Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88–352, 78 Stat. (https://legislink.org/us/stat-78-241), enacted July 2, 1964) was a very important law in the United States. It made it illegal to treat people unfairly because of their race, color, religion, gender, or where they came from. This law helped end unfair rules that kept people apart in schools, public places, and jobs.

The idea for this law was first suggested by President John F. Kennedy in June 1963. After Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson worked hard to get it passed. It took many months and a long debate in Congress, but the law was finally approved and signed by President Johnson on July 2, 1964, at the White House.

This law is considered one of the most important in American history because it helped make sure all people were treated equally and fairly, no matter who they were. It gave the government new ways to enforce these fair treatment rules and protect everyone's rights.

Background

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was inspired by earlier attempts to ensure equal rights for everyone. In the 1880s, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not stop private businesses from treating people unfairly. This changed in the 1930s when new laws gave the government more control over businesses.

In 1957, the first civil rights law since Reconstruction was passed, but it did not greatly improve voting rights for African Americans. Events like the Birmingham campaign in 1963 and ongoing activism helped create support for stronger laws. In 1963, President Kennedy suggested a civil rights bill to end unfair treatment in public places and protect voting rights, although it did not include all the changes activists hoped for.

Main article: Civil Rights Cases

Main articles: Civil Rights Act of 1875, New Deal, Black Cabinet, March on Washington Movement, Franklin Roosevelt, Executive Order 8802, Fair Employment Practices Committee, Harry Truman, President's Committee on Civil Rights, Executive Order 9981, Civil Rights Act of 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education, massive resistance, United States Commission on Civil Rights, United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Civil Rights Act of 1960, 1960 United States presidential election, Miller Center, Birmingham campaign, Report to the American People on Civil Rights, Walter Reuther, United Auto Workers, Supreme Court, U.S. attorney general

Legislative history

House of Representatives

In 1963, President Kennedy spoke to leaders about a bill to help protect people’s rights. The bill went to the House of Representatives, where a committee made it stronger. They added rules to stop unfair treatment at work and to make sure everyone could use public places, like restaurants and parks, no matter their background.

Lobbying efforts

Many groups worked together to support the bill. Leaders met with the president to talk about adding rules to stop unfair hiring practices.

Johnson's appeal to Congress

After President Kennedy’s death, President Johnson pushed for the bill. He spoke to Congress, asking them to pass it in honor of Kennedy.

Passage in the Senate

President Johnson made sure the Senate considered the bill quickly. Some senators tried to stop it, but after many days of discussion, the bill passed.

Legislative breakdown

The bill was voted on in both the House and the Senate. Many people supported it, and it was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964.

Vote totals

The bill was voted on in different ways in the House and Senate. Most people voted to support it.

Aspects

Women's rights

The bill also included rules to stop unfair treatment because of gender. This was added by a member of Congress who wanted to make sure women were treated fairly.

Desegregation

Some people worried the bill would force schools to change how students were grouped. But the bill’s supporters said it wouldn’t do that.

Aftermath

Political repercussions

See also: Political realignment

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed American politics a lot. It caused big changes in both of the country’s main political parties. President Kennedy knew supporting this law might lose support from the South. Both Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Vice President Johnson pushed for the law. Johnson thought the South might leave the Democratic Party anyway. Senator Richard Russell, Jr. warned Johnson that supporting the law could cost him the election and the South’s support, but Johnson won the 1964 election by a large margin. The South began to support the Republican Party more by the 1990s.

Most members of both parties voted for the law, but some did not. Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater of Arizona voted against it, saying it went against individual freedom and states' rights. Some Democrats and Republicans from Southern states also opposed the law and tried to stop it for 60 days by talking nonstop in Congress.

Continued resistance

Some white business owners argued that the government couldn’t force them to end segregation in public places. One motel owner in Atlanta, Georgia, said he shouldn’t have to serve Black travelers. But the Supreme Court decided that the government had the right to make this rule under the Constitution.

Resistance to ending segregation continued for years, especially in the South. In 1968, students trying to end segregation at a bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina, faced violent attacks, which led to riots. Schools also kept separating students into the 1970s until a court decision helped change that.

Later impact on LGBT rights

In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a part of the Civil Rights Act also protected people from being treated unfairly based on their sexual orientation or gender identity when it came to jobs. This ruling was expected to influence other areas like education, health care, housing, and financial services as well.

Titles

Title I – voting rights

Title I stopped unfair voting rules that treated people differently based on their race. It said everyone should be treated the same when voting. Later, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would change this more.

Title II – public accommodations

Title II made it so places like hotels, restaurants, and theaters had to treat everyone the same no matter their race, color, religion, or where they came from. Private clubs were allowed to have different rules.

Title III – desegregation of public facilities

Title III said that government buildings and parks had to let everyone in, no matter their race, color, religion, or where they came from.

Title IV – desegregation of public education

Title IV worked to make sure public schools let all children go to them, no matter their race or where they came from.

Title V – Commission on Civil Rights

Title V gave more power to the Civil Rights Commission, which helped protect people’s rights.

Title VI – nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs

Title VI stopped programs that got money from the government from treating people unfairly based on race, color, or where they came from. If they did, they could lose that money.

Title VII – equal employment opportunity

Title VII made it unfair to treat workers badly because of their race, color, religion, or where they came from. It also helped protect people from being treated unfairly because of their gender. Special rules let some jobs have different needs, but these are very rare.

Title VIII – registration and voting statistics

Title VIII asked for information about who was allowed to vote and who actually voted in certain areas.

Title IX – intervention and removal of cases

Title IX made it easier to move important fairness cases from state courts to federal courts, where they might be treated more fairly.

Title X – Community Relations Service

Title X started a group to help solve problems in communities where people felt they were being treated unfairly.

Title XI – miscellaneous

Title XI said that if someone was accused of not following the rules in these laws, they could have a jury decide their case. If found guilty, they could be fined or spend time in jail.

Major amendments

Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972

Main article: Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972

Before 1972, the rules against unfair treatment at work were not very strong. The group checking these rules could only look at complaints and send them to lawyers if needed.

In 1972, new rules were made to fix this. These rules let the group start their own legal actions to stop unfair treatment. This helped them understand and use the laws about fair treatment at work better.

United States Supreme Court cases

Title II case law

Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964)

Main article: Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, the Supreme Court said the law could be used for private businesses. The Court said Congress can control trade between states, which made the law valid.

Katzenbach v. McClung (1964)

Main article: Katzenbach v. McClung

United States v. Johnson (1968)

Main article: United States v. Johnson (1968)

Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. (1968)

Main article: Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc.

Daniel v. Paul (1969)

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green (1973)

Main article: McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green

Title VI case law

Lau v. Nichols (1974)

Main article: Lau v. Nichols

In 1974, the Supreme Court said a school in San Francisco was not treating students who didn’t speak English fairly. The school put these students in regular classes without helping them learn, which broke the rules of the 1964 law.

Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke (1978)

Main article: Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke

Alexander v. Sandoval (2001)

Main article: Alexander v. Sandoval

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023)

Main article: Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard

Title VII case law

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971)

Main article: Griggs v. Duke Power Co.

Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp. (1971)

Main article: Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp.

In Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp., the Supreme Court said a company could not treat a woman differently just because she had a young child, unless they did the same for men. A court also stopped a law in Ohio that said women could not do some jobs, and stopped companies from listing jobs only for men or women.

Washington v. Davis (1976)

Main article: Washington v. Davis

TWA v. Hardison (1977)

Main article: TWA v. Hardison

A big court case decided that employers can’t fire people just because they don’t want to work on the seventh-day as part of their religious beliefs.

Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977)

Main article: Dothard v. Rawlinson

Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1978)

Main article: Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986)

Main article: Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson

Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989)

Main article: Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins

Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio (1989)

Main article: Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio

United Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc. (1991)

Main article: United Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc.

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services (1998)

Main article: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.

Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White (2006)

Main article: Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White

On June 22, 2006, in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, the Supreme Court decided that moving an employee to a worse job or suspending them after they spoke up about unfair treatment counts as punishment. This helps protect people who report problems at work.

Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007)

Main article: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Ricci v. DeStefano (2009)

Main article: Ricci v. DeStefano

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar (2013)

Main article: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores (2015)

Main article: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores

Green v. Brennan (2016)

Main article: Green v. Brennan

Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) and Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda (2020)

Main articles: Bostock v. Clayton County and Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda

On June 15, 2020, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court decided that laws protecting people from unfair treatment at work also protect LGBT people. The court said treating someone unfairly because they are gay or transgender is a type of unfair treatment based on gender, which is not allowed.

Bostock was joined with Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda.

R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020)

Main article: R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decided that laws about unfair treatment at work also include protecting people based on their gender identity, including transgender people.

Groff v. DeJoy (2023)

Main article: Groff v. DeJoy

Influence

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was inspired by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It used many ideas from that law. This new law made it wrong to treat people differently because of disabilities, just like the Civil Rights Act made it wrong to treat people differently because of their race or background. The law helped protect the rights of people with disabilities.