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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the | ||||||
4 | Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The history of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 began | ||||||
6 | with a speech from President John F. Kennedy on June 11, 1963, | ||||||
7 | in which he asked for legislation "giving all Americans the | ||||||
8 | right to be served in facilities which are open to the public - | ||||||
9 | hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar | ||||||
10 | establishments" and "greater protection for the right to vote"; | ||||||
11 | on June 19, 1963, the president sent his bill to Congress as it | ||||||
12 | was originally written, saying legislative action was | ||||||
13 | "imperative"; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Upon the bill's entrance to the United States | ||||||
15 | House of Representatives, it was referred to the Judiciary | ||||||
16 | Committee, where, after a series of hearings on the bill, the | ||||||
17 | committee strengthened the act, adding provisions to ban racial | ||||||
18 | discrimination in employment, providing greater protection to | ||||||
19 | black voters, eliminating segregation in all publicly owned | ||||||
20 | facilities, and strengthening the anti-segregation clauses | ||||||
21 | regarding public facilities such as lunch counters, as well as | ||||||
22 | authorization for the Attorney General to file lawsuits to | ||||||
23 | protect individuals against the deprivation of any rights |
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1 | secured by the Constitution or federal law; and | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, President Kennedy called the congressional | ||||||
3 | leaders to the White House in late October of 1963 to line up | ||||||
4 | the necessary votes in the House for passage; the bill was | ||||||
5 | reported out of the Judiciary Committee in November of 1963 and | ||||||
6 | referred to the Rules Committee, where it was feared that the | ||||||
7 | bill would stall; however, following the assassination of | ||||||
8 | President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, the political situation | ||||||
9 | changed and new President Lyndon Johnson came out in support of | ||||||
10 | the bill; due to the diligent efforts of President Johnson and | ||||||
11 | many others, the bill was allowed to pass through the Rules | ||||||
12 | Committee and head toward the Senate; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Once the bill made it to the Senate, it faced | ||||||
14 | great opposition by a group of Senators known as the "Southern | ||||||
15 | Bloc"; 18 southern Democratic Senators and one Republican | ||||||
16 | Senator led by Richard Russell (D-GA) launched a filibuster to | ||||||
17 | prevent the passage of the bill; after 54 days of filibuster, a | ||||||
18 | substitute bill was introduced the was able to attract enough | ||||||
19 | Republican swing votes to end the filibuster; and
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20 | WHEREAS, On June 19, 1964, the substitute bill passed the | ||||||
21 | Senate by a vote of 73–27 and quickly passed through the | ||||||
22 | House-Senate conference committee, which adopted the Senate | ||||||
23 | version of the bill; following the conference bill's passage by |
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1 | both houses of Congress, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was | ||||||
2 | signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Today, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stands as one | ||||||
4 | of the main foundations of the rule of law and the guarantees | ||||||
5 | of freedom and equality as set forth in the United States | ||||||
6 | Constitution; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
8 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
9 | we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of | ||||||
10 | 1964 and urge the citizens of this State to take part in | ||||||
11 | suitable celebrations and events celebrating the anniversary | ||||||
12 | of this important event.
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