President & CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson speaks at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., on May 17, 2024, before an address by President Joe Biden. | Source: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Getty
The Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson 60 years ago on Tuesday.
But the historic law that addresses racial discrimination in employment, education, voting, segregation as well as police brutality, freedom of speech and so much more remains increasingly relevant in 2024.
MORE: 60th Anniversary Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964: 5 Things You Need To Know
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson recently spoke to NewsOne about the Civil Rights Act’s lingering importance and significance.
Johnson emphasized how even though the Civil Rights Act was signed into law many years ago, there remains a relentless urgency to keep building on that legacy on behalf of Black Americans.
“As we recognize the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act,” Johnson told NewsOne, “we must remember that there have been advocates for decades pushing for similar legislation and we’ve always had individuals — men and women — to stand up with courage to advocate for human dignity.”
Johnson, who has led the nation’s oldest civil rights organization since 2017, credited “the voices of African Americans holding the Constitution true to its commitment to citizens” and vowed to “continue to fight to ensure that our future is greater and brighter than the past we had to fight out of.”
Johnson is among a number of notable newsmakers appearing in NewsOne’s upcoming video series, The Black Ballot, which is part of an eponymous editorial franchise of political coverage focusing on issues and themes that directly affect Black voters leading up to the highly consequential 2024 election.
Watch the video of Johnson’s The Black Ballot video message to NewsOne above.
To read more The Black Ballot content, click here.
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