July 2, 1964, President LBJ Signs The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Into Law

DHS US History II

July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law Background: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, simply put, declared that all men are equal in the workforce as well as in public. It applied to all genders, races, religions, and nationality. It proved to very beneficial as is it managed to give equal voting rights to all. Before the Act was passed, people fought beyond belief for equal rights. Many momentous events were slowly, but surely leading up to it, and it was only a matter of time before someone did something about it. Starting ten years prior, in 1954, the Brown V. Board of Education court case was the first big step towards public equality. The Case ruled that the Plessy V. Ferguson stance, “separate but equal,” was unconstitutional in schools. It showed that the people were starting to care more equal rights, and they were starting with the schools. Many “small,” but still immensely important events followed the case, including Rosa Parks’ arrest, and the Freedom Rides. Both of which used similar ideas of protesting by testing the system. The Act: The most influential event, on the Civil Rights act, was JFK’s Civil Rights Address. In it, he consistently addresses the issue of injustice. “We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes…” Kennedy explains how the freedom that the population is imagining doesn’t exist for blacks. Later in his speech, he announces what he is going to do about the issues, “Next week I shall ask the Congress of the United States to act, to make a commitment it has not fully made in this century to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law.” Unfortunately, Kennedy was not able to create the Civil Rights act he dreamed of. After Kennedy was assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson took his place as president. He followed through with Kennedy’s beliefs, and worked hard to make them a reality. Kennedy previously said in his speech, “Unless the Congress acts, their [African American’s] only remedy is the street.” This quote was true, until congress finally passed the act on July 2, 1964, eliminating all prejudice originating from race, religion, gender, and nationality. Aftermath: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 impacted the future heavily. Discrimination didn’t completely end after the act was created, but it helped. Since the act, equality has been getting stronger and stronger throughout the years. Schools were and still are becoming less segregated, and more integrated. To prove the effects of the act, was the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, the first African American President.