Dear Commons Community,

On July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, officially banning discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also ended racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and in general public facilities. It was one of the most important pieces of legislation to come out of the 1960s and one of the hallmarks of Johnson’s presidency. While this act did not resolve all of America’s racial problems (no single act of our government could), it was an important step in the right direction. America still has a number of racial issues with disparities in education, income, incarceration, etc. but I would like to think that socially we are in a better place than we were in 1964.

Tony