The Civil Rights Act of 1964- Political Response

July 2 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Arkansas’s elected state officials all opposed the act. Arkansas’s congressional delegation voted against the civil rights bill, and both senators John McClellan and J. William Fulbright actively participated in a filibuster against it. Governor Orval Faubus labeled the act “unconstitutional.” Attorney General Bruce Bennett advised citizens to “ignore” the Act, adding, “I don’t believe anyone realizes how deep this thing is going to affect every aspect of our lives.” Meanwhile, Amis Guthridge, president of Little Rock’s White Citizens’ Council, vowed to “resist this illegal tyranny by any means necessary.” NAACP state president George Howard, Jr. believed that, “it allows us to live up to the reputation of the greatest country on earth for the rights of the individual.” I’m John Kirk, of the UALR History Department, and this has been an Arkansas Moment.