Remembering Robert Byrd

Reading Material
On one critical issue, Byrd broke ranks with his Democratic colleagues. In 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was being considered for passage on the Senate floor, Byrd filibustered for 15 hours, declaring at one point, "Men are not created equal today, and they were not created equal in 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was written...Men and races of men differ in appearance, ways, physical power, mental capacity, creativity, and vision." Byrd would later apologize profusely for these opinions and his participation in the KKK.

• Byrd Obit
• TIME's 1978 Cover Story on Byrd and Congress