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In December 1944, Byrd wrote to segregationist Mississippi Senator Theodore G. Bilbo: I shall never fight in the armed forces with a negro by my side ... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds. Â—â€‰Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1944

In 1946, Byrd wrote a letter to a Grand Wizard stating,..... "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation." ( Byrd was an active recruiter for KKK Membership)

It was ONLY when Byrd was running for the United States House of Representatives in 1952, he renounced the KKK because it was getting in the way of his support.

Furthermore in 1964 Byrd filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964, personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours. However both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act

So despite his Apologies regarding his engagement and participation with the KKK he still fought against the Civil Rights Act....actions speak louder than words.

Then in 2005, Byrd told The Washington Post that his membership in the Baptist church was what led him to a change in his views ..as many said of him....Byrd came to the place where he recognized he would 'have to temper'... "his blatantly segregationist views"....but they never left his 'belief' system.

And yet Byrd was the only senator to vote against confirming both Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court, the only two African-American nominees.