Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing. It is always an honor to be in the presence of Congressman Lewis, but particularly on occasion like this. To hear your accounts of the reality that you faced…it is a privilege to be a member of Congress and hear that. Every so often it is important to look back and celebrate important historic events that still have relevance to the problems we seek to address today in the Senate. The enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 is one such event.

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 certainly does not have the fame of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but it was an extremely important milestone for our country. It was the first civil rights bill passed into law since 1870, finally breaking through the seemingly impenetrable roadblock built by segregationists in the Senate against legislation to protect the rights of African-Americans. Lions such as Hubert Humphrey and Paul Douglas, working with the extraordinary then-Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson, passed a bill that the public and the pundits certainly thought would die, just as every other civil rights bill in nearly a century had died.

The law’s substantive achievements were modest compared with the landmark legislation that followed, but the creation of the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice has gained significance over time and is that law’s greatest legacy today. And the symbolic value of the legislative accomplishment was enormous. As Lyndon Johnson biographer Robert Caro writes in Master of the Senate, which tells the story of Johnson’s struggle to pass the bill:

“The Civil Rights Act of 1957 made only a meager advance toward social justice, and it is all but forgotten today…. But it paved the way – its passage was necessary – for all that was to come.”

Because the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was only a beginning, it is fitting that this hearing look ahead as well as back. Obviously, we have come a long way in the past 50 years in the fight for racial equality. But there is much more to be done. Continuing our oversight of the Civil Rights Division is crucial, especially in light of what we have learned in recent months about the improper hiring practices and political interferences in decisions in the Voting Rights section. The next attorney general must make putting the Civil Rights Division back on track a very top priority.

We can also do more legislatively as you’ve already been talking about. This week, the Committee will take up a bill to prohibit deceptive practices and voter intimidation, the 21st century version, if you will, of poll taxes and registration tests, that are used to prevent minority citizens from exercising the right to vote. Later in this Congress, I hope the Senate will consider the Fair Pay Restoration Act, to reverse the Supreme Court’s cramped interpretation of Title VII’s pay discrimination prohibition. We must end racial profiling and do much more to bring the promise of equality to other racial minorities, the disabled, and gays and lesbians. And yes, we must get DC voting rights, something which I have supported from the very beginning since my time in the Senate. This is all noble work, Mr. Chairman, which builds on the foundation laid by the Civil Rights Act of 1957. I am proud to stand with those who believe that guaranteeing civil rights for all Americans is one of Congress’s most important duties.

I am honored to again be with Representative Lewis and of course Dr. Bob Moses, two giants of the civil rights movement, and our other witnesses today. We have much to learn from them. I appreciate the opportunity to speak. Thank you Mr. Chairman.