Civil Rights Act of 1964
July 2, 1964 · 20th Century
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2, 1964, in Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy had originally proposed the legislation before his assassination. The act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibited unequal voter registration requirements, banned racial segregation in schools, workplaces, and public accommodations, and ended employment discrimination. Southern Democrats opposed the bill with a lengthy Senate filibuster, but it passed with bipartisan support led by Senate Floor Leader Hubert Humphrey and Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen.
Key Figures
Lyndon B. JohnsonMartin Luther King Jr.John F. KennedyHubert HumphreyEverett Dirksen
Locations
Washington, D.C.
Topics
civil rightslegislationdesegregationequality
Connected Events — 16 Connections
Directly pressured Congress to pass March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Corporate personhood rights established in Santa Clara were invoked by businesses challenging the Civil Rights Act, forcing Congress to craft stronger enforcement mechanisms to overcome corporations' constitutional claims of equal protection and due process violations Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad
Precedent reversed eighty years later by Civil Rights Cases of 1883
Reshaped northern political coalition that passed The Great Migration Begins
Moral contradiction that accelerated pressure for Executive Order 9066 — Japanese American Internment
Established federal desegregation authority later codified in Executive Order 9981 — Military Desegregation
Moral outrage that built movement pressure for Murder of Emmett Till
Demonstrated need for federal civil rights enforcement in Little Rock Nine Integrate Central High School
Student direct action that built momentum for Greensboro Sit-Ins Begin
Forced federal intervention that built toward Freedom Riders Challenge Interstate Segregation
The Selma marches built directly on the momentum of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, pushing the movement's focus from public accommodation to voting rights enforcement Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Marches
Completed legislative agenda begun by Fair Housing Act Signed into Law
Closed the legislative era opened by Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Documented that structural racism persisted despite Kerner Commission Report Released
Federal civil rights protections failed to prevent death fifty years after Killing of Eric Garner
Triggered largest protest movement since era of Murder of George Floyd
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