CIVIL RIGHTS-THE PRESIDENT'S PROGRAM, 1963

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 1963

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:45 a.m., in room G-308, New Senate Office Building, Senator James O. Eastland (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators Eastland, Kefauver, Johnston, McClellan, Ervin, Dodd, Hart, Long of Missouri, Kennedy, Dirksen, Hruska, and Keating.

Also present: L. P. B. Lipscomb, and Robert Young, professional staff members.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order.

The purpose of today's hearing, and the necessary subsequent ones, is to consider the various civil rights proposals that have been introduced in the 88th Congress and referred to this committee.

S. 1731 embraces most of the recommendations that were transmitted to the Congress by the President in his messages of February 28, 1963, and June 19, 1963. S. 1750 likewise contains these recommendations, with the exception of the preamble to S. 1731 and the title on injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations. We are pleased to have with us today the Attorney General of the United States, Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, who has been invited to appear and testify in regard to the provisions of S. 1731 and S. 1750. The text of these proposed bills will be set out in the record of the hearings at this point.

(The bills, S. 1731 and S. 1750, referred to, are as follows:)

[S. 1731, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in education, to establish a Community Relations Service, to extend for four years the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Civil Rights Act of 1963."

SEC. 2. (a) Discrimination by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin is incompatible with the concepts of liberty and equality to which the Government of the United States is dedicated. In recent years substantial steps have been taken toward eliminating such discrimination throughout the Nation. Nevertheless, many citizens of the United States, solely because of their race, color, or national origin, are denied rights and privileges accorded to other citizens and thereby subjected to inconveniences, humiliations, and hardships. Such discrimination impairs the general welfare of the United States by prevent

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ing the fullest development of the capabilities of the whole citizenry and by limiting participation in the economic, political, and cultural life of the Nation. (b) It is hereby declared to be the policy of this Act to promote the general welfare by eliminating discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in voting, education, and public accommodations through the exercise by Congress of the powers conferred upon it to regulate the manner of holding Federal elections, to enforce the provisions of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, to regulate commerce among the several States, and to make laws necessary and proper to execute the powers conferred upon it by the Constitution. (c) It is also desirable that disputes or disagreements arising in any community from the discriminatory treatment of individuals for reasons of race, color, or national origin shall be resolved on a voluntary basis, without hostility or litigation. Accordingly, it is the further purpose of this Act to promote this end by providing machinery for the voluntary settlement of such disputes and disagreements.

TITLE I-VOTING RIGHTS

SEC. 101. Section 2004 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1971), as amended by section 131 of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (71 Stat. 637), and as further amended by section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 90), is further amended as follows:

(a) Insert "1" after "(a)" in subsection (a) and add at the end of subsection (a) the following new paragraphs:

"(2) No person acting under color of law shall

"(A) in determining whether any individual is qualified under State law to vote in any Federal election apply any standard, practice, or procedure different from the standards, practices, or procedures applied to individuals similarly situated who have been found by State officials to be qualified to vote.

"(B) deny the right of any individual to vote in any Federal election because of an error or omission of such individual on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, payment of poll tax, or other act requisite to voitng, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election; or

"(C) employ any literacy test as a qualification for voting in any Federal election unless (i) such test is administered to each individual wholly in writing and (ii) a certified copy of the test and of the answers given by the individual is furnished to him within twenty-five days of the submission of his written request made within the period of time during which records and papers are required to be retained and preserved pursuant to title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (42 U.S.C. 1974-74e; 74 Stat. 88). "(3) For purposes of this subsection

"(A) the term 'vote' shall have the same meaning as in subsection (e) of this section;

"(B) the words 'Federal election' shall have the same meaning as in subsection (f) of this section; and

"(C) the phrase 'literacy test' includes any test of the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter."

(b) Insert immediately following the period at the end of the first sentence of subsection (c) the following new sentence: "If in any such proceeding literacy is a relevant fact it shall be presumed that any person who has not been adjudged an incompetent and who has completed the sixth grade in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory or the District of Columbia where instruction is carried on predominantly in the English language, possesses sufficient literacy, comprehension, and intelligence to vote in any Federal election as defined in subsection (f) of this section."

(c) Add the following subsection "(f)" and designate the present subsection "(f)" as subsection "(g)":

"(f) Whenever in any proceeding instituted pursuant to subsection (c) the complaint requests a finding of a pattern or practice pursuant to subsection (e), and such complaint, or a motion filed within twenty days after the effective date of this Act in the case of any proceeding which is pending before a district court on such effective date, (1) is signed by the Attorney General (or in his absence the Acting Attorney General), and (2) alleges that in the affected area fewer than 15 per centum of the total number of voting age persons of the same race as the persons alleged in the complaint to have been discriminated against

are registered (or otherwise recorded as qualified to vote), any person resident within the affected area who is of the same race as the persons alleged to have been discriminated against shall be entitled, upon his application therefor, to an order declaring him qualified to vote, upon proof that at any election or elections (1) he is qualified under State law to vote, and (2) he has since the filing of the proceeding under subsection (c) been (A) deprived of or denied under color of law the opportunity to register to vote or otherwise to qualify to vote, or (B) found not qualified to vote by any person acting under color of law. Such order shall be effective as to any Federal or State election held within the longest period for which such applicant could have been registered or otherwise qualified under State law at which the applicant's qualifications would under State law entitle him to vote: Provided, That in the event it is determined upon final disposition of the proceeding, including any review, that no pattern or practice of deprivation of any right secured by subsection (a) exists, the order shall thereafter no longer qualify the applicant to vote in any subsequent election.

"Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of State law or the action of any State officer or court, an applicant so declared qualified to vote shall be permitted to vote as provided herein. The Attorney General shall cause to be transmitted certified copies of any order declaring a person qualified to vote to the appropriate election officers. The refusal by any such officer with notice of such order to permit any person so qualified to vote at an appropriate election shall constitute contempt of court.

"An application for an order pursuant to this subsection shall be heard within ten days, and the execution of any order disposing of such application shall not be stayed if the effect of such stay would be to delay the effectiveness of the order beyond the date of any election at which the applicant would otherwise be enabled to vote.

"The court may appoint one or more persons, to be known as temporary voting referees, to receive applications pursuant to this subsection and to take evidence and report to the court findings as to whether at any election or elections (1) any applicant entitled under this subsection to apply for an order declaring him qualified to vote is qualified under State law to vote, and (2) he has since the filing of the proceeding under subsection (c) been (A) deprived of or denied under color of law the opportunity to register to vote or otherwise to qualify to vote, or (B) found not qualified to vote by any person acting under color of law. The procedure for processing applications under this subsection and for the entry of orders shall be the same as that provided for in the fourth and fifth paragraphs of subsection (e).

"In appointing a temporary voting referee the court shall make its selection from a panel provided by the judicial conference of the circuit. Any temporary voting referee shall be a resident and a qualified voter of the State in which he is to serve. He shall subscribe to the oath of office required by section 1757 of the Revised Statutes (5 U.S.C. 16), and shall to the extent not inconsistent herewith have all the powers conferred upon a master by rule 53 (c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The compensation to be allowed any persons appointed by the district court pursuant to this subsection shall be fixed by the court and shall be payable by the United States. In the event that the district court shall appoint a retired officer or employee of the United States to serve as a temporary voting referee, such officer or employee shall continue to receive, in addition to any compensation for services rendered pursuant to this subsection, all retirement benefits to which he may otherwise be entitled.

"The court or temporary voting referee shall entertain applications and the court shall issue orders pursuant to this subsection until final disposition of the proceeding under subsection (c), including any review, or until the finding of a pattern or practice pursuant to subsection (e), whichever shall first occur. Applications pursuant to this subsection shall be determined expeditiously, and this subsection shall in no way be construed as a limitation upon the existing powers of the court.

"When used in this subsection, the words 'Federal election' shall mean any general, special, or primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing or selecting any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives; the words 'State election' shall mean any other general, special, or primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing or selecting

any candidate for public office; the words 'affected area' shall mean that county, parish, or similar subdivision of the State in which the laws of the State relating to voting are or have been administered by a person who is a defendant in the proceeding instituted under subsection (c) on the date the original complaint is filed; and the words 'voting age persons' shall mean those persons who meet the age requirements of State law for voting."

(d) Add the following subsection "(h)":

"(h) In any civil action brought in any district court of the United States under this section or title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (42 U.S.C. 1974–74e; 74 Stat. 88) wherein the United States or the Attorney General is plaintiff, it shall be the duty of the chief judge of the district (or in his absence, the acting chief judge) in which the case is pending immediately to designate a judge in such district to hear and determine the case. In the event that no judge in the district is available to hear and determine the case, the chief judge of the district, or the acting chief judge, as the case may be, shall certify this fact to the chief judge of the circuit (or in his absence, the acting chief judge) who shall then designate a district or circuit judge of the circuit to hear and determine the case.

"It shall be the duty of the judge designated pursuant to this section to assign the case for hearing at the earliest practicable date and to cause the case to be in every way expedited."

TITLE II-INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS

FINDINGS

SEC. 201. (a) The American people have become increasingly mobile during the last generation, and millions of American citizens travel each year from State to State by rail, air, bus, automobile, and other means. A substantial number of such travelers are members of minority racial and religious groups. These citizens, particularly Negroes, are subjected in many places to discrimination and segregation, and they are frequently unable to obtain the goods and services available to other interstate travelers.

(b) Negroes and members of other minority groups who travel interstate are frequently unable to obtain adequate lodging accommodations during their travels, with the result that they may be compelled to stay at hotels or motels of poor and inferior quality, travel great distances from their normal routes to find adequate accommodations, or make detailed arrangements for lodging far in advance of scheduled interstate travel.

(c) Negroes and members of other minority groups who travel interstate are frequently unable to obtain food service at convenient places along their routes, with the result that many are dissuaded from traveling interstate, while others must travel considerable distances from their intended routes in order to obtain adequate food service.

(d) Goods, services, and persons in the amusement and entertainment industries commonly move in interstate commerce, and the entire American people benefit from the increased cultural and recreational opportunities afforded thereby. Practices of audience discrimination and segregation artificially restrict the number of persons to whom the interstate amusement and entertainment industries may offer their goods and services. The burdens imposed on interstate commerce by such practices and the obstructions to the free flow of commerce which result therefrom are serious and substantial.

(e) Retail establishments in all States of the Union purchase a wide variety and a large volume of goods from business concerns located in other States and in foreign nations. Discriminatory practices in such establishments, which in some instances have led to the withholding of patronage by those affected by such practices, inhibit and restrict the normal distribution of goods in the interstate market.

(f) Fraternal, religious, scientific, and other organizations engaged in interstate operations are requently dissuaded from holding conventions in cities which they would otherwise select because the public facilities in such cities are either not open to all members of racial or religious minority groups or are available only on a segregated basis.

(g) Business organizations are frequently hampered in obtaining the services of skilled workers and persons in the professions who are likely to encounter discrimination based on race, creed, color, or national origin in restaurants,

retail stores, and places of amusement in the area where their services are needed. Business organizations which seek to avoid subjecting their employees to such discrimination and to avoid the strife resulting therefrom are restricted in the choice of location for their offices and plants. Such discrimination thus reduces the mobility of the national labor force and prevents the most effective allocation of national resources, including the interstate movement of industries, particularly in some of the areas of the Nation most in need of industrial and commercial expansion and development.

(h) The discriminatory practices described above are in all cases encouraged, fostered, or tolerated in some degree by the governmental authorities of the States in which they occur, which license or protect the businesses involved by means of laws and ordinances and the activities of their executive and judicial officers. Such discriminatory practices, particularly when their cumulative effect throughout the Nation is considered, take on the character of action by the States and therefore fall within the ambit of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

(i) The burdens on and obstructions to commerce which are described above can best be removed by invoking the powers of Congress under the fourteenth amendment and the commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in certain public establishments.

RIGHT TO NONDISCRIMINATION IN PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION

SEC. 202. (a) All persons shall be entitled, without discrimination or segregation on account of race, color, religion, or national origin, to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages and accommodations of the following public establishments:

(1) any hotel, motel, or other public place engaged in furnishing lodging to transient guests, including guests from other States or traveling in interstate commerce;

(2) any motion picture house, theater, sports arena, stadium, exhibition hall, or other public place of amusement or entertainment which customarily presents motion pictures, performing groups, athletic teams, exhibitions, or other sources of entertainment which move in interstate commerce; and

(3) any retail shop, department store, market, drugstore, gasoline station, or other public place which keeps goods for sale, any restaurant, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other public place engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, and any other establishment where goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations are held out to the public for sale, use, rent, or hire, if—

(i) the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered by any such place or establishment are provided to a substantial degree to interstate travelers,

(ii) a substantial portion of any goods held out to the public by any such place or establishment for sale, use, rent, or hire has moved in interstate commerce,

(iii) the activities or operations of such place or establishment otherwise substantially affect interstate travel or the interstate movement of goods in commerce, or

(iv) such place or establishment is an integral part of an establishment included under this subsection.

For the purpose of this subsection, the term “integral part" means physically located on the premises occupied by an establishment, or located contiguous to such premises and owned, operated, or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or for the benefit of, or leased from the persons or business entities which own, operate or control an establishment.

(b) The provisions of this title shall not apply to a bona fide private club or other establishment not open to the public, except to the extent that the facilities of such establishment are made available to the cusomers or patrons of an establishment within the scope of subsection (a).

PROHIBITION AGAINST DENIAL OF OR INTERFERENCE WITH THE RIGHT TO
NONDISCRIMINATION

SEC. 203. No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall (a) withhold, deny, or attempt to withold or deny, or deprive or attempt to deprive, any person of any right or privilege secured by section 202, or (b) interfere or