TLS as president, one page, 7 x 10.25, White House letterhead, March 14, 1967. Letter to Connecticut Governor John Dempsey, in full: “I am happy to learn of the Connecticut Conference on Human Rights and Opportunities which you have called. We received many valuable insights from the White House Conference, 'To Fulfill These Rights,’ held in Washington last June. Some of these recommendations have been incorporated into my legislative program. One of the points which the Council to the Conference and the Conferees stressed was the deep need for strong and affirmative governmental action on the State and local levels. Your calling of this important meeting is in keeping with this recommendation. Connecticut has a continuing record of achievement in the field of human rights. I know that your Conference will affirm your past efforts, and point the way to new accomplishments. Please convey my best wishes to all of your participants. I know that the insights which you gain will do so much to strengthen the lives of all the citizens of Connecticut. Your initiative will serve as a strong example for the other States." In fine condition, with a postmark in the upper left corner.
In late March 1967, two years after President Johnson laid the framework for affirmative action with a rousing discourse against racial inequality and social injustice at Howard University on June 4, 1965, Dempsey organized a similar convention that would initiate a state-level human rights movement. Intent on ‘mobilizing the public and private sectors to translate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘Dream’ into a reality,’ the Governor’s Conference on Human Rights and Opportunities marked the nation’s first statewide conference called by a governor to prepare specific action proposals on the subject. An exceptional letter associated with one of the cornerstones of Johnson’s presidential legacy—the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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