On this day, Congressman Robert Brown Elliott delivered one of the most powerful and eloquent speeches in defense of Senator Charles Sumner’s civil rights bill. Addressing the U.S. House of Representatives, Elliott’s hour-long oration challenged racial injustice and called for equal rights under the law. He began with the poignant words:
“I regret, sir, that the dark hue of my skin may lend color to the imputation that I am controlled by motives personal to myself…”
Elliott’s speech was widely praised, not only for its rhetorical brilliance but also for its firm stance on justice and equality during the Reconstruction era.
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