56th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

On this day 56 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, providing workplace, public accommodation, education, & voting protections to children, women, racial and religious minorities.

Following the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (declaring African Americans citizens of the United States) and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 (banning racial discrimination in places of public accommodation). These sweeping pieces of Reconstruction legislation were an attempt to extend equality under the law to all Americans.

But, in 1883, the U.S Supreme Court stifled these efforts in the Civil Rights Cases, ruling federal law could not ban discrimination in the private sector. This decision allowed discrimination in the workplace to continue, leading to the Jim Crow segregation era.

In addition to extending protections against discrimination and retaliation in the workplace, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reversed that Supreme Court precedent from the Reconstruction Era.

Because of the 1964 Act, every American has workplace protections against discrimination and retaliation, among other things.

If you feel like you’ve been discriminated or retaliation against, we are here to help. Our firm, Teske, Katz, Kitzer & Rochel, represents employees facing discrimination and retaliation in the workplace.

Abou B. Amara, Jr., Attorney