This article is written by Monesh Mehndiratta, a student of B.A.LL.B, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun. The article deals with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, its importance, history, scope, and availability. It further gives an overview of the Act along with its features and analyzes the act in the light of the current situation. 

It has been published by Rachit Garg.

Introduction

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark Act dealing with the civil rights of people in the United States that prohibits any kind of discrimination based on race, caste, creed, religion, sex, or origin. It further says that there should be no unequal voter registration process for different people living in the same country, and everybody must be subject to the same laws. The practice of racial segregation in schools, offices, public accommodations, and discrimination at the workplace is strictly forbidden. 

This Act came into effect on July 2, 1964, enacted by the 88th United States Congress. It is a public law and has amended the previous Civil rights Act of 1957 and 1960. It protects the civil rights of the people from being hampered by the state or any of its authorities. The legislation to enact this Act was proposed by then-President John F. Kennedy in 1963. After his assassination, it was carried forward by President Lyndon B. Johnson. During his tenure, the bill was passed and signed by him. The article gives an overview of the Act and then discusses the lacunas in it. 

Background of the Civil Rights Act, 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered to be a hallmark of the American civil rights movement. The movements in the early 1960s grabbed the attention of the authorities to the racial discrimination prevailing in society. There were certain civil rights cases in this nation wherein the Supreme Court of the US held that the Congress did not have the power to prohibit discrimination in the private sector. This ruling went against the very purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1857. This enraged the people, a result of which a lot of movements were seen in the United States. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1857 was enacted by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the first federal civil rights legislation. This was done because the Supreme Court in the case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) made the school segregation laws, which made the Democrats lead an unconstitutional, massive campaign to enhance the protection of the  voting rights of African Americans. The Act of 1857 established the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. In 1960, another civil rights act was passed, which eliminated the loopholes of the previous act. 

The President of the U.S.A, John F. Kennedy, in 1963, thought to establish the ‘right to be served’ in restaurants, theatres, hotels, etc., along with ‘greater protection for the right to vote’. This was done in the wake of many protests going on in the nation at that time. The bill of civil rights was discussed with the president after the nation witnessed the march in Washington for employment. The bill was introduced in the house on June 20, 1963, and then the senate passed it in 1964. In between these events, the President was assassinated and the new President gave assent to it on July 2, 1964. Many people contributed to this act, and one of them was Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Salient features of the Civil Rights Act, 1964

The salient features and the importance of the Act are given below:

• The act forbids any kind of discrimination based on caste, creed, sex, race, religion, or nationality. 
• It prohibits discrimination in employment, education, and the workplace. 
• Everyone will be treated equally under the same laws of the state. 
• It provides for public accommodation and the advantage of public programmes to all, irrespective of their race, origin, gender or caste. 
• It gives equal voting rights to all and strengthens such enforcement. 
• It works on desegregation in schools and universities. 
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the result and creation of this Act.
• The Act is divided into several sections called titles, each addressing different issues. 
• The Community Relations Services was created under the Act to deal with disputes relating to discrimination. 
• The Act has been amended several times due to the needs and demands of society. 

Objectives of the Civil Rights Act, 1964

The purpose of the Act is :

• To prohibit any kind of discrimination. 
• Forbid the authorities to exercise their powers endlessly. 
• Provides remedies to the victims whose civil rights have been violated. 
• Grants the right to vote equally to everyone, and all votes must be counted in the same manner. 
• Gives equal protection of the laws to all its citizens. 

Overview of the Civil Rights Act, 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been divided into several sections called ‘title’ each addressing different topics and issues. 

Title I – Voting Rights

This title addresses the voting rights of the people. It says that there shall be no special registration requirement for any voter belonging to any particular class or caste. However, it did not exclude literacy tests,which were a barrier for certain voters, mainly, black voters and the minorities who witnessed retaliation, repression and violence by the police. Though it mandated uniform procedure and requirements for the voters but did not abolish the ‘qualifications’ for the voters. According to this Act, the voters had to meet the standards which went beyond citizenship. The amendment in 1965 changed the scenario of voting rights as it eliminated the qualifications and the literacy tests for voters, making it flexible and easy for people to register as voters. 

Title II – Public Accommodations

This section prohibited the segregation or discrimination of people on the grounds of race, caste, creed, or origin in public places like hotels, theaters, accommodations, etc. In the case of Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc v. U.S (1964) , the court upheld the prohibition of discrimination in public places as an exercise of the power of Congress’s interstate commerce (Georgia). In another case of Hamm v. City of Rock Hill (1964) , in South Carolina, there were charges of breach of peace against the demonstrators at a lunch counter and the court dismissed them because it conflicted with the Section of the Act. 

Title III – Desegregation of Public Funds

This section gives the power to the Justice Department of the U.S. to file a case against a person for segregation of public facilities. It is done to secure the desegregation of people and give equal opportunity to everyone to enjoy public funds and facilities owned by the state. In the case of U.S. v. Wyandotte County (1973)  it was found that in the county jail of Kansas, prisoners were segregated based on race, caste, color, and creed and faced violence. This violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Title IV – Desegregation of Public Education

Under this, complaints related to segregation of children in school or denials of protection can be made to the Attorney General to investigate the matter and file the case in District Courts to seek justice on the issue. The Secretary of Education must provide funds to schools to facilitate the process of desegregation. 

Title V – Civil Rights Commission

This title talks about the establishment of the Civil Rights Commission and its duties. It is the duty of the commission to investigate complaints if any person has been deprived of his right to vote and that vote be counted. It can make laws for the equal protection of people from denials or discrimination in voting, education, housing, employment, transportation, and seeking justice. 

Title VI- Nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs

This title forbids the authorities of federal funds to discriminate against people based on caste, creed, race, or nationality. 

Lau v. Nichols (1974)

There was a school in California that was funded federally to provide English courses to Chinese students but was not doing so properly. It was held in this case that the failure on part of the school to provide the benefits of English courses to Chinese students violated Title VI of the Act. 

Cannon v. University of Chicago (1979)

In this case, it was held that Title VI empowered the authorities to stop funding the education programmes if they discriminated against students based on race and thus, provided a private remedy as well. 

Alexander v. Sandoval (2001)

This case held that Title VI provided remedies based on the intention of a person or organization to discriminate. The evidence regarding the impact of discrimination is not necessary. 

Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

It was held in this case, that if any institution accepting federal funds, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, then it is said to violate Title VI of the Act. 

Title VII – Equal Employment Opportunity

This title forbids discrimination of employees based on caste, creed, race, or nationality in any business having at least 25 members. It also established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Refusing women any job because of the expectancy of a child constitutes sex discrimination under this title. (International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc, 1991)

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971)

It was ruled in this case that the tests used to determine the capabilities of the applicants for a job not related to the subject of the job harmed the minorities and thus, violated Title VII of the Act. 

Phillips v. Martin Marietta (1971)

This was the first case related to discrimination based on gender. In this case, the mothers of children in preschool were not employed, but the fathers were given employment. The court held that it is clear discrimination based on gender and failed to provide equal opportunity to both genders. 

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. Manhart (1978)

In this case, the employer pleaded the defence that females have a long life as compared to males to justify his action of hiring more females to contribute to the pension plan rather than males. The court dismissed the plea and held the employer liable for violating Title VII of the Act.

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986)

It was in this case that sex discrimination under Title VII also included in its ambit any kind of sexual harassment against any gender. A similar instance was noticed in the case of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc (1998), where it was held that sex discrimination included same-sex sexual harassment.  

Ricci v. DeStefano (2009)

In this case, the New Haven officials ignored the test results which showed that white firefighters performed better than black and Latino which amounted to a violation of Title VII and were held liable for the same. 

Title VIII – Registration and Voting Statistics

This title directs the bureau of the census to collect voting statistics and information like race, caste, creed, and nationality from the people but also empowers the citizens not to disclose such information if they are not comfortable or do not wish to disclose it. 

Title IX – Intervention in court cases

This title gives the power to intervene in cases pending in the courts alleging denials of ‘equal protection of law’ based on race, caste, creed, and origin under the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

Title X – Community Relations Services

It established the Community Relations Services to deal with disputes of discrimination faced by people based on their race, colour, caste, religion, etc. The case of Goldsby v. Carnes (1971), described how the services helped the parties and provided assistance in the judgement related to conditions and administration of a county jail in Missouri. 

Hernandez v. Erlenbusch (1973)

A case was referred to the Community Relations Services to provide aid and assistance where a tavern adopted the policy of not using any foreign language at the bar. 

Title XI – Court proceedings and legalities

This title provides for a trial of the accused by jury in cases of criminal attempt under Title II, III, IV, V, VI or VII. In the case of United States v. Rapone (1997), a trial by jury was conducted for the officials of the Department of Corrections on the charge of violating the order of the court which prohibited them from retaliating against the witnesses. 

Where to file a complaint?

Any complaint related to a violation of civil rights can be filed with the following federal agencies established to address the issue in different jurisdictions:

S.no.	Agency	Subject matter of complaint
	Office for Civil Rights	Discrimination in the education sector and institutions.
	U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)	Discrimination in employment and workplace.
	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services	Discrimination by health care institutions, human services or any other agency under such services.
	U.S. Department of Justice civil rights division	Human trafficking, discrimination by law, hate crimes and disability discrimination etc.
	Office of Federal Contract Compliance programs	Complaints regarding businesses done with government of U.S.A.

Analysis of the Civil Rights Act, 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has defined various civil rights of the citizens of the United States providing them remedies in case of any breach of such rights by the authorities and the officials. It provides the procedure to be followed in case of violation of rights and creates various agencies and commissions to deal with the issue. However, this Act has certain loopholes and shortcomings when compared to the contemporary modern world. The Act failed to provide equal opportunities to the people. Though mentioned and prohibited in the Act, in practice, people suffer discrimination based on sex, religion, caste etc. Women are mostly not paid equally for the equal amount of work as compared to men. Racism prevails in society in the name of ‘Systematic Racism’ which means laws and regulations that provide benefits to the whites and keep the backs away from enjoying such opportunities. The real racism lies in the minds of the people. No matter how stringent the laws are, if the mindsets of the people cannot be changed the problem of segregation and racism will never be resolved. 

There are cases of housing discrimination and violence faced by many that go unreported. The stakeholders or the police violence have killed many Afro-Americans. People based on their caste, race, religion, etc are arrested unnecessarily and beaten to death by the police for no reason merely on the basis of doubt and prejudice in their mindsets. There have been low voting trends in the recent past which led to a lack of representation in the government formed for the welfare of the citizens. Also, the federal authorities when scrutinized, it was found that they are not funding the schools and educational institutions as a result of which there is disparity among the people and courses being taught to each. 

Lack of health care for minorities increases the mortality rate and lowers life expectancy. The pandemic witnessed by people in this century is the biggest example of the violation of civil rights of people in the United States where whites and the rich were given the preference over any other race and minority group. They were treated first and medical help was provided much before any other person. This resulted in the deaths of the masses and most of the deaths of black and people belonging to minority groups. Students from different countries studying in U.S.A and people residing there still face discrimination verbally, physically, emotionally, and financially. The original Americans did not respect such people and considered them as their slaves. All this shows that even with the presence of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the country, there is still violation and discrimination in the society and the civil rights of people are at stake. 

Conclusion 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is an important landmark act in the history of the U.S. Constitution which defines the civil rights of the people apart from their fundamental rights. It also prescribes the procedure and authorities to be approached in case of any dispute. However, this is not enough. When compared and analyzed with the current situation, the act fails in certain areas and needs amendment. It must agree with the needs and demands of society. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

This is a landmark Act dealing with the civil rights of people in the United States that prohibits any kind of discrimination based on race, caste, creed, religion, sex and origin. 

Who gave assent to the bill of civil rights in 1961?

Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States in 1964 and gave assent to the bill as a result of which it became an act. 

What is the purpose of the Act?

• To prohibit any kind of discrimination. 
• Forbid the authorities to exercise their powers endlessly. 
• Provides remedies to the victims whose civil rights have been violated. 
• Grants the right to vote equally to everyone and all votes must be counted in the same manner. 
• Gives equal protection of laws to all the citizens.

References

• https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/centers-offices 
• https://www.britannica.com/event/Civil-Rights-Act-United-States-1964
• https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/civil-rights-act-1964.asp
• https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/title-vii-civil-rights-act-1964
• https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/civil-rights-act-of-1964.html

---

Students of Lawsikho courses regularly produce writing assignments and work on practical exercises as a part of their coursework and develop themselves in real-life practical skills.

LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals, and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:

https://t.me/lawyerscommunity

Follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more amazing legal content.