Civil Rights Act Legislation pen
Sometimes, small, everyday objects can play big roles in history. This Esterbrook fountain pen was used by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, to sign H.R. 7152, or the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an act that formally ended segregation in this country. The bill is considered to be one of the 10 legislative landmarks in U.S. history.
While the power to enact it was weak, it was a landmark of civil rights and U.S. labor law in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations.
Indianapolis civil rights advocate Rev. Dr. Thomas L. Brown recalls that there was much work on the local and national levels that led up to the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
“Very few people realize that in the early parts of the movement, we were in the struggle for liberation. The VEP [Voter Education Project], funded under the Kennedy administration, started voters education projects to allow African Americans to register to vote. That initiative went on to become known as the CRM [Civil Rights Movement].”
Brown went on to say that the placement of this small pen in the Power of Children exhibit is “very effective in regard to the willingness of The Children’s Museum to tell the significant history of the African American community” by focusing not only on the tragedies but also on the joys.
