January 15, 1950
At the National Emergency Civil Rights Conference, more than 4,200 delegates from fifty-eight national organizations met in Washington to lobby their congressman to support the president’s civil rights program and a permanent Fair Employment Practices Committee. The conference was the largest lobbying effort in the history of the nation. Despite their efforts, the Senate refused to pass the measure. Opposition came from Southern Democrats and Mid-Western Republicans. When Roy Wilkins (pictured above with LBJ) started to read a prepared statement to President Truman, he was interrupted by the President.who said,” I hope all of you will continue your hard work on the subject, and that you will make it perfectly plain to the Senators and Congressmen who represent your States and districts that action is what we want; and I think that is possibly the only way we can get action.”
