Is it not better to let the local people work out these problems, rather than to rush things on them, and try to change their customs overnight? As a matter of fact, if you gentlemen want to take any action, however, if the proponents of this bill are not satisfied…with the enforcement by the governors of the states of the nation…or if the federal government is not satisfied with the enforcement being given to the voting laws of the states to protect the rights of the people to vote, then why do they not enforce the federal statute that is already on the books?”
- US Senator Strom Thurmond, 24 hour 18 minute filibuster in opposition to the 1957 Civil Rights Act (August 28-29, 1957) According to the excerpt, what step should government officials have taken to address their concerns about protecting people’s right to vote?