Photograph of President Lyndon Baines Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Item
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Title
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Photograph of President Lyndon Baines Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act
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Creator
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Rapp, O.J.
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Date
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1964-07-02
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Description
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Congress passed civil rights acts in 1957 and 1960, but these produced only moderate gains. Civil rights activists became more active through sit-ins, boycotts, and Freedom Rides. In 1963 the Civil Rights Movement hit a turning point. That year saw the murders of civil rights workers, the March on Washington, and the deaths of four young girls in the bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church. In June, President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation about his Civil Rights Act, and following his assassination in November, President Lyndon Johnson continued pressing for passage of the bill. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; required equal access to public places and employment; and enforced desegregation of schools.
1964_CivilRightsAct.jpg