The years 2024 and 2025 mark the sixtieth anniversaries of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The two Acts transformed life in the United States for many marginalized individuals, including people of color, women, people with disabilities, elders, and others who had not had equal rights in the nation's history. This legislation was the culmination of nearly a century of work by activists and advocates. By dawn's early light reflects on the historical context against which these Acts came into being: the U.S. Constitution's Preamble and the rights outlined in the First, Second, and Fourteenth Amendments.