WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights mourns the passing of the Rev.
Theodore M. Hesburgh, for 35 years
the president of the University of Notre
Dame and appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights at
its inception in 1957 by President Eisenhower.
Father Hesburgh later chaired the Commission for
several years, resigning in 1972 over busing and other civil rights
differences with the Nixon administration. In 1964 Father Hesburgh
was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Johnson
and in the summer of 2000 the Congressional Gold Medal, the
country's highest civilian award.
During his Commission tenure, hearings addressed abuses of voter
registration and election procedures in Montgomery, Alabama, and implementation of the
Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education in
Tennessee. Commission reports
during that era were part of the foundation for groundbreaking
civil rights laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Father Hesburgh was a respected and popular figure on campus and
also beloved by many beyond its borders, yet was not deterred by
opposition in his support of spirited but fair
debate. He stood up to student blockades of
classrooms on campuses during the Vietnam war despite his personal opposition to
the war and reformed intercollegiate sports to conform to the
university's educational mission.
Father Hesburgh's commitment to principle regardless of
controversy is a legacy honored by the Commission in its attention
to gathering facts and making sound recommendations to the
President and Congress regarding civil rights.
Chairman Martin R. Castro stated,
"Father Hesburgh's leadership on the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights profoundly shaped the history of the civil rights movement
in our nation and the protections afforded to all Americans to this
very day. His legacy will live on in the work of our Commission
today and for generations to come. He will be sorely missed."
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent,
bipartisan agency charged with advising the President and Congress
on civil rights matters and issuing a federal civil rights
enforcement report. For information about Commission's reports and
meetings, visit http://www.usccr.gov.
Media Contact: Lenore
Ostrowsky
publicaffairs@usccr.gov
(202) 376-8591
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SOURCE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights