Learn About the U.S. > Work and Workplaces in the U.S. > Labor Unions > The 1964 Civil Rights Act

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Labor Unions
- U.S. Labor Unions in the 1940s
- U.S. Unions in the Cold War
- Public worker unions in the United States
- Decline in Strike Activity in the US
- Union Membership Across the United States
- Right-to-Work Laws
- Types of Unions in the United States
- The AFL-CIO
- Labor Contracts in the United States
- Strikes in the United States
- What Happens During a Strike
- Long Strikes and Violence
- The 1964 Civil Rights Act
- Union Campaign Contributions and Political Influence
- Unions and Politics
- U.S. Unions in the 90s and Today
- Important U.S. Labor Leaders: George Meany
- Important U.S. Labor Leaders: John L. Lewis
- Important U.S. Labor Leaders: Walter Reuther
- Important U.S. Labor Leaders: A. Philip Randolph
- Important U.S. Labor Leaders: Jimmy Hoffa
- Important U.S. Labor Leaders: Caesar Chavez
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President Johnson speaks to the nation before signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Photo Courtesy of the Johnson Library.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act
In 1963 the Civil Rights Bill was introduced to Congress. This landmark bill was designed to do away with enforced segregation and wide-spread practices that kept most African Americans from voting in southern states. It also required employers to provide equal employment opportunities and prohibited racial discrimination in the work place.In July, to rally popular and Congressional support for the bill, President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation on television. In his speech Kennedy noted that: “The Negro (African-American) baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day; one-third as much chance of completing college; one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man; twice as much chance of becoming unemployed; about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year; a life expectancy which is seven years shorter; and prospects of earning only half as much [as a white man].”Many senators from southern states opposed the bill, arguing that they would never accept the idea of racial equality. Congress was still debating the bill when President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. President Lyndon Johnson took up Kennedy’s cause, and successfully campaigned for its passage. In June, 1964 Congress enacted what is now known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Special Terms:
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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