Loading...
Proclamation_Civil Rights Act 50th AnniversaryP THE CITY OF DUB Mas erpiece on the Mississippi �c AMA I ON WHEREAS, in 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized the first freedom rides in the summer of 1961 to protest segregated interstate transportation; and WHEREAS, in early 1963 the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and others, began protests in Birmingham with a boycott meant to pressure business leaders to open employment to people of all races and end segregation in public facilities, restaurants, and stores; and WHEREAS, President John F. Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11, 1963, asked for legislation "giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public—hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments", as well as "greater protection for the right to vote". A conference bill was passed by both houses of Congress as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964; and WHEREAS, Title I of the Act barred unequal application of voter registration requirements; Title II outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce; Title III prohibited state and municipal governments from denying access to public facilities on grounds of race, color, religion or national origin; Title IV encouraged the desegregation of public schools and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to file suits to enforce said act; Title V expanded the Civil Rights Commission established by the earlier Civil Rights Act of 1957 with additional powers, rules and procedures; and Title VI prevents discrimination by government agencies that receive federal funds. NOW THEREFORE, I, ROY D. BUOL, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, ON BEHALF OF THE CITY COUNCIL, STAFF AND CITIZENS OF DUBUQUE DO HEREBY RECOGNIZE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 AND CALL UPON THE CITIZENS OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, TO OBSERVE THIS ANNIVERSARY IN RECOGNITION OF OUR CITY'S DIVERSITY. IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the City of Dubuque to be affixed this 7th Day of July 2014 Roy D. Buol, Mayor Attest: Kevin S. Firnstahl, CMC, City Clerk 2014: Submitted by R.R.S. Stewart of the Dubuque Human Rights Commission (DHRC) on behalf of DHRC and Dubuque Branch - NAACP.