WHAT WAS IN THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

The legislation as finally passed outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. What’s been called “one of the most significant achievements in American history” consisted of 11 sections, or titles:

TITLE I

Barred unequal application of requirements for voter registration.

TITLE II

Prohibited discrimination in places of public accommodation, such as hotels, restaurants and places of entertainment.

TITLE III

Permitted the Justice Department to sue to secure desegregation of public facilities owned, operated or managed by any state.

TITLE IV

Authorized the attorney general to investigate complaints of unequal protection and to file suit to desegregate schools.

One of the complaints about the Act was that it lacked provisions for enforcement. The commission created undel Title VII, for example, could investigate complaints. But it couldn’t do much to take corrective action.

TITLE V

Broadened the duties of the Civil Rights Commission and extended the commission to operate through 1968.

TITLE VI

Prohibited discrimination by recipients of federal funds.

TITLE VII

Outlawed employment discrimination by businesses that had at least 25 employees and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

This would be addressed in 1972 by passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, that gave the EEOC a role in enforcement.

TITLE VIII

Directed the Bureau of the Census to collect registration and voting statistics based on race, color and national origin.

TITLE IX

Permitted the United States to intervene in pending suits alleging denial of equal protection of law under the 14th Amendment.

Similar holes would be filled by the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

TITLE X

Created the Community Relations Service to help communities resolve disputes relating to discriminatory practices.

TITLE XI

Guaranteed anyone charged under Titles II, III, IV, V, VI or VII shall be entitled to a trial by jury.

In June 2020, the Supreme Court would rule that the Act’s Title VII also prohibits workplace discrimination against LGBTQ employees.