Democrat Opposition to a black page in the Senate

Back in 1965, after the civil rights bills of 64 and 65, New York Republican Senator Jacob K. Javits requested that a New York kid become the first black to be a Senate page. Democratic Southern Senators were outraged by this plan, but Republican minority leader Everett Dirksen quietly informed them that if they denied the black youth the job, Javits would make a floor speech about the situation. The kid was quietly approved and the Senate's age-old color line was finally broken.