That’s because there were hardly any Republicans from the South in those days. The South was represented by a large block of conservative Democrats. Outside the South, the Democrats voted as an almost monolithic block for the Civil Rights Act. The few votes outside the South against the CRA were from strict constitutionalist conservatives such as Senator Goldwater of Arizona and Congressman Ashbrook of Ohio.
Most congressional Republicans in the sixties were bystanders who just went along with whatever the Democrats were pushing, which is what they had mostly been since FDR.
If it wasn’t for the intervention of MLK, Nichelle Nichols would have left Star Trek after the first season.
TYPO: “The few votes outside the South...” should be “The few Republican votes outside the South...”
I just saw your profile. Awesome movies. My favorites from your list are Yojimbo, Ran, Audition, & Seven Samurai. Just watched Lady Snowblood for the 3rd time the other night.