48 Years Ago Today The Civil Rights Act Was Signed By Lyndon Johnson

[SunsetDreams]

President Johnson signs 1964 Civil Rights Bill

Civil Rights Act has enriched fabric of society

This landmark piece of legislation outlawed major forms of discrimination against African-Americans and women, including racial segregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the public.

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It is hard to believe, yet it is true, that only 48 years ago, it took the bloody murder of a charismatic young president to get a civil rights bill passed in this country. Two generations of women and minorities have made monumental strides in establishing workplace equality and societal acceptance as a result of this law.

Not all of the battles have been won, and America is still experiencing the upheaval caused by this law. In the federal courts today, litigation is still raging, with certain conservative judges attempting to limit the scope of the law while more progressive judges try to expand it.

Anyone who is complacent or unaware of the effect of this law is a fool. This law has enriched the fabric of our society in ways that are probably beyond measure. The lives of tens of millions of Americans have been vastly improved because of those epic events that unfolded a mere 48 years ago.

http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-civil-rights-act-russo-yv-20120701,0,7153842.story

On July 2, 1964—48 years ago today—President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, greatly expanding the rights and protections of all Americans, regardless of race or gender.

The Act originated in President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 proposal that Congress develop civil rights legislation with an aim toward guaranteeing equal treatment for all Americans. Congress’s work, before and after Kennedy’s assassination, culminated in extensive bans on discrimination, building on the 1957 Civil Rights Act and the 1960 Civil Rights Act.

The most sweeping civil rights legislation since the Reconstruction era, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public spaces, provided for the integration of public schools and facilities, and outlawed employment discrimination. It also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and addressed voter registration, foreshadowing the changes to come the following year after the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been used not only to eliminate segregation, but also to dismantle gender discrimination (for example, see Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc.) and other policies and actions that threaten equality. Civil rights legislation has continued to be affirmed and clarified in years since (see, for example, the Civil Rights Restoration Act).

https://lcrm.lib.unc.edu/blog/index.php/2012/07/02/on-this-day-the-civil-rights-act-of-1964/

[JohnnyLib2]

1. Much of the uproar since the SC decision last week gives the sense of deja vu.....

Thanks for this reminder of "growth pains".

[HopeHoops]

2. Fucking commie.

[Greybnk48]

7. LOL!!

[NOLALady]

3. I was in my teens.

I'd taken part in lunch counter sit-ins. I marched, carried signs and was arrested for demanding the right to vote.

But, I/we had one thing on our mind when that bill was signed.

July 3, 1964, a group of us went to the Amusement Park. The big beautiful Amusement Park at Pontchartrain Beach that previously we could only see from the outside. We had a wonderful time.

[treestar]

9. Neat story!

[JohnnyLib2]

13. Powerful story! Thank you.

[xchrom]

4. Du rec. Nt

[BumRushDaShow]

5. K&R

Joe Madison mentioned this morning.

[WI_DEM]

6. A great and long delayed day for the USA.

[treestar]

8. Great day

I wonder was there any purposeful timing it on the day the Dec. of Ind. was adopted.

The old guys all looked alike then with their bald heads and glasses!

[JDPriestly]

10. According to the movie, The Longoria Affair, Lyndon Johnson became a civil

rights defender when he was young and taught poor, Mexican-American children in Texas.

I hope that everyone will see that film: The Longoria Affair. It's available from Netflix and probably from a lot of other similar video sources -- maybe your local library.

[UTUSN]

11. R#14 & K n/t

[MineralMan]

12. I remember that very well.

The next year, I was in Montgomery, AL to hear Dr. King speak. I was 19. What I also remember was that the act was only a partial solution, and required many years before everything that might have been in it became law. Many were frustrated that the act did not go as far as it should have.

In that sense, it's much like today. Few things are enacted that do everything that needs to be done. It often takes years before everything is enacted.