We Believe, Yet

We believe that all men are created equal.  Yet many are denied equal treatment.  We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights.  Yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights.  We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty.  Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings -- not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin.

-- President Lyndon B. Johnson in a statement made upon signing the Civil Rights Act, 60 years ago today (2 July 1964) h/t The Washington Post