Which 1964 U.S. law banned discrimination in public accommodations?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination in public accommodations.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law at the White House on July 2, 1964. It prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in many public facilities and also addressed employment discrimination and segregation in federally funded programs.

The legislation followed years of organizing, litigation, boycotts, marches, and direct action by the civil rights movement. President John F. Kennedy proposed a major civil rights bill in 1963, and Johnson pushed it through Congress after Kennedy’s assassination.

The Senate passed the bill after a 72-day filibuster. The act is often confused with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which targeted racial discrimination in voting, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which addressed discrimination in housing.