With the creation of the Civil Rights Commission by Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, a new era emerged in the protection of the equal rights guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution of our nation. For the first time in history, our country had an official advocate to press for the full realization of these rights in the daily lives of our people.
As we mark the twentieth anniversary of this great institution, I welcome the opportunity to express my strong personal commitment to expanding equality of opportunity for our citizens, to ending all remaining discrimination in every. sphere of American life and to maintaining rigid enforcement of all Federal laws in this area.
Mindful of the oath of office I took, I am determined that my Administration will remain committed, in both spirit and action, to the enforcement of the civil rights acts that defend the individual freedoms of all our citizens.
JIMMY CARTER
Note: The text of the message was made available by the White House Press Office. It was not issued in the form of a White House press release.
Jimmy Carter, 20th Anniversary of the Commission on Civil Rights Message of the President. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/242190