CBA Record

APRIL/MAY 2015

SUMMARY

JUDGMENTS

REVIEWS, REVIEWS, REVIEWS!

The Bill of the Century

The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for

the Civil Rights Act

By Clay Risen

Bloomsbury Press, 2014

Reviewed by Daniel A. Cotter

his year, we celebrated the 50th

anniversary of the passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act

was initially introduced by President John

F. Kennedy. Upon his assassination, Presi-

dent Lyndon B. Johnson recommitted to

passage of a civil rights bill. It is one of

the landmark pieces of legislation passed

in modern times.

The Bill Of The Century,

author Clay

Risen gives the reader a close look at the

Daniel A. Cotter is Vice Presi-

dent, General & Secretary at

Fidelity Life Association, and

a member of the CBA Record

Editorial Board.

legislation’s rough road to passage. Risen

opens with a few vignettes of the stories

of African Americans on July 3, 1964,

being able to frequent public places that

a day before were off limits to them. He

also describes some of the resistance that

ensued.

Risen acknowledges the important

contributions of President Johnson and

Martin Luther King, Jr. to the enactment

of the landmark legislation. At the same

time, he reminds us that these two men had

a broad supporting cast in Washington,

DC and throughout the nation. He also

reflects on the complexities of the political

process, national opinions and the legisla-

tive process and reconciliations that take

place between the U.S. Senate and U.S.

House of Representatives.

Chicago Connections

Two people with Chicago connections

played large roles in the bill eventually

becoming law–Nicholas Katzenbach and

Everett Dirksen. Katzenbach was a pro-

fessor of law at the University of Chicago

from 1956 to 1960, when he became an

Assistant Attorney General of the Office of

Legal Counsel. In 1962, he became Deputy

Attorney General. In that role, he worked

on a number of civil rights matters, includ-

ing the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door”

incident at the University of Alabama.

Risen recounts that by mid-1963, the

Justice Department leadership, including

Katzenbach, “had concluded that compre-

hensive federal civil rights legislation was

now imperative.” The challenge for the

administration was how far any legislation

could go and still pass. Katzenbach, after a

meeting with Robert Kennedy and others,

noted “’We needed a law with a workable

public accommodation section, not a

Christmas tree that would never become

law.’”

Katzenbach began the process of strat-

egizing how to get a bill through Congress

and onto Kennedy’s desk for signature.

Risen discusses the pushback from House

and Senate members and paring back of

language, with Katzenbach navigating

the chambers. When Kennedy was assas-

sinated, President Johnson said, “Let Us

Continue.” In his speech to the nation on

November 23, 1963, he paid tribute to

Kennedy, stating, “’No memorial oration

or eulogy could more eloquently honor

President Kennedy’s memory than the ear-

liest passage of the civil rights bill for which

he fought so long.” He asked Katzenbach

to get it done.

One of the key members of Congress

whom Katzenbach and the administra-

tion worked with was U.S. Senator Everett

Dirksen. Southern Democratic Senators

engaged in a filibuster that would last 54

days to block passage of the bill. Republi-

can Dirksen, along with three other sena-

tors, introduced slightly weaker substitute

legislation. The substitute bill passed, and

the House-Senate conference committee

adopted the Senate version.

On May 19, after the conference, Dirk-

sen called a meeting of reporters and gave

“a little sermon”. Responding to a question

about why he had changed his views and

supported the bill, “he said that ‘no army

can withstand the strength of an idea

whose time has come.’” He then worked

to obtain the Republican votes required to

obtain cloture. On July 2, 1964, President

Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into

law, an act that “revolutionized American

society by placing the federal government

undeniably and forcefully on the side of

African Americans.”

Risen has produced a detailed, infor-

mative narrative and an important read.

It is recommended to all readers as a

reflection of what Congress and theWhite

House are capable of when determined to

make positive change. On April 30, the

CBA co-hosted a gala event with other bar

associations to reflect on the importance

of this Act and the Voting Rights Act of

1965 and why they remain relevant to our

times.