Statement by the President Upon Submitting to the Congress Reorganization Plan 1 of 1966.
THE APPROACH of Lincoln's birthday reminds us that the final vestiges of intolerance and hatred must be eliminated from our land. This is a challenge to all of us-in our States, in our communities, in our homes, and most of all in the depths of our hearts. The Community Relations Service will help to meet that challenge in its quiet but determined way, through conciliation and cooperation, by reason and by understanding. Its aim is to achieve peaceful progress in civil rights.
Note: The President's statement was made public as part of a White House release on the proposed transfer of the Community Relations Service from the Commerce Department to the Department of Justice under Reorganization Plan 1 of 1966 (see Item 59). The release pointed out that one of the principal reasons for locating the service in the Commerce Department was no longer compelling because of the progress made by merchants and business organizations under the public accommodations section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The release also stated that the Justice Department had deep and broad experience in racial matters and had "long settled, mediated, and negotiated disputes 'out of court' in the civil rights area."
The release noted that the proposed transfer was recommended in September 1965 by Vice President Humphrey as part of a program to strengthen the operation and effectiveness of the Government's civil rights activities (see 1965 volume, this series, Book II, Item 530 and note).
See also Item 51 above.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President Upon Submitting to the Congress Reorganization Plan 1 of 1966. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/238432