Antilynching bill: Step toward Reconstruction II?

“[North Carolina’s Josiah] Bailey became the first Southern senator to outline what he perceived as a dangerous aspect of the [1937] antilynching measure…. To him, it  represented the vanguard of a much larger movement aimed at dismantling Southern society.

” ‘I fear it, I dread it, I fight it, I argue against it because I know the moment it goes through the very men who put it forward will almost be compelled to go ahead with the old Civil Rights Act [of 1875]….

“Reconstruction all over again…. will destroy the South.’ ”

— From “Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights, 1938-1965” by Keith M. Finley (2008)

The Civil Rights Act of 1875, passed in the waning days of the last biracial Congress of the 19th century, was not enforced, and the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1883. It contained many provisions — such as guaranteed access to public accommodations — that eventually were included in 1960s legislation.

Ervin on racial lawlessness: Silent Sam

“Sen. Sam Ervin found much to criticize in Gov. George Wallace’s [1963 ‘schoolhouse door’] face-off with the Justice Department, arguing that ‘such conduct seriously handicaps Southern senators in the fight against civil rights bills.’

“Nonetheless, Ervin, who had staked out a hardline position on integration early in his career, chose to keep these sentiments private. Like the more moderate J. William Fulbright before him, he would not… publicly condemn white lawlessness and through his silence helped to ensure it would continue.

“Ervin theorized that voluntary community initiatives to create an interracial dialogue offered the best means of diminishing tensions…. What he never admitted was that these very same communities had been granted decades of opportunities to right the most pronounced racial injustices in the region.”

— From “Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights, 1938-1965” by Keith M. Finley (2008)