Russell supported racial segregation and co-authored the Southern Manifesto with Strom Thurmond . Russell and 17 fellow Democratic and one Republican Senators blocked the passage of civil rights legislation via the filibuster . After Russell 's protege , President Lyndon B. Johnson , signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law , Russell led a Southern boycott of the 1964 Democratic National Convention . Russell served in the Senate until his death from emphysema in 1971
1964 Democratic National Convention
1964 Democratic National Convention
Richard Russell Jr.