Civil Rights Act 40th

April 11, 2008

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Profile America — Friday, April 11th. Forty years ago today, the Civil Rights Act became law. At the ceremony, President Johnson said: “The proudest moments of my presidency have been times such as this when I have signed into law the promises of a century.” The event occurred one week to the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Among its provisions, the act protected civil rights workers, expanded the rights of American Indians and established measures to end discrimination in housing. Across the U.S., there are close to 75 million owner-occupied housing units. African-Americans live in nearly 6.5 million of these homes and Hispanics in almost 6 million. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 214
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 954
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html