Civil Rights Act of 1964
July 2, 1964 , President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Today marks the 55th anniversary of the signing of The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This legislation outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Start date: July 2, 1964
Titles amended: Title 42—Public Health And Welfare
Acts amended: Civil Rights Act of 1957; Civil Rights Act of 1960
Enacted by: the 88th United States Congress
Statutes at Large: 78 Stat. 241
---
"The passage of this legislation championed the fight for equality in the United States. What started as a Black liberation movement, soon escalated into outlawing discrimination based on all races, religions, sexes, and national origins. However, the Black liberation movement was often seen as a "threat to internal security" in the United States, and activists were often harassed, intimidated, and divided from within by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In the years leading up to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the FBI targeted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with one goal; "to find avenues of approach aimed at neutralizing King as an effective Negro leader." They bugged his hotel rooms, followed him and his family, and even attempted to blackmail him into suicide. Simultaneously, FBI agents sent anonymous letters that incited violence between street gangs and Black Panthers which resulted in the killings of four Black Panther members, in addition to numerous beatings and shootings across various United States cities. As the FBI worked to dismantle the movement both internally and externally, divisions across groups arose based on methods and approaches to liberation.
The Congress of Racial Equality, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the National Urban League were all working towards the liberation of Black people oppressed by systemic racism that plagued the entire Nation. However, personal rivalries and political disagreements led to disunity within the coalition. The Civil Rights coalition eventually broke down, with each organization going their separate ways. This was not before violence and death plagued the lives of leaders within these coalitions, and therefore their members.
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once remarked how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was nothing less than a "second emancipation." Despite challenges from within and from outside forces, the legislation paved the way to end legal segregation in the United States with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. "
Laurie A. Cumbo
Majority Leader, New York City Council
District 35
----
Read More about The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Here::
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964
And Here: https://www.eeoc.gov/stat.../title-vii-civil-rights-act-1964
And Here: https://www.history.com/.../black-history/civil-rights-act