 NESS
|
 |
|
Legal Issues In Human Resources |
|
|
Civil Rights Act of 1964 [Title VII]
This act, signed into
law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in
public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public
facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the
most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
In a nationally televised address on June
6, 1963, President John F. Kennedy urged the nation to take action toward
guaranteeing equal treatment of every American regardless of race. Soon after,
Kennedy proposed that Congress consider civil rights legislation that would
address voting rights, public accommodations, school desegregation,
nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs, and more.
Despite Kennedy’s assassination in
November of 1963, his proposal culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson just a few hours after House
approval on July 2, 1964. The act outlawed segregation in businesses such as
theaters, restaurants, and hotels. It banned discriminatory practices in
employment and ended segregation in public places such as swimming pools,
libraries, and public schools.
Passage of the act was not easy. House
opposition bottled up the bill in the House Rules Committee. In the Senate,
opponents attempted to talk the bill to death in a filibuster. In early 1964,
House supporters overcame the Rules Committee obstacle by threatening to send
the bill to the floor without committee approval. The Senate filibuster was
overcome through the floor leadership of Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota,
the considerable support of President Lyndon Johnson, and the efforts of Senate
Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois, who convinced Republicans to
support the bill.
Citation: An act to enforce the
constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of
the United States, to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public
accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect
constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the
Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted
programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for
other purposes, July 2, 1964; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-;
General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National
Archives.
| |
©
NESS
|
| |
|