Everett Dirksen

Champion of Social Justice

Everett McKinley Dirksen

Pekin native Everett McKinley Dirksen (1896- 1969) represents the best in achieving congressional compromise, in “crossing the aisle,” in working to achieve bipartisan support for, as Senator Dirksen said, “an idea whose time has come” – racial integration.

Senator Everett Dirksen is rightfully credited for his efforts in passing important civil rights legislation. Congressman Dirksen first led Senate Republicans to support President Dwight Eisenhower’s civil rights program in 1957. Later, during the Civil Rights Movement of the early to mid-1960s, Republican Everett Dirksen provided critical support for the iconic Civil Rights Act of 1964, and he worked hand-in-hand with President Lyndon B. Johnson, Democrat, to pass the essential Voting Rights Act of 1965. There is little doubt that this historic legislation was successful thanks to Senator Dirksen’s artistry in persuasion and his powerful oratory skills.

Representing central Illinois, Dirksen was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1933 and served in that body of Congress through 1949. He then won four successive terms in the Senate – serving from 1950 to his passing in 1969.

Born in Pekin in 1896, Everett Dirksen graduated from Pekin High School, attended the University of Minnesota, served in WWI, occupied himself with a variety of jobs upon his return home and married Louella Carver with whom he had one daughter – Joy.

A fan of the simple marigold flower, Everett Dirksen tried for years to have the marigold recognized as the national flower of the United States. He was unsuccessful, but his home town annually honors his floral tastes and his significant national and global accomplishments.

William Hardin

Title Unknown

(Portrait of Everett Dirksen)

Oil on canvas

Courtesy of Dirksen

Congressional Center