(PartiallyPolitics.com) – On Monday, President Biden had claimed that he had “literally, not figuratively” been the one to convince South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond to vote in favor of the Civil Rights Act. Biden would have been 21 years old at the time.
The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a legal group celebrated its 60th anniversary with President Biden as one of the speakers.
During the anniversary of the group, Biden recalled how he had believed that things were changing at the time and he had convinced Thurmond, the Democratic-turned-Republican Senator, to vote for the Civil Rights Act before his death.
He added that at the time he believed there was going to be real progress, but that now he has realized that hate does not die but instead, hides.
The Civil Rights Act was passed on June 19, 1964, by the Senate, this means that at the time Biden who was born in 1942 would have been just 21 years old. While both Biden and Thurmond had served together in the Senate at a time, Biden did not win his seat in the Senate until he was 29 years old. More importantly, Thurmond did not vote for the Civil Rights Act before he died, as he had died in June 2003, which is around 40 years after the Act had been passed.
A White House spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that Biden had been integral in getting Thurmond’s support for the Voting Rights Act in 1980. Biden’s latest comments came after the shooting of three Black people by a White gunman on Saturday.
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