It has been 52 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, yet the legacies of this historic bill continue to affect our current fight to secure equal justice under law for racial and ethnic minorities. It ended segregation in all public and most private places, including courthouses, parks, restaurants, hotels and theaters. It prohibited educational and employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It enforced the constitutional right to vote by stipulating that voting requirements could not be applied inequitably. This legislation was the product of decades of resistance and activism on the streets and in the courts. In fact, the civil rights attorneys that served as founding members of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee) played a pivotal role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act. While we celebrate the strides we have made since the passage of this historic bill, we must also recognize that racial discrimination is not an issue of the past.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 paved the way for the passage of the Voting Rights Act, which sought to eliminate discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes. But 52 years later, the right to vote is still under attack. In 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated key provisions of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder. Since then, 17 states have implemented new voting restrictions, which disproportionately affects African-American and Latino voters. In Texas, strict photo ID requirements prevent 600,000 registered voters from accessing the ballot box. A weapons permit serves as an acceptable form of ID, while a public benefits card or student ID do not. Despite a Fifth Circuit ruling that the Texas law violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and denied African-American and Latino voters an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, the requirements remain. As we approach a critical election in November without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, it is crucial for states to protect each and every eligible voter’s constitutional right to vote and not create burdensome barriers that create unequitable voting requirements.
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, all programs and practices (including admissions, financial aid, academic programs, and student services, etc.) that receive federal funding must operate in a non-discriminatory manner. The Civil Rights Act may have ended de jure segregation, but de facto inequities in education are wide sweeping. 62 years after Brown v. Board of Education made segregated schools unconstitutional, many schools remain racially and socioeconomically segregated today, as African-American and Latino students are more likely to attend underfunded, high-poverty schools with fewer resources and high teacher turnover rates. In May, the Government Accountability Office released a new report in connection with the 62 year anniversary of Brown, which found that today in America, we have a two-tiered education system.
Moreover, zero tolerance policies in schools disproportionately affect students from underrepresented backgrounds, funneling children as young as five into the school-to-prison pipeline. The stark racial disparities that exist in our nation’s education system reveal that thousands of minority students across the country have fewer opportunities to succeed.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is indisputably one of the most significant pieces of legislation in our nation’s history. However, in commemorating this historic bill we recognize the urgency of our racial justice work. In the words of President John F. Kennedy, who formed the Lawyers’ Committee and commissioned the private bar to take a leadership role in the fight for racial justice and civil rights, “this nation, for all its boasts will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.”
