to those who seek to avoid action by their national government in their own communities, who want to and who seek to maintain purely local control over elections, the answer is simple: open your polling places to all your people.
allow men and women to register and vote whatever the color of their skin.
extend the rights of citizenship to every citizen of this land.
there is no constitutional issue here. the command of the constitution is plain. there is no moral issue. it is wrong -- deadly wrong -- to deny any of your fellow americans the right to vote in this country. there is no issue of states' rights or national rights. there is only the struggle for human rights. i have not the slightest doubt what will be your answer.
but the last time a president sent a civil rights bill to the congress, it contained a provision to protect voting rights in federal elections. that civil rights bill was passed after eight long months of debate. and when that bill came to my desk from the congress for my signature, the heart of the voting provision had been eliminated. this time, on this issue, there must be no delay, or no hesitation, or no compromise with our purpose.
we cannot, we must not, refuse to protect the right of every american to vote in every election that he may desire to participate in. and we ought not, and we cannot, and we must not wait another eight months before we get a bill. we have already waited a hundred years and more, and the time for waiting is gone.
so i ask you to join me in working long hours -- nights and weekends, if necessary -- to pass this bill. and i don't make that request lightly. for from the window where i sit with the problems of our country, i recognize that from outside this chamber is the outraged conscience of a nation, the grave concern of many nations, and the harsh judgment of history on our acts.
but even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be