There have been many tributes and greatest-moment roundups this week coinciding with The Colbert Show’s final episode, which aired last night. We thought we’d add one of our personal favorites.
In June 2013, Bill Moyers joined Stephen Colbert to discuss Two American Families, a Frontline documentary on the disappearing middle class. The interview coincided with the Supreme Court’s invalidation of portions of the Voting Rights Act, a historic piece of legislation signed by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. When asked his reaction to the decision, Moyers said he “thought of all those now-forgotten martyrs—young black men and women who died fighting for voting rights. I thought of all those guys who stood up so that everyone in this country–irrespective of race, religion, creed, income–were all equal in that voting booth. And it was a betrayal of their martyrdom.”
The segment ended on a positive note, with Moyers predicting: “In time, the racists…will be overcome by the sheer weight of numbers…of people who are not going to put up with being treated again as they have been for so long.”
