Speech by Victoria Jackson Gray (Adams); 1964

              Speech by Victoria Jackson Gray (Adams)
Transcript

MRS. VICTORIA JACKSON GRAY

Senatorial Candidate from Mississippi

I'd like to speak, tonight, about something of grave national importance. That something, as you may be aware, is the Civil Rights Bill--vague as it is--and the chance it stands of being passed in its present form; or the chance that it will be emasculated or completely scuttled.

When we are speaking of legislatures and the procedures by which they operate, in reality, we are speaking of men, principles, and motivations. We must first consider what Senator Clark (Joseph S.) of Pennsylvania meant last year when he referred to the "Senate Establishment," and the vital role it plays in the discharge of national responsibility. By the term "Senate Establishment," it appears to me, Sen. Clark meant the control of the Senate by those persons in the minority, in powerful positions--and by virtue of a conservative coalition of Republicans and diehard segregationist Southern Democratic Senators: both of whom desire, for varying reasons, the embarrassment of the Democratic Administration. My opponent, Senator Stinnis, needless to say, is a member of this very politic coalition. Stinnis will continue to be active and powerful unless the political climate in Mississippi is changed. And unless some of the proposals advanced by Senators Clark and Proxmire are implemented. But I'd rather not go into that because both Senators Clark and Proxmire, as well as other Senators supporting their views, have just about exhausted the subject.

I'd like to talk about the Civil Rights Bill, and the importance, the overwhelming importance of the Bill being passed in its present form. You may have gathered from my earlier remarks that I am not altogether enthusiastic about the Bill in its present form, and that is true. Neither am I overly optimistic that the Bill will be passed. In fact, I