Civil Rights Act: The Law That Changed History

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964. The Act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It was proposed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, but he was assassinated in November of that year before the bill could be passed. Kennedy's successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, pushed the bill forward and it was passed by Congress on July 2, 1964, just a few hours before it was signed into law.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964

The bill was first proposed by President John F. Kennedy in June 1963, but it was opposed by a filibuster in the Senate. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the bill forward. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on February 10, 1964, and after a 72-day filibuster, it passed the Senate on June 19, 1964.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was intended to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the United States. It gave federal law enforcement agencies the power to prevent racial discrimination in employment, voting, and the use of public facilities.

The Act also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools. It prohibited unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment discrimination.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. It was later expanded to bring disabled Americans, the elderly, and women in collegiate athletics under its umbrella. It also paved the way for two major follow-up laws: the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

The Act prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964. The Act was proposed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, who was motivated by the resistance to desegregation and the murder of Medgar Evers. The Act prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs.

Public Accommodations

Public accommodations are defined as facilities, whether publicly or privately owned, that are used by the public at large. This includes retail stores, rental establishments, service establishments, educational institutions, recreational facilities, and service centers.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically defines public accommodations as:

> "any inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests."

The Act prohibits discrimination or segregation in these places of public accommodation, ensuring that all persons are entitled to the "full and equal enjoyment" of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin.

Federally Funded Programs

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also addresses discrimination in federally funded programs. Title VI of the Act states that:

> "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

This provision ensures that federal funds are not used to support discriminatory practices and reinforces the commitment to equal protection under the law.

It also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964. The Act prohibited discrimination in public places, outlawed segregation in businesses such as theatres, restaurants, and hotels, and made employment discrimination illegal. The Act also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools.

Enforcement of Voting Rights

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided some of the early federal statutory protections against discrimination in voting. The Act's voting provisions are codified at 52 U.S.C. 10101 & 52 U.S.C. 20701-20706 (formerly 42 U.S.C. 1971 & 1974). The Act's enforcement of voting rights was further strengthened by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was enacted by Congress the following year. The Voting Rights Act, also known as the VRA, prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, colour, or membership in a language minority group.

Desegregation of Schools

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities. The Act ended segregation in public schools and prohibited discrimination in federally funded education programs. The desegregation of schools was further supported by Title IV of the Act, which provided for the assignment of students to public schools without regard to their race, colour, religion, or national origin. The Commissioner of Education was also required to conduct a survey and report to the President and Congress on the lack of availability of equal educational opportunities for individuals by reason of race, colour, religion, or national origin.

The Act was proposed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963

On June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in his Report to the American People on Civil Rights. This was in response to elevated racial tensions and a wave of African-American protests in the spring of 1963, such as the Birmingham campaign. Kennedy's civil rights bill included provisions to ban discrimination in public accommodations and enable the U.S. Attorney General to join lawsuits against state governments that operated segregated school systems.

Kennedy's bill was first discussed with Republican leaders and then sent to Congress on June 19, 1963. It was referred to the House of Representatives, where it was strengthened by the Judiciary Committee, which added provisions to ban racial discrimination in employment and provide greater protection for Black voters.

The bill was then sent to the Rules Committee, whose chairman, Howard W. Smith, a Democrat and staunch segregationist from Virginia, indicated his intention to keep the bill bottled up indefinitely. However, after Congress returned from its winter recess, it became apparent that public opinion in the North favored the bill and that a discharge petition would acquire the necessary signatures. To avoid humiliation, Smith allowed the bill to pass through the Rules Committee.

The bill was then quickly considered by the Senate, where it faced a 72-day filibuster. After this, a compromise bill was introduced, which was passed by the Senate on June 19, 1964, and then quickly passed through the conference committee. The final bill was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964.

The Act remains one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history. It is a landmark civil rights and labour law that prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, and national origin. The Act also outlaws unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment discrimination.

The Act was proposed by President John F. Kennedy in June 1963, but it was opposed by a filibuster in the Senate. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the bill forward. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on February 10, 1964, and after a 72-day filibuster, it passed the Senate on June 19, 1964. Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended the application of "Jim Crow" laws, which had been upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson, in which the Court held that racial segregation purported to be "separate but equal" was constitutional. The Act also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools.

The Act was later expanded to bring disabled Americans, the elderly, and women in collegiate athletics under its umbrella. It also paved the way for two major follow-up laws: the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which banned discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of property.

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