LBJ Library to Host Civil Rights Summit to Mark 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Act of 1964

Information on the Summit may be found at www.civilrightssummit.org.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – The LBJ Presidential Library will host a Civil Rights Summit April 8-10, 2014, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Lyndon Baines Johnson drove passage of the legislation and signed it into law. The Summit will be both a look back at the civil rights movement of the 1960s and a look forward at the civil rights issues still facing America and the world.

President Obama will be joined by three former Presidents who will also deliver remarks at the Civil Rights Summit: Jimmy Carter will speak on April 8; Bill Clinton will speak on April 9; and George W. Bush will speak on the evening of April 10.

“Fifty years ago, President Johnson’s vision for a more just and honorable America contributed to the passing of the Civil Rights Act, the most transformational civil rights legislation since Reconstruction and a crucial step in the realization of America’s promise,” said Mark K. Updegrove, director of the LBJ Presidential Library. “But his vision went far beyond ending racial discrimination. He believed that education, economic opportunity, health care, clean air and water, and access to the arts and humanities, among other things, were inherent civil rights for all Americans—and it’s reflected in his legislative legacy.”

The Civil Rights Summit is this year’s cornerstone event of a multi-year anniversary celebration of President Johnson’s prodigious legislative legacy. Throughout the course of the next several years, the LBJ Presidential Library, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, and the LBJ Foundation will partner to commemorate the anniversaries of seminal laws signed by President Johnson that continue to resonate today.

“President Johnson’s legislative achievements underscore for our students how society can be transformed by the efforts of those committed to a life of leadership in public service,” said Robert Hutchings, dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs. “Now, with the Civil Rights Summit, we will have an opportunity to hear from some of today’s most prominent and distinguished leaders as our students prepare themselves to be the next ‘get it done’ generation.”

Participants in the Summit will include numerous prestigious representatives of the Johnson Administration and family, the American media, current and former elected officials, and members of academia:

The Honorable Julian Bond

Former Chairman, NAACP

Taylor Branch

Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Jim Brown

Former NFL running back

Tina Brown

Journalist, Tina Brown Live Media

Joseph A. Califano, Jr.

Chair, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse; Head of Domestic Policy for President Johnson

The Honorable Julián Castro

Mayor of San Antonio, Texas

Michael J. Cramer

Director, UT Program in Sports and Media

Dr. Harry Edwards

Sociologist, focusing on African American athletes

Dr. Larry Faulkner

Former President, The University of Texas at Austin

David Ferriero

Archivist of the United States

The Honorable Shirley Franklin

Former Mayor of Atlanta; Barbara Jordan Visiting Professor of Ethics and Political Values, LBJ School

Luci Baines Johnson

Daughter of Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson

Tom Johnson

Former President, CNN; former Deputy Press Secretary to President Johnson

Congressman John Lewis

U. S. Representative, Georgia

Joe Morgan

Former Major League Baseball second baseman

Diane Nash

Helped found Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Bill Powers

President, The University of Texas at Austin

Todd Purdum

Author, An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964; national editor; Vanity Fair

Lynda Johnson Robb

Daughter of Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson

Bill Russell

Former NBA center

Bob Santelli

Director, The GRAMMY Museum

The Honorable Margaret Spellings

Former U. S. Secretary of Education; President, George W. Bush Presidential Center

Mavis Staples

Singer, civil rights activist

The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa

Former Mayor of LA

The Honorable Andrew Young

Former UN Ambassador and Mayor of Atlanta

Information on the Summit may be found at www.civilrightssummit.org.

AV Media Kit may be found at www.civilrightssummit.org/media.

“Cornerstones of Civil Rights” Exhibit:

During the Summit and throughout the month of April, the “Cornerstones of Civil Rights” exhibit will be on display at the LBJ Presidential Library, linking the civil rights legacies of Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson. It features a lithograph copy of Abraham Lincoln’s final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation; the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery, signed by President Lincoln; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by President Johnson; and an annotated copy of Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome” speech to Congress asking for passage of the Voting Rights Act. It also includes a signature “stovepipe” hat worn by Lincoln and a Resistol beaver cowboy hat worn by Johnson.

Civil Rights Film Series:

Hosted by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, UT Film and Television department head, and LBJ School professor Paul Stekler, the LBJ School of Public Affairs will present a series of documentaries and speeches that chronicle the civil rights era and the pivotal role played by President Lyndon Johnson in the passing of the Civil Rights Act, on April 2, 3, and 7.

LBJ School 50th Commemoration Activities:

Throughout the next 18 months, the LBJ School will examine how far America has come in meeting the challenges of achieving equality and equity for all Americans. The School will sponsor 50 events for the 50th anniversary, all culminating in a call for a renewed effort to “get things done” in order to improve the lives of all citizens.  The “50 for 50” spotlight event for February will feature leading civil rights attorney, activist, scholar and the first African American female tenured professor at Harvard Law School, Lani Guinier, on Feb. 19.

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LBJ Presidential Library

The LBJ Presidential Library, located on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin, is one of thirteen presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.  Dedicated in May 1971, it is the nation’s fifth presidential library.  Its mission is to preserve and protect the historical materials in its collections and make them readily accessible; to increase public awareness of the American experience through relevant exhibitions and educational programs; and to advance the LBJ Library's standing as a center for intellectual activity and community leadership while meeting the challenges of a changing world.

LBJ School of Public Affairs

Founded in 1970 by the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the LBJ School of Public Affairs is a professional school that draws on the legacy of its namesake to empower the next “get it done” generation to take on effective leadership roles in public service.

LBJ Foundation

The LBJ Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the LBJ Presidential Library and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.