Old Dominion Public Lecture Series: The Division: John Doar, the Justice Department, and the Civil Rights Movement

The point man for civil rights for the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, John Doar was a vital actor in countless crisis moments in the civil rights movement — pioneering federal protections for voting rights, personally confronting segregationists at Ole Miss and the University of Alabama, putting Klansmen on trial for the murders of civil rights activists (including the famous “Mississippi Burning” murders), literally leading the way in the Selma-to-Montgomery March, helping shape and implement the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, etc.

Drawing on previously unused archival materials, Kruse hopes to provide new insights into these civil rights milestones as well as construct a new framework for understanding both the partisan realignment over civil rights and the tense relationship between federal, state and local authorities during the struggle for black equality.

Kevin M. Kruse is Professor of History and  Old Dominion Research Professor at the Humanities Council for the academic year 2019-2020.