Today is the the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the American Civil Rights Act – an action long, long overdue, much delayed, not least by Lyndon Johnson – the same man who, as President, finally fought, cajoled, and won over enough votes to carry this epochal legislation through, and signed the legislation with a flourish.
‘So what the hell’s the Presidency for?’ Johnson asked, when advised against pursuing passage of the legislation.
Indeed. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, he also made an all too accurate prediction as to the long-term impact of doing the right thing: that passage of the law would deliver the entire South to the Republican Party. The next national election saw Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” setting the tone for wide de facto continuation of Jim Crow attitudes to the present day.
Too true, alas. America’s better self has been held hostage for too long by its Republican worse.