Civil Rights Act and Independence Day

Our Own Voices Live

Welcome to Our Own Voices Live with your hosts: Angela Thomas & Rodney Smith. Our Topic(s) today: “Civil Rights Act and Independence Day” If you have a question, comment or just want to listen, give us a call [phone]. Press 1 to speak. Civil Rights Act and Independence Day The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark civil rights and US labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibited unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations. Powers given to enforce the act were initially weak, but were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment. The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, at the White House. For more info, click here: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act If you have a question, comment or just want to listen, give us a call [phone]. Press 1 to speak.