Community Corner
Civil War to Civil Rights Lecture Series: Todd Purdum, An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
In a powerful narrative layered with revealing detail, Todd S. Purdum tells the story of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, recreating the legislative maneuvering and the larger-than-life characters who made its passage possible. From the Kennedy brothers to Lyndon Johnson, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Hubert Humphrey and Everett Dirksen, Purdum shows how these all-too-human figures managed, in just over a year, to create a bill that prompted the longest filibuster in the history of the U.S. Senate yet was ultimately adopted with overwhelming bipartisan support. He evokes the high purpose and low dealings that marked the creation of this monumental law, drawing on extensive archival research and dozens of new interviews that bring to life this signal achievement in American history.
Todd Purdum is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Politico. He lives in D.C. with his wife, Dee Dee Myers.
This lecture will be held at the Atlanta History Center. Admission for all lectures is $5 members, $10 nonmembers, and free to AHC Insiders unless otherwise noted. Reservations are required. Call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures.
Support: Civil Rights 50 lectures are presented through the generous support of Vicki and Howard Palefsky.