Tennessee's Human Rights Commission Marks 50 Years

In the autumn of 1963, just months after George Wallace delivered his "segregation now" speech, and almost a year before President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law, Tennessee Governor Frank Clement made a bold move. He established a state agency dedicated to fighting discrimination in housing, public services and employment. The Tennessee Human Rights Commission turns 50 this year, and its executive director Beverly Watts joined WUOT's All Things Considered host Brandon Hollingsworth to talk about what the commission does, and what its future may hold.