Sixty years ago, on the heels of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, then-US President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a monumental piece of legislation: the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act, which followed a years-long movement led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
In action, the Civil Rights Act dismantled many policies of the Jim Crow era that had codified segregation and discrimination against Black Americans and marked a triumph for leaders and organizers of the Civil Rights Movement. The law was signed on July 2, 1964, nearly 100 years after the United States abolished slavery in 1865 through the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
In recognition of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, we spoke with SIS professors Sarah Snyder and Omekongo Dibinga about the historical context of the law, its legacy, and how the fight for equality endures.
Historical Context
Prior to his death, President Kennedy sent civil rights legislation to Congress in June 1963 as leaders of the Civil Rights Movement mobilized. The 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, acted as the impetus for the Civil Rights Movement, resulting in an organized civil disobedience and protest movement that illuminated racial injustices permeating American society. The movement gained traction through nonviolent resistance and protest in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Kennedy faced mounting political pressure both domestically and internationally to support civil rights legislation, according to Snyder. Domestic political allies who helped Kennedy win the presidential election were pushing his administration to bring forth change at the federal level, while international pressure mounted as photos of police violence against Black Americans were splashed across the front pages of newspapers around the globe.
“This was a moment of incredible intensity in the Cold War, and the competition between the United States and its Western Allies with the Soviet Union could come down to basic issues like which system was going to be more respectful of the rights of different people,” said Snyder. “Governments and peoples that were throwing off the yoke of colonialism didn't necessarily want to turn and align themselves with a system that was seen as racist or imperialist. So, the United States really wanted to distinguish itself, and it was hard to do when people in Africa and Southeast Asia would look at their newspaper and say, ‘you know, I can identify with these children who are being attacked because they might be perceived as looking like me.’ And so, it was it was really bad for the United States in terms of its foreign policy.”
After the assassination of Kennedy in December 1963, Snyder said international pressure to pass civil rights legislation “momentarily dissipated” as people joined the international “outpouring of grief.” Kennedy’s successor, Johnson, was quick to throw his support behind the Civil Rights Act and urged lawmakers to act, painting the legislation as a “way to honor Kennedy,” Snyder said.
The legislation faced immense opposition in Congress. According to the National Archives, opposition in the House of Representatives bottlenecked the bill in the House Rules Committee, while southern Democrats in the Senate threatened to filibuster the legislation to death. Snyder explained that opposition to the bill was largely rooted in racism, and “there were racists in both parties in the US.”
Through compromise and legislative tinkering, the bill ultimately passed Congress and was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964.
Immediate Impacts
The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 was signed 188 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, which declared that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Though these beliefs composed the founding cry of the United States, for decades, they only existed on paper for many Americans, including Black Americans.
In a speech about the Civil Rights Act, President Johnson acknowledged this fact, stating: “We believe that all men are created equal. Yet many are denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty. Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings—not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin.”
SIS professor Omekongo Dibinga said the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a “landmark decision” that “really set the standard for any fight for equality in the United States.”
“For Black people, it was the belief that, within this real time, within this real period, we can actually start having access to making America as Dr. King said, as good as its promise for everybody,” Dibinga said. “To actually put this down on paper, the immediate effect for Black people was: it was very powerful, and it meant so much to the community.”
Once codified, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination and segregation based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. The law applied to government agencies, public schools, employers, and private institutions that received federal funds.
President Johnson’s administration acted one year later to further expand civil rights for Black Americans through the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act outlawed discriminatory voting practices and banned the tactics designed to keep Black Americans from voting. It was signed in the months after Bloody Sunday, when law enforcement officers beat and attacked activists in Selma, Alabama, during a march for voting rights for Black Americans.
Legacy
Reflecting on the legacy of the Civil Rights Act 60 years later, Dibinga emphasized that the act paved the way for future fights for equality, including gay marriage.
“The basis of [marriage equality] was the Civil Rights Act,” Dibinga said. “All of the amendments that Black people have fought for in this country, they never only benefited Black people. Any type of discrimination suit that has been used against Black people that was challenged with the Civil Rights Act has been used by other groups.”
He later added, “Every time we fought for rights in this country, we've made rights more expansive for other people. I think that's one of the greatest legacies of the Civil Rights Act because when you look at it, you're saying that this country belongs to everybody. And if it's going to belong to everybody, everybody should have equal protection.”
Snyder echoed a similar sentiment, noting that the Civil Rights Act was an “achievement for the Civil Rights Movement” that ultimately led to “new forms of resistance and new forms of activism.”
“I think it's useful to think about it as a turning point, rather than solely a culmination of something,” Snyder said.
The Ongoing Fight for Equality
Sixty years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the fight for equal rights remains. Dibinga noted the renewed fight for reproductive freedom after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and pointed to the court’s recent decision to end affirmative action in higher education by arguing it violated the Civil Rights Act.
Several organizations have formed in recent years to advance the fight for equal rights, including the National Action Network, Black Voters Matter, and the Poor People’s Campaign, among others. In addition to these grassroots movements, Dibinga emphasized that the fight for equality comes down to legislation.
“We need to start voting in larger numbers at every level and understand that voting is the beginning of the process; it's not the end,” Dibinga said. “We have to mobilize to vote. We have to continue to do that because that's one of the many ways that we can make sure that our legacy and what we fought for in this country are preserved.”
As the 2024 election approaches, Dibinga stressed that is important for voters to understand the freedoms that are at stake.
“Let's get together and continue to fight for an America where our daughters can have more rights than our wives and our mothers,” Dibinga said. “Let's fight for an America where everybody can get access to education. Let's fight for an America where we're not going to start to have segregation on the books again in our schools.”
