Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was an attempt to end segregation in public places. The act banned employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex or national origin. The act served as a key legislative achievement of the Civil Rights Movement. The act was proposed by President JFK and face strong opposition from southern Congress members. After JFK was assassinated, the act was brought into effect by Lyndon B. Johnson.

Although there were laws in place that give African American rights such as the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment, they were still facing high rates of discrimination. The south was enacting laws such as a poll tax, literacy test and other requirements to put the African Americans at a disadvantage. JFK was initially not for supporting anti-discrimination, but once Kennedy saw the protests rising in the South, he decided he had to act. So, in June 1963 he proposed by the far the most comprehensive civil rights legislation to date, saying that the United States, “will not be fully free until all of its citizens are free.”

The Jim Crow laws were another reason why we needed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The laws were allowing for major segregation to go on throughout the South. The laws were made to help segregation between races and the Civil Rights Act fought back against these laws.

The Civil Rights Act was later expanded to bring disabled Americans, the elderly and women in the collegiate athletics under its umbrella. It also paved the way for 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. While the act did end legal segregation, racism continues, especially in the South.