2 July

'We have just lost the South for a generation' Lyndon B Johnson to an aide after signing the Civil Rights Act

Today in 1964, US President Lyndon B Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act outlawed discrimination in education, public places, voting, housing and employment.

The bill was first been brought before congress in 1963 under the John F Kennedy administration, at the time Kennedy said:

'The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day; one third as much chance of completing college; one third as much chance of becoming a professional man; twice as much chance of becoming unemployed; about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10000 a year; a life expectancy which is seven years shorter; and the prospects of earning only half as much.'