people are not registered

Because all types of conniving methods are still being used to

Keep Negroes from becoming registered voters, and in fact some

Are even killed for seeking to lead voter registration drives

So that the democratic process is not operative in situations like

Mississippi and Alabama and so many of the other states, southern

States, where there is this determined effort to keep Negroes from

Becoming registered voters. I think there will be, I'm sure

Filibuster, and we will definitely protest this. We will lobby in

Washington seeking to get congressmen, senators, to stand up in

A very firm, forthright manner with a determination to see this

Bill through. We plan to have a march on Washington on the 28th of

August, at which time we will take a stand, letting the nation and

The world know that we are determined to see civil rights

Legislation. Beyond this we will have

To wait it out and see what happens