....the Republican party, that's who. Here's some of the details on who supported it...and who didn't. Republican Everett Dirkson was the Senate workhorse on getting it passed. One of our current Senators.....the Honorable Sen Robt "KKK" Byrd....filibusters for days against it. And yet, today's Democrats defend this man! And Al Gore Sr. was one who voted against it:

"The Republican Party was not so badly split as the Democrats by the civil rights issue. Only one Republican senator participated in the filibuster against the bill. In fact, since 1933, Republicans had a more positive record on civil rights than the Democrats. In the twenty-six major civil rights votes since 1933, a majority of Democrats opposed civil rights legislation in over 80 % of the votes. By contrast, the Republican majority favored civil rights in over 96 % of the votes. The Republican pro-civil rights forces were blessed with gifted leadership. Although Senate minority whip Thomas Kuchel initially managed the party's forces, it increasingly became clear to Democrats, Republicans, the press, civil rights groups, and the White House that Everett McKinley Dirksen was the key man in the entire civil rights legislative effort."

http://www.congresslink.org/civil/essay.html

No party was responsible for it. Martin Luther King, and thousands and thousands of civil rights activists are the reason it happenned. Dont try and make this part of your political circus crap.

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Many, many people across the country were racist, Democrat and Republican. The black leaders and activist were more responsible than anyone.

And the GOP solid south is still one of the most racist parts of the country today. I know because I have family that live there.

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Proudly a "South Park Republican"

this certainly can't be brought down to a party issue. it was more acceptable to have racist tendencies-across the board. i think some people do reform, but i also think it's likely that people who were openly racist at some point probably harbor some of that bias. Byrd? I have no idea. Maybe he had a spiritual epiphany. ??

The south was of Democratic majority not too long ago and they were the racist ones. I don't think civil rights had anything to do with a certain political party but the Democratic party was the most racist party ever since the Civil War. Republicans vowed to free the slaves during the Civil War.

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"Republicans believe that everyday
is the 4th of July, while the Democrats wish everyday was April 15th" - Ronald Reagan

It's not me. The facts are the facts. It was a Democrat president....Johnson and the Republicans in Congress that led the way. The Southern Democrats were doing everything they could to block it....including filibustering. And the topic isn't who is responsible for the movement towards Civil Rights. The topic was which party in Congress was more reponsible for supporting it for years and finally getting it passed. That was the REPUBLICAN PARTY.

Nah. I'm willing to bet that Senator Byrd is as racist as he ever was. And yet, the Democrats treat him like one of their "respected" elders.