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nondiscrimination agreements with the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. More are expected.

(I) Finally, I renew my support of pending Federal fair employment practices legislation, applicable to both employers and unions. Approximately two-thirds of the Nation's labor force is already covered by Federal, State, and local equal employment opportunity measuresincluding those employed in the 22 States and numerous cities which have enacted such laws as well as those paid directly or indirectly by Federal funds. But, as the Secretary of Labor testified in January 1962, Federal legislation is desirable, for it would help set a standard for all the Nation and close existing gaps.

This problem of unequal job opportunity must not be allowed to grow, as the result of either recession or discrimination. I enlist every employer, every labor union, and every agency of governmentwhether affected directly by these measures or not-in the task of seeing to it that no false lines are drawn in assuring equality of the right and opportunity to make a decent living.

IV. COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE

I have repeatedly stressed the fact that progress in race relations, while it cannot be delayed, can be more solidly and more peacefully accomplished to the extent that legislation can be buttressed by voluntary action. I have urged each member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors to establish biracial human relations committees in every city; and I hope all communities will establish such a group, preferably through official action. Such a board or committee can provide invaluable services by identifying community tensions before they reach the crisis stage, by improving cooperation and communication between the races, and by advising local officials, merchants, and organizations on the steps which can be taken to insure prompt progress.

A similar agency is needed on the Federal level-to work with these local committees, providing them with advice and assistance to work in those communities which lack a local committee and generally to help ease tensions and suspicions, to help resolve interracial disputes and to work quietly to improve relations in any community threatened or torn with strife. Such an effort is in no way a substitute for effective legislative guarantees of human rights. But conciliation and cooperation can facilitate the achievement of those rights, enabling legislation to operate more smoothly and more effectively.

The Department of Justice and its Civil Rights Division have already performed yeoman service of this nature, in Birmingham, in Jackson, and throughout the country. But the problem has grown beyond the time and energies which a few otherwise burdened officials can make available-and, in some areas, the confidence of all will be greater in an intermediary whose duties are completely separated from departmental functions of investigation or litigation.

It is my intention, therefore, to establish by Executive order (until such time as it can be created by statute) an independent Community Relations Service- to fulfill the functions described above, working through regional, State, and local committees to the extent possible, and offering its services in tension-torn communities either upon its own motion or upon the request of a local official or other party.

Authority for such a Service is included in the proposed omnibus bill. It will work without publicity and hold all information imparted to its officers in strict confidence. Its own resources can be preserved by its encouraging and assisting the creation of State and local committees, either on a continuing basis or in emergency situations.

Without powers of enforcement or subpena, such a Service is no substitute for other measures; and it cannot guarantee success. But dialogue and discussion are always better than violence and this agency, by enabling all concerned to sit down and reason together, can play a major role in achieving peaceful progress in civil rights.

V. FEDERAL PROGRAMS

Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes, or results in racial discrimination. Direct discrimination by Federal, State, or local governments is prohibited by the Constitution. But indirect discrimination, through the use of Federal funds, is just as invidious; and it should not be necessary to resort to the courts to prevent each individual violation. Congress and the Executive have their responsibilities to uphold the Constitution also; and, in the 1960's, the executive branch has sought to fulfill its responsibilities by banning discrimination in federally financed housing, in NDEA and NSF institutes, in federally affected employment, in the Army and Air Force Reserve, in the training of civilian defense workers, and in all federally owned and leased facilities. Many statures providing Federal financial assistance, however, define with such precision both the administrator's role and the conditions upon which specified amounts shall be given to designated recipients that the amount of administrative discretion remainingwhich might be used to withhold funds if discrimination were not ended-is at best questionable. No administrator has the unlimited authority to invoke the Constitution in opposition to the mandate of the Congress. Nor would it always be helpful to require unconditionally as is often proposed the withdrawal of all Federal funds from programs urgently needed by Negroes as well as whites; for this may only penalize those who least deserve it without ending discrimination.

Instead of permitting this issue to become a political device often exploited by those opposed to social or economic progress, it would be better at this time to pass a single comprehensive provision making it clear that the Federal Government is not required, under any statute, to furnish any kind of financial assistance-by way of grant, loan, contract, guaranty, insurance or otherwise to any program or activity in which racial discrimination occurs. This would not permit the Federal Government to cut off all Federal aid of all kinds as a means of punishing an area for the discrimination occurring therein-but it would clarify the authority of any administrator with respect to Federal funds or financial assistance and discriminatory practices.

CONCLUSION

Many problems remain that cannot be ignored. The enactment of the legislation I have recommended will not solve all our problems of race relations. This bill must be supplemented by action in every

branch of government at the Federal, State, and local level. It must be supplemented as well by enlightened private citizens, private businesses and private labor and civic organizations, by responsible educators and editors, and certainly by religious leaders who recognize the conflict between racial bigotry and the Holy Word.

This is not a sectional problem-it is nationwide. It is not a partisan problem. The proposals set forth above are based on a careful consideration of the views of leaders of both parties in both Houses of Congress. In 1957 and 1960, members of both parties rallied behind the civil rights measures of my predecessor; and I am certain that this tradition can be continued, as it has in the case of world crises. A national domestic crisis also calls for bipartisan unity and solutions.

We will not solve these problems by blaming any group or section for the legacy which has been handed down by past generations. But neither will these problems be solved by clinging to the patterns of the past. Nor, finally, can they be solved in the streets, by lawless acts on either side, or by the physical actions or presence of any private group or public official, however appealing such melodramatic devices may seem to some.

During the weeks past, street demonstrations, mass picketing, and parades have brought these matters to the Nation's attention in dramatic fashion in many cities throughout the United States. This has happened because these racial injustices are real and no other remedy was in sight. But, as feelings have risen in recent days, these demonstrations have increasingly endangered lives and property, inflamed emotions and unnecessarily divided communities. They are not the way in which this country should rid itself of racial discrimination. Violence is never justified; and, while peaceful communication, deliberation, and petitions of protest continue, I want to caution against demonstrations which can lead to violence.

This problem is now before the Congress. Unruly tactics or pressures will not help and may hinder the effective consideration of these measures. If they are enacted, there will be legal remedies. available; and, therefore, while the Congress is completing its work, I urge all community leaders, Negro and white, to do their utmost to lessen tensions and to exercise self-restraint. The Congress should have an opportunity to freely work its will. Meanwhile, I strongly support action by local public officials and merchants to remedy these grievances on their own.

The legal remedies I have proposed are the embodiment of this Nation's basic posture of commonsense and common justice. They involve every American's right to vote, to go to school, to get a job and to be served in a public place without arbitrary discrimination-rights which most Americans take for granted.

In short, enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1963 at this session of the Congress-however long it may take and however troublesome it may be is imperative. It will go far toward providing reasonable men with the reasonable means of meeting these problems; and it will thus help end the kind of racial strife which this Nation can hardly afford. Rancor, violence, disunity, and national shame can only hamper our national standing and security. To paraphrase the words of Lincoln; "In giving freedom to the Negro, we assure freedom to the free-honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve."

I therefore ask every Member of Congress to set aside sectional and political ties, and to look at this issue from the viewpoint of the Nation. I ask you to look into your hearts-not in search of charity, for the Negro neither wants nor needs condescension-but for the one plain, proud, and priceless quality that unites us all as Americans; a sense of justice. In this year of the emancipation centennial, justice requires us to insure the blessings of liberty for all Americans and their posterity-not merely for reasons of economic efficiency, world diplomacy, and domestic tranquility-but, above all, because it is right. JOHN F. KENNEDY.

THE WHITE HOUSE, June 19, 1963.

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 discrimi nation 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 preventing 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 voting, 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

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