April 11 · This Day in America
One week after Martin Luther King Jr. is murdered in Memphis, and with the smoke of grief still over American cities, President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Its heart is the Fair Housing Act — a law that says where an American is allowed to live cannot depend on the color of his skin. For generations, that decision had been made for millions by realtors, banks, and covenants written into deeds. The bill had been stuck in Congress for two years. It took King's death to move it. Johnson calls it a victory "for every American," and signs the last great civil rights law of the decade in King's shadow. The law alone does not undo what redlining built; the maps still show it today. But the line is drawn: a home is a right, not a privilege of the right neighborhood.
Source: millercenter.org
Also on this day · 1970
At 2:13 in the afternoon, a Saturn V lifts off from Florida carrying Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise toward the Moon. America has done this before; the country is almost bored of miracles. Fifty-five hours later, 200,000 miles from home, an oxygen tank will explode and the mission to land will become a mission to live. But on this clear afternoon, the ascent is flawless, and three men ride a controlled explosion into the sky as if it were routine.
Source: www.nasa.gov
“Now, with this bill, the voice of justice speaks again.”President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1968