Press Releases | Jun, 12 2020
In this long, dark hour of our history, I am deeply hurt by the murder of George Floyd and the racial injustice that continues to plague our nation, holding us back from our promise, and by the social unrest and upheaval that has come in its wake. The very principles of our nation seem to be under siege. I can only imagine the pain felt by those in the African American community and other communities of color who have been on the losing end of a system that is so often stacked against them.
One of the reasons that I have been so proud to be a part of the organizations representing our 36th President—first as director of the LBJ Library, now as President and CEO of the LBJ Foundation—is that President Johnson used the power of the presidency toward the realization of civil rights, signing into law the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Immigration and Nationality Act, and Fair Housing Act, and seeing through measures that he called "the promises of a century." Those laws manifest what we can do if we work together to make good on our nation's most basic creed, that all of our citizens "are created equal." As President Barack Obama said during the Civil Rights Summit the LBJ Library hosted in 2014 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, they are "as fundamental to our conception of ourselves and our democracy as the Bill of Rights and the Constitution."
But President Obama also reminded us, "History not only travels forward. It can travel backward, it can travel sideways." The events of the past week show that America is now hurtling backward. Words of healing are important at this time but, as President Johnson demonstrated, they must be backed by deeds. We must be prepared to do the hard work together—listening to and understanding each other, making changes that allow for a more just and equitable society—to ensure that we progress forward.
Black lives matter. The future of our nation matters. The two go hand in hand.
We at the LBJ Foundation are resolved to do more and better in addressing the issue of racism with the fervent hope that we can emerge from the ashes of tragedy stronger and more united, poised to fulfill the promise of the century before us.
Mark K. Updegrove
President and CEO
LBJ Foundation
