This week is the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Right Acts of 1964

This week, the LBJ Presidential Library Civil Rights Summit marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the first of Johnson’s civil rights landmarks, an act of bi-partisanship Johnson called “an American bill.” Our goal is not only to celebrate America’s progress in a half a century, but, just as LBJ would have wanted, to address the civil rights issues of our times.

We are honored that we will have on hand a number of eminent guests who will shed light on those issues, including heroes of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and those who, along with them, are making a difference today.

We are further honored to welcome the thirty-ninth, forty-second and forty-third Presidents—Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush respectively—whose administrations furthered the cause of civil rights domestically while championing human rights and freedom abroad.

Finally, we are honored to welcome the President and First Lady of the United States, as the Honorable Barack Obama delivers the Summit’s keynote address. Five years ago last January, history shined on President Barack Obama as he became the forty-forth President and the first African-American to achieve the nation’s highest office, the fulfillment, to be sure, of the distant dreams of Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson.

From White House blog