As I understand it the Right was not against Civil Rights per say. There was a debate on the implications of “special rights” and the power of the Federal Government to force private citizen and businesses to comply with certain laws.
Protecting people from violence and forced labor was not the issue, nor was the issue of preferences (of whites) in public jobs and policies.
Are preferences for Blacks any more right?
Should a business be forced to hire or keep on an individual that it does not want? Maybe so, but we must then accept the consequences of reduced liberty. It is a valid debate and should not be demonized. Just as admission quotas today.
As I understand it the Right was not against Civil Rights per say.You're talking about only one element of the right. Don't forget that a great many "conservatives," in the South and elsewhere were conciously trying to "keep them in their place."
I would argue that these people were not truly conservative of the real America, but they would have given you a really good argument at the time that they were. And, unfortunately, very few true conservatives were willing to go after these people, since they needed their political support to fight Communism.
An understandable point of view, but sadly mistaken, IMHO>