THE AMERICAN PROMISE

So I ask you to join me in working long hours--nights and weekends, if necessary-to pass this bill. And I don't make that request lightly.

For from the window where I sit with the problems of our country I recognize that outside this chamber is the outraged conscience of a nation, the grave concern of many nations, and the harsh judgment of history on our acts.

But even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over. What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and State of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life.

Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.

Find the complete text of the March 15, 1965 address to Congress at the American Presidency Project by the University of California Santa Barbara.

Find the complete video of the March 15 address to Congress on the LBJ Library YouTube page.