topic Re: Didn't Know About Him in Community Chat

Didn't Know About Him

pinkskates4 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:20:30 GMT

This year America will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, a candidate for the greatest legislative accomplishment of the last century.

Somewhere in all this worthy commemoration we should pause to pay homage to a conservative white Republican named William Moore McCulloch. Never heard of him? Neither had I. But there is a good case to be made that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would not have become law without him. And there is a very good case to be made that Washington desperately needs his example today.

With a district that was 2.7 percent black, he had no political incentive to stick his neck out on something as contentious as civil rights. But McCulloch was descended from abolitionists, and had been appalled by his exposure to Jim Crow when he worked as a young lawyer in Florida. This fortified in him a strong belief that the blessings of the Constitution were not meant exclusively for white men, and that it was the highest duty of the federal government to secure those blessings for all.

The Kennedy and Johnson administrations knew they would need a large contingent of Republicans to get the civil rights bill past the segregationist Southern Democrats who held the commanding heights on Capitol Hill. And so they sent an emissary to McCulloch, who was the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, and enlisted him as a partner.

He had two conditions. First, if McCulloch helped get a strong bill through the House, he insisted the president would not allow it to be weakened in the Senate, where the oligarchy of Southern Democrats had successfully filibustered past civil rights measures until they were rendered toothless. Second, McCulloch wanted assurances that Republicans would share the credit for passage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/opinion/keller-an-unsung-hero-of-civil-rights.html?_r=0

Re: Didn't Know About Him

scotttie — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:23:16 GMT

Thank you.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

Cakers1 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:34:38 GMT

LBJ publicly stated that McCulloch was the most important force behind getting the Civil Rights Act passed. McCulloch was also a driving force behing the Voting Rights and Housing Acts.

Once again, if BOTH sides would stop digging in their heels and move more to the center, we'd have far fewer issues with such magnitude in this country.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

SoX — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:50:29 GMT

Love this type of history ... I'm going to find out more about this man.

And on another note, HBO is (was) running a documentary on the little known, but larger than life, lawyer to spearheaded Brown vs. Board of Education, though he didn't live to see it pass. His name was Charles Hamilton Houston.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

EmmaBunting — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:52:02 GMT

On 1/20/2014 Cakers1 said:
LBJ publicly stated that McCulloch was the most important force behind getting the Civil Rights Act passed. McCulloch was also a driving force behing the Voting Rights and Housing Acts.

Once again, if BOTH sides would stop digging in their heels and move more to the center, we'd have far fewer issues with such magnitude in this country.

Amen, Cakers!

Re: Didn't Know About Him

SoX — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:54:23 GMT

On 1/20/2014 EmmaBunting said:
On 1/20/2014 Cakers1 said:
LBJ publicly stated that McCulloch was the most important force behind getting the Civil Rights Act passed. McCulloch was also a driving force behing the Voting Rights and Housing Acts.

Once again, if BOTH sides would stop digging in their heels and move more to the center, we'd have far fewer issues with such magnitude in this country.

Amen, Cakers!

Amen, Emma!

Re: Didn't Know About Him

pinkskates4 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:55:00 GMT

On 1/20/2014 SoX said:
On 1/20/2014 EmmaBunting said:
On 1/20/2014 Cakers1 said:
LBJ publicly stated that McCulloch was the most important force behind getting the Civil Rights Act passed. McCulloch was also a driving force behing the Voting Rights and Housing Acts.

Once again, if BOTH sides would stop digging in their heels and move more to the center, we'd have far fewer issues with such magnitude in this country.

Amen, Cakers!

Amen, Emma!

Amen as well!!!!

Re: Didn't Know About Him

Marianne1 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:58:27 GMT

There are so many brave and under-recognized people that contributed to this Civil Rights Movement, and I thank them all.

So many unsung heroes, I kind of think of MLK Jr as the symbolic representation of them all.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

SoX — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:06:45 GMT

Symbolic, maybe ... but folks like Medgar Evers, Charles Hamilton Houston, Jackie Robinson (the list could go on) deserve to be recognize by name, at least I think so. These men sacrificed so much that I don't want to lump them all together.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

biancardi — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:10:10 GMT

On 1/20/2014 SoX said:
Symbolic, maybe ... but folks like Medgar Evers, Charles Hamilton Houston, Jackie Robinson (the list could go on) deserve to be recognize by name, at least I think so. These men sacrificed so much that I don't want to lump them all together.

there will always be unsung heroes for any major event in history. It isn't to take away from them, it is just that it really does take a village to enact change -- there are even more people who worked behind the scenes that we will never know their names.

MLK is not only the man that we honor today, but his is also the symbol of everyone who has fought and sacrificed in the name of Civil Rights.

I think he would not mind sharing his day with everyone....

Re: Didn't Know About Him

Marianne1 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:10:28 GMT

I am sorry if you thought I meant they don't deserve individual recognition, I just meant that I think today is a symbolic day representing the time in history.

I studied (extensively) the Civil Rights Movement for college course work and there are so many that many do not even know about…which is a shame, but I think that the best that can be done is to encourage in-depth study.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

SoX — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:16:54 GMT

On 1/20/2014 Marianne is said:
I am sorry if you thought I meant they don't deserve individual recognition, I just meant that I think today is a symbolic day representing the time in history.

I studied (extensively) the Civil Rights Movement for college course work and there are so many that many do not even know about…which is a shame, but I think that the best that can be done is to encourage in-depth study.

No ... no, I didn't take it that way; forgive me if it came out wrong. I just wanted to convey that each individual deserves his own recognition in his/her own time, that's all.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

pinkskates4 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:33:09 GMT

On 1/20/2014 SoX said:
On 1/20/2014 Marianne is said:
I am sorry if you thought I meant they don't deserve individual recognition, I just meant that I think today is a symbolic day representing the time in history.

I studied (extensively) the Civil Rights Movement for college course work and there are so many that many do not even know about…which is a shame, but I think that the best that can be done is to encourage in-depth study.

No ... no, I didn't take it that way; forgive me if it came out wrong. I just wanted to convey that each individual deserves his own recognition in his/her own time, that's all.

I agree with both of you.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

Linders Back — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:44:43 GMT

On 1/20/2014 SoX said:
Love this type of history ... I'm going to find out more about this man.

And on another note, HBO is (was) running a documentary on the little known, but larger than life, lawyer to spearheaded Brown vs. Board of Education, though he didn't live to see it pass. His name was Charles Hamilton Houston.

SoX, If you enjoy this type of history you should read:

Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation… by Deborah Davis

It highlights another chapter in Civil Rights history that sounds similar in many ways to the OP. Two men from very diverse backgrounds coming together for the common good.

Both show that compromise and working together can accomplish much and that there are good people on both sides of the political spectrum. No pun intended, but it everything isn't always "Black and White".

Re: Didn't Know About Him

MikafromTopeka — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:45:11 GMT

Sadly this day isn't even acknowledged in Wisconsin.

Re: Didn't Know About Him

Cakers1 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:47:39 GMT

On 1/20/2014 kaybee said:
Sadly this day isn't even acknowledged in Wisconsin.

Wow. There is a petition to the WH is to have a national day for the birthday of Cesar Chavez.

Si se puede!

Re: Didn't Know About Him

pinkskates4 — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:49:07 GMT

On 1/20/2014 Linders Back said:
On 1/20/2014 SoX said:
Love this type of history ... I'm going to find out more about this man.

And on another note, HBO is (was) running a documentary on the little known, but larger than life, lawyer to spearheaded Brown vs. Board of Education, though he didn't live to see it pass. His name was Charles Hamilton Houston.

SoX, If you enjoy this type of history you should read:

Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation… by Deborah Davis

It highlights another chapter in Civil Rights history that sounds similar in many ways to the OP. Two men from very diverse backgrounds coming together for the common good.

Both show that compromise and working together can accomplish much and that there are good people on both sides of the political spectrum. No pun intended, but it everything isn't always "Black and White".

Thanks!

Re: Didn't Know About Him

SoX — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:51:47 GMT

On 1/20/2014 Linders Back said:
On 1/20/2014 SoX said:
Love this type of history ... I'm going to find out more about this man.

And on another note, HBO is (was) running a documentary on the little known, but larger than life, lawyer to spearheaded Brown vs. Board of Education, though he didn't live to see it pass. His name was Charles Hamilton Houston.

SoX, If you enjoy this type of history you should read:

Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation… by Deborah Davis

It highlights another chapter in Civil Rights history that sounds similar in many ways to the OP. Two men from very diverse backgrounds coming together for the common good.

Both show that compromise and working together can accomplish much and that there are good people on both sides of the political spectrum. No pun intended, but it everything isn't always "Black and White".

Thanks, LB ... think I'll load this on my Kindle ... that is, if I ever get WiFi at home. I'm writing the title and author down right now. Thanks much!

Re: Didn't Know About Him

rondell — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:39:17 GMT

On 1/20/2014 Dagna said:
On 1/20/2014 SoX said:
On 1/20/2014 EmmaBunting said:
On 1/20/2014 Cakers1 said:
LBJ publicly stated that McCulloch was the most important force behind getting the Civil Rights Act passed. McCulloch was also a driving force behing the Voting Rights and Housing Acts.

Once again, if BOTH sides would stop digging in their heels and move more to the center, we'd have far fewer issues with such magnitude in this country.

Amen, Cakers!

Amen, Emma!

Amen as well!!!!

Post of the day! A huge AMEN from me, too!