50 years ago this summer, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It made racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and in public accommodations – hotels, restaurants, restrooms, drinking fountains, etc. – illegal.
Half a century later, this legislation is considered as one of the most significant developments in our nation’s long history of race relations. In fact, a recent poll shows that almost 8 in 10 adults believe its passage was a “very important” event in U.S. history, and another 17% think it was “somewhat important.”