Richard Nixon

Presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson, Civil Rights, Great Society, and Vietnam War
Civil Rights

Presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson, Civil Rights, Great Society, and Vietnam War

Bruce Strom 1

Addressing Congress, LBJ proclaimed: “No memorial or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory more that the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long.” “We have talked about civil rights for one hundred years or more. It is time now to write the next chapter and write it in the books of law.”
LBJ continued, “Let us put an end to the teaching and the preaching of hate and evil and violence. Let us turn away from the fanatics of the far left and the far right, from the apostles of bitterness and bigotry, from those defiant of law and those who pour venom into our nation’s bloodstream.” […]

Martin Luther King, Summary of Biography by David Levering Lewis
Civil Rights

Martin Luther King, Summary of Biography by David Levering Lewis

Bruce Strom 1

Today we will reflect on the life of Martin Luther King as told by David Levering Lewis in his classic biography. Martin Luther King sincerely sought to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s example by staging nonviolent protests, even when provoked. Many local jurisdictions made protesting illegal, often hundreds of protesters were arrested. […]

Martin Luther King, Lunch Counters, Freedom Riders, and Albany, Lewis’ Biography
Civil Rights

Martin Luther King, Lunch Counters, Freedom Riders, and Albany, Lewis’ Biography Chapters 4-6

Bruce Strom 1

Martin Luther King was vigorously campaigning for voting rights. In his first national address, he proclaimed, “Give us the ballot. Give us the ballot and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights.” “Give us the ballot and we will fill the legislature with men of goodwill. Give us the ballot and we will get the people judges who love mercy. Give us the ballot and we will quietly, lawfully, and nonviolently, without rancor or bitterness, implement” the US Supreme Court Brown decision. Ensuring that blacks have the right to vote was the key civil rights objective in the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War. […]