Letter to Senator Dole requesting an extension to the Voting Rights Act and Dole's response

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s-con_225_016_001_tr.txt

Transcription (Scripto)

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Extent (Dublin Core)

3 Pages

File Name (Dublin Core)

s-con_225_016_001

Title (Dublin Core)

Letter to Senator Dole requesting an extension to the Voting Rights Act and Dole's response

Date (Dublin Core)

1970-01-07

Date Created (Dublin Core)

1970-01-07

Congress (Dublin Core)

91st (1969-1971)

Topics (Dublin Core)

See all items with this valueSuffrage

Policy Area (Curation)

Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Creator (Dublin Core)

Dole, Robert J., 1923-2021

Record Type (Dublin Core)

correspondence

Rights (Dublin Core)

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Language (Dublin Core)

eng

Collection Finding Aid (Dublin Core)

https://dolearchivecollections.ku.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=31&q=

Physical Location (Dublin Core)

Collection 003, Box 225, Folder 16

Institution (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Archival Collection (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Senate Papers-Constituent Relations, 1969-1996

Full Text (Extract Text)

(Page 1)
This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu
(Handwritten)
[illegible] - but feels
low should apply to all"
states & not be
directed toward one section
(end handwritten)
December 30, 1969
SENATOR BOB DOLE
R JAN 2 1970 0 WASHINGTON, D. C.
The Honorable Robert Dole United States Senate Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
In a period of general tension and unrest, we can rightly question the efficacy of the House in giving approval to the recent voting rights bill.
It is unfortunate that a bill which can only serve to dilute the process that has let black Americans register and vote in the South has been allowed to pass the House. The voting rights act of 1965, while a mere token of the rights white Americans have deprived the nation's blacks, was a great stride toward healing the gap between the races. It seems unthinkable that anyone who says he holds no racial prejudice would lend support to a measure which can only serve to disenfranchise blacks in the South. Yet a glance at the record shows that in 1965 approximately 82 per cent of the Republicans in the House voted for the bill that resulted in more than 800,000 blacks in the South registering to vote, while only 49 House Republicans favored extending the present law in the recent vote. In essence, the blacks are right back where they started in 1960. The marches, the beatings, the jailing's, and the martyrdom of Dr. Martin Luther King have all been nullified.
We are angry and fearful when we witness the birth and growth of organizations such as the Black Panther Party. We find it easy to accuse these groups of racism and hate-mongering. We decry their use of violence -- although their violence is usually in the form of self- defense. In the final analysis, we do everything but explain the failures of society which called such groups into being. Unless we are willing to face the problem squarely and effect prompt, effective action, we can only look forward to more violence in the streets.
The only logical step at this time is to maintain the present voter rights legislation -- and even this is a step backward since it demonstrates no real progress in the struggle for civil and human rights. Anything short of this can only be viewed as the slave master reclaiming his lost property. The blacks of our nation are freer than they were ten years ago, but they are still not free. They are more equal
(Page 2)
The Honorable Robert Dole December 30, 1969
than they were ten years ago, but they are still not equal. Now is the time for us once and for all to break the chains of bondage which so long have enslaved 20 million American citizens.
When the next wave of freedom riders rolls across Mississippi, when the next torch is lighted in Atlanta, when the next clenched fist is raised in defiance, when the next Watts rears its head and the next Emmett Till is killed, you, sir, will have no excuse for asking, "Why?" Your confidence, your sympathy, your understanding, and your vote can help the cause. But regardless of the path you choose, we are not tired and we are out of patience. We will march whenever and wherever necessary; we will speak in the hallowed halls of government and on every ghetto street; we will be heard; and we shall overcome.
[redacted]
Fort Scott, Kansas 66701
(Page 3)
(handwritten)
Leg. Voting right
(end handwritten)
January 7, 1970
[redacted]
Fort Scott, Kansas 66701
Dear Mr. [redacted]:
Thank you for your letter of December 30 urging me to support an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 rather than the Administration's version of this legislation.
As you may know, the Senate voted to refer H.R. 4249 to the Senate Judiciary Committee with instructions that it be reported back by the Committee by March 1, 1970. The instructions also specified that H.R. 4249 should be made the pending business of the Senate on March 1 or the first legislative day thereafter.
I agree with you that we can ill afford to go back on the little progress made in the field of civil rights, and you may be sure that I will follow closely the development of this legislation.
Again, thank you for writing, and do let me know whenever I may be of assistance.
Sincerely yours,
BOB DOLE U. S. Senate
BD:cjb