Senator Hagan Recognizes the 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Act

Statement

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan released the following statement to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which was signed into law on July 2, 1964.

"Today marks the 50th anniversary of the historic day President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law, protecting the constitutional rights to vote, assemble, and attend public education institutions for all Americans. This landmark civil rights bill laid the groundwork for a more equal and just future and remains a model of American democratic values. North Carolina has a legacy of leaders who have fought for these values. As a resident of Greensboro, I have spent many years honoring the piece of history that took place at the Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960 when four young, courageous students from North Carolina A&T State University, the Greensboro Four, sparked a movement that spurred change across the country.

"The passage of the Civil Rights Act and the actions of brave individuals like the Greensboro Four helped our country take great strides to combat discrimination and intolerance. But there is still more that needs to be accomplished. And it is those struggles I hold in my memory as I work to fight all forms of discrimination to ensure every North Carolinian has an equal opportunity to receive an education, the right to make their voices heard, and to vote for what they believe."

Last year, Hagan served as co-leader of the Faith and Politics Institute's 13th Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage in Alabama. She was part of a bipartisan delegation of Members of Congress, religious leaders and civil rights leaders including Congressman John Lewis, an original Freedom Rider. The three-day journey through important milestones in the civil rights movement concluded in Selma as the delegation reenacted the March 7, 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge known as "Bloody Sunday."

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