The Civil Rights Act of 1964 - What was it?

 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It aimed to end the segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of the aforementioned factors. This significant piece of legislation was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964.

The Act is divided into several titles, with Title II banning discrimination in public accommodations like hotels and restaurants, Title III prohibiting state and municipal governments from denying access to public facilities on grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin, Title IV encouraging the desegregation of public schools, and Title VII preventing employment discrimination by employers, labor unions, and employment agencies.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a cornerstone in the struggle for racial equality in the United States, and it paved the way for subsequent laws aimed at furthering civil rights, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race, religion, or national origin and made it a federal crime to "by force or by threat of force, injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone...by reason of their race, color, religion, or national origin."