50 Years Later, CBS Explores Legacy of the Civil Rights Act

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CBS Sports broadcaster James Brown, Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg, Attorney Evan Wolfson and Face the Nation moderator Bob Schieffer shown at a CBS Live program on America's civil rights struggle.

Image: CBS News Heather Wines

By Kari Paul2014-07-27 22:30:35 UTC

United States Congress signed the Civil Rights Act 50 years ago, a landmark piece of legislation banning discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Congress passed the act to improve quality of life for minorities in the U.S. In a recent speech commemorating the anniversary, President Barack Obama said the act "transformed the concepts of justice, equality, and democracy for generations to come." On Thursday, CBS brought a group of panelists together in front of a live audience to discuss the effects of the Civil Rights Act, as well as the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the ongoing struggles for equality Americans face today.

Panelists participating in the "CBS News: 50 Years Later, Civil Rights" event included actress Whoopi Goldberg, singer and activist Harry Belafonte, Georgia Rep. John Lewis, historian and civil rights expert Taylor Branch, CBS Sports announcer James Brown, actress Rosie Perez, LGBTQ activist Evan Wolfson and basketball player Jason Collins, who became the first publicly gay athlete in the NBA in 2013. The program was moderated by CBS News' chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer, and aired live on CBS News' website and the Smithsonian Channel.

The symposium began with a reflection on the summer of 1964, when three volunteers disappeared in Mississippi while registering African-Americans to vote, and were later found to be murdered by Ku Klux Klan members. The activists' deaths caused outrage throughout the country, and ultimately helped spark the signing of the Civil Rights Act. Their siblings were at the panel to discuss the events leading up to the activists' disappearance, and the impact it had on their lives.

CBS invited viewers at home and in the live audience to participate by voting on statements such as, "I would risk my life for civil rights" and "Our grandchildren will be free from discrimination" with either "I agree" or "I disagree." CBS executive Richard Huff said the voting technology enables people to explore topics that were tipping points 50 years ago, and allows them to think about them in today's context.

"The whole idea is to create things that enable people to have a voice, to be interactive and experiential," he said. "The whole idea is about creating a more compelling program."

Mashable gathered some of the night's most memorable quotes, below: