Sen. Theodore Bilbo today joined his Southern colleagues filibustering against the FEPC bill, and charged in a speech on the Senate floor that the measure would force employers to establish a “Jewish quota” when hiring workers.
Calling the FEPC bill “an unholy thing” and “violation of constitutional rights,” Bilbo cited a Southern factory owner who was forced, Bilbo charged, to dismiss “Gentile” employees in order to keep Negro and Jewish employees.
Bilbo said he said he used the term “Jewish-Americans” because “Jews sometimes object to being called a nationality.” Declaring there is one Jew in the United States to every twenty-eight members of other races, he declared the FEPC would cause retail store owners to hire Jews according to this proportion.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
