LBJ SIGNS CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964*. The act prohibits discrimination based on race in both education and employment. It also outlaws racial segregation in schools and public transportation.*
President John F. Kennedy proposed the civil rights legislation in June 1963 but a Senate filibuster** prevented its' passage during his lifetime. President Johnson used both JFK's death and his own legislative experience to push through the legislation.
President Johnson said on November 27, 1963...
"No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy's memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long."
LBJ used 75 pens to sign the bill and as was customary gave away the pens as souvenirs of the historic occasion.
*The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by the House of Representatives 290-130 & by the Senate 73-27. In the House, only 8 of 102 members who represented states of the former Confederate States of America voted in favor of the bill. In the Senate, only 1 of 21 Senators who represented states of the former Confederacy voted for the bill. That was Ralph Yarborough of Texas.
**filibuster: when one or more members of a legislative assembly delay or prevent a decision being made on a proposal.
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964*. The act prohibits discrimination based on race in both education and employment. It also outlaws racial segregation in schools and public transportation.*
President John F. Kennedy proposed the civil rights legislation in June 1963 but a Senate filibuster** prevented its' passage during his lifetime. President Johnson used both JFK's death and his own legislative experience to push through the legislation.
President Johnson said on November 27, 1963...
"No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy's memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long."
LBJ used 75 pens to sign the bill and as was customary gave away the pens as souvenirs of the historic occasion.
*The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by the House of Representatives 290-130 & by the Senate 73-27. In the House, only 8 of 102 members who represented states of the former Confederate States of America voted in favor of the bill. In the Senate, only 1 of 21 Senators who represented states of the former Confederacy voted for the bill. That was Ralph Yarborough of Texas.
**filibuster: when one or more members of a legislative assembly delay or prevent a decision being made on a proposal.
LBJ Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964
Photo by Cecil Stoughton
LBJ Presidential Library Image
