AUSTIN, Texas — President Joe Biden is coming to Austin on Monday to deliver the keynote address at a ceremony honoring the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It will be his first public engagement since withdrawing from the presidential race on July 21.
The event was postponed for two weeks after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13.
“It’s an extraordinary moment for the LBJ Library,” said Mark Lawrence, director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum.
Lawrence said President Biden’s decision to leave the race echoes then-President Johnson’s decision in 1968 not to seek a second term.
The director said a presidential visit to the library is always a big deal, but the timing makes this moment extraordinary.
“It gives us a really remarkable opportunity to see the president up close, to hear what he has to say about that decision, to hear what he has to say about the race that is going to unfold between now and November,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence expects President Biden will draw a connection between the likely nomination of Kamala Harris and the opportunities created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The program will also feature Ambassador Andrew Young and actor Bryan Cranston, who played President Johnson in the 2016 film "All the Way."
The event is not open to the public but will be livestreamed through the LBJ Library’s YouTube page.
Drivers have been told to expect delays and potential street closures on Monday between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 3600 Presidential Blvd. and the LBJ Library at 2313 Red River St.
University of Austin officials say Robert Dedman Drive will be closed between Deloss Dodds Way and 25th Street from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. You can also expect rolling road closures throughout the city all day on Monday.
For those flying out of Austin's airport on Monday, airport officials say they're expecting flight delays between 15 to 30 minutes leading up to and during President Biden's landing and takeoff times.