Legislation · 1964

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the act outlawed segregation in public accommodations such as hotels, restaurants and theaters, prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and barred discrimination in federally funded programs. It also strengthened federal authority to enforce voting rights and school desegregation and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.”

July 2, 1964

Why it matters

Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen helped assemble the bipartisan coalition that broke a Southern filibuster, and a larger share of Republicans than Democrats voted for the bill in both houses. Senator Barry Goldwater, soon to be the Republican presidential nominee, voted against it, arguing that its public accommodations and employment provisions exceeded the federal government’s constitutional authority.

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Subjects

civil rights desegregation equal protection employment

From the library

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