Friday, July 4 – Friday, July 11: 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act (Rebroadcast)
 Bernard Lafayette  Ray Terry  Marian Wright Edelman |
 Bill Robinson  Barry Goldstein  Hasan Kwame Jeffries |
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law, banning legal segregation in the United States. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis marked the 50th anniversary of the law three months ago, on the occasion of the museum’s reopening after a $28 million renovation, with a daylong forum hosted by Tavis. A group of renowned civil rights lawyers, scholars and activists gathered to discuss the landmark legislation on April 4, 46 years to the day that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel, now the site of the museum. This week, we celebrate the anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with a rebroadcast of excerpts from the forum.
In the first hour, panelists recall early efforts to pass civil rights legislation and the country’s climate immediately following the passage of the Civil Rights Act. We’ll hear from Bernard Lafayette, longtime civil rights activist and Freedom Award honoree; Bill Robinson, professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia; Joseph Ray Terry, Jr., a retired attorney who worked at the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; and Barry Goldstein, managing partner at the civil rights law firm of Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho. In the second hour, we’ll hear from Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund on the current state of America’s children and Hasan Kwame Jeffries, professor of African American history at Ohio State University and curator of the exhibits at the newly renovated National Civil Rights Museum. The excerpts in both hours were edited for time. Click here to listen to unedited audio of the entire forum. |
