The Nation - News from July 3, 1989

Civil rights leaders in Atlanta commemorated the day their movement became law by praying at the crypt of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and challenging President Bush to live up to his stated commitment to their cause. “Mr. Bush has got to get up and make the White House the right house,” said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “It’s not enough to talk that talk. We need him to walk that walk.” The SCLC was marking the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned segregation in public facilities and has been used in court actions against discrimination in the workplace. Lowery said recent Supreme Court decisions against affirmative action programs have left black leaders doubting that the President would work to protect progress made under the law.