Statement on the Civil Rights Act of 1957, (14 June 1957) Washington, D.C.

Speech Text

[1] Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

[2] Mr. Chairman, it has been said that behind every human edifice there lies the shadow of someone who cared. In the United States of America today we have built a splendid and glorious edifice of human rights and moral values. In the history of the United States someone has cared and, thank God, there are many of us here today who can see some others who do care.

[3] Mr. Chairman, whatever you say about the gentleman from New York, Mr. Emanuel Celler, let me bear testimony to this fact: It is not today, it was not yesterday, but 15 years ago when some Cellers were loose and my colleague from New York, Emanuel Celler and Hon. Clare Boothe Luce offered a bill to give the right of citizenship to Hindus in the United States of America. There were not more than 50 Hindus living in the State of New York then, so he was not seeking votes. Yes, we have had many Mr. Cellers and Mrs. Churches–Hon. Mrs. Marguerite Stitt Church, of Illinois–and others to guarantee human rights.

[4] My good friend from Illinois, Mr. Noah Mason, said he was born in a foreign country and came over here. Today he is a Member of the United States Congress. My own case is also a parallel one. I was born in India. My position was a little more difficult. Ten years ago I was not only a foreigner, but I was an alien, ineligible to citizenship in the United States of America. Because of the opportunities that were open to me and that are open to everybody in this country, I, with the help of great Americans, acquired the right of citizenship. I received my citizenship papers, and today I have the honor to sit in the most powerful body of men on the face of this earth.

[5] During the campaign, my opponent said that if I were elected to Congress, because of the color of my skin, the southern Members in Congress would not accept me. When the judge in El Centro gave me my citizenship papers he said, “From now on you are a full fledged member of Uncle Sam’s family.” And I wanted to show the world that in Uncle Sam’s family there are no foster children.

[6] I bear testimony to the fact that the gentleman from Oklahoma, Carl Albert, came from his State and campaigned for me during the election; the gentleman from North Carolina, Harold Cooley, sent telegrams on my behalf; and the gentleman from Tennessee, Jerry Cooper, put me on the powerful Foreign Activities Committee. They all come from southern States. So no one can say that the people of the South have not been good and affectionate and kind to me.

[7] But Mr. Chairman, I wish to plead with my good friends from the South. You do not go far enough. The gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Noah Mason, said he was born in a foreign country, and because of the rights enjoyed by everybody in the United States he is a Member of Congress today. I ask him the question, “If he had been born in the State of Mississippi and born with a black skin, would he be a Member of the United States Congress today?” No amount of sophistry or legal argument can deny the fact that in 13 counties in 1 State in the United States of America in the year 1957, not one Negro is a registered voter. Let us remove those difficulties, my friends. I wish to stop with this story, and I am talking to my friends from the South.

[8] My wife and I play tennis in the morning. We set our alarm at 6 o’clock. My wife lets me sleep until 6:15, but when the clock goes beyond that, the sheets and the blankets are off of me. She stands there and she says, “Honey, you are holding up the game.” My friends, I know the gentlemen from the North in this Congress. No one is against those leaders from the South who have shown so much brilliance and patriotism in their service in the Congress of the United States. All we are saying is: Please modify your way of thinking. Look at the clock. Go ahead, and do not hold the game up.