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lyndon b. johnson, “we shall overcome” (15 march 1965) [1] Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the Congress: [2] I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy.
Apr 8, 2021 · Credit: Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA The speech was met with praise and accolades. Within twenty-four hours, the White House reportedly received 1,436 telegrams in support of Johnson’s stance, with only 82 telegrams against.
Address to Congress -- We Shall Overcome, 1965. LBJ expresses solidarity with the civil rights struggle and asks Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act. President Lyndon B. Johnson's...
- American Experience
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- Overview
- “We Shall Overcome”: LBJ and the 1965 Voting Rights Act
- “How Long, Not Long”: Selma to Montgomery
On March 15, just over a week after Bloody Sunday, Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson introduced voting rights legislation in an address to a joint session of Congress. In what became a famous speech, he identified the clash in Selma as a turning point in U.S. history akin to the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the American Revolution. Invoking the protest song that had become the unofficial anthem of the American civil rights movement, Johnson said:
What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and State of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life.
Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome.
On March 15, just over a week after Bloody Sunday, Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson introduced voting rights legislation in an address to a joint session of Congress. In what became a famous speech, he identified the clash in Selma as a turning point in U.S. history akin to the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the American Revolution. Invoking the protest song that had become the unofficial anthem of the American civil rights movement, Johnson said:
What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and State of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life.
Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome.
On March 17, after several days of testimony, Judge Johnson ruled in favour of the protestors, saying,
The law is clear that the right to petition one’s government for the redress of grievances may be exercised in large groups…and these rights may be exercised by marching, even along public highways.
Under the terms of the ruling, an unlimited number of people would be permitted to begin and finish the march (which was required to be completed in five days), but only 300 marchers were to be allowed to cover the 22-mile (35-km) two-lane portion of U.S. Highway 80 that passed through Lowndes county.
In the days before the start of the renewed march, Governor Wallace indicated (or at least implied) in a phone call with President Johnson that the Alabama National Guard would protect the marchers. Then, addressing the state legislature, the governor announced that he expected the federal government to “provide for the safety and welfare of the so-called demonstrators.” Ultimately, Wallace sent a telegram to the president saying that Alabama could not afford to provide protection for the marchers and asking the federal government to do so. On March 20 a furious President Johnson responded by federalizing the command of elements of the Alabama National Guard and dispatching the U.S. Army.
On March 21 King led marchers (estimates of their number vary but generally fall between 3,000 and 8,000) out of Selma, over the Pettus Bridge, and on the road to Montgomery. En route protection was provided by more than 1,800 Alabama National Guardsmen and about 2,000 soldiers, as well as federal marshals and FBI agents. The marchers, whose numbers swelled to about 25,000 along the way, covered the roughly 50 miles (80 km) to Montgomery in five days, arriving at the state capital on March 25.
There King addressed the crowd, delivering what would become known as his “How Long, Not Long” speech, which culminated in his recitation of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”:
Mar 14, 2014 · On March 15, 1965, as the nation reeled from the "Bloody Sunday" beatings of civil rights marchers in Selma, Ala., President Lyndon B. Johnson made a stirring call upon Congress to ensure the...
- David Boeri
It follows the full text transcript of Lyndon B. Johnson's We Shall Overcome speech, delivered at Washington D.C. - March 15, 1965. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the Congress: I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member of both parties, Americans of all religions and of all colors, from ...
"We Shall Overcome" Speech. by President Lyndon B. Johnson. 1965. 10th Grade Lexile: 1070. Font Size. Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr. by Yoichi Okamoto is in the public domain. [1] I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy.
