Summary

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The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Summary

AN ACT To enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United

States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney

General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the

Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission

on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress

assembled, That this Act may be cited as the “Civil Rights Act of 1964”.

TITLE I — VOTING RIGHTS

… (2) No person acting under color of law shall —

(A) in determining whether any individual is qualified under State law or laws to vote in any Federal election,

apply any standard, practice, or procedure different from the standards, practices, or procedures applied

under such law or laws to other individuals within the same county, parish, or similar political subdivision who

have been found by State officials to be qualified to vote;

(B) deny the right of any individual to vote in any Federal election because of an error or omission on any

record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or

omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such

election; or

(C) employ any literacy test as a qualification for voting in any Federal election unless (i) such test is

administered to each individual and is conducted wholly in writing, and (ii) a certified copy of the test and of

the answers given by the individual is furnished to him within twenty-five days of the submission of his

request…

TITLE II — INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION

SEC. 201. (a) All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and

privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section,

without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.

(b) Each of the following establishments which serves the public is a place of public accommodation within the

meaning of this title if its operations affect commerce, or if discrimination or segregation by it is supported by

State action:

(1) any inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests…

(2) any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other facility principally engaged in

selling food for consumption on the premises, including, but not limited to, any such facility located on the

premises of any retail establishment; or any gasoline station;

(3) any motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium or other place of exhibition or

entertainment…

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TITLE III — DESEGREGATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES

SEC. 301. (a) Whenever the Attorney General receives a complaint in writing signed by an individual to the

effect that he is being deprived of or threatened with the loss of his right to the equal protection of the laws,

on account of his race, color, religion, or national origin, by being denied equal utilization of any public facility

which is owned, operated, or managed by or on behalf of any State or subdivision thereof, other than a public

school or public college as defined in section 401 of title IV hereof, and the Attorney General believes the

complaint is meritorious and certifies that the signer or signers of such complaint are unable, in his judgment,

to initiate and maintain appropriate legal proceedings for relief and that the institution of an action will

materially further the orderly progress of desegregation in public facilities, the Attorney General is authorized

to institute for or in the name of the United States a civil action in any appropriate district court of the United

States against such parties and for such relief as may be appropriate, and such court shall have and shall

exercise jurisdiction of proceedings instituted pursuant to this section….

TITLE IV — DESEGREGATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION…

TITLE V — COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS…

TITLE VI — NONDISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS

SEC. 601. No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded

from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or

activity receiving Federal financial assistance….

TITLE VII — EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION,

SEX, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN

SEC. 703. (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer —

(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual

with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s

race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or

(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any

individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of

such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

(b) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for

employment, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, or

national origin, or to classify or refer for employment any individual on the basis of his race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.

(c) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a labor organization—

(1) to exclude or to expel from its membership, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of

his race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;

(2) to limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to refer for employment any

individual, in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or

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would limit such employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee or as an

applicant for employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or

(3) to cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual in violation of this section.

(d) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-

management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job

training programs to discriminate against any individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, or national

origin in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission SEC. 705. (a) There is hereby created a Commission to be known

as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which shall be composed of five members, not more than

three of whom shall be members of the same political party, who shall be appointed by the President by and

with the advice and consent of the Senate. …

TITLE VIII — REGISTRATION AND VOTING STATISTICS

SEC. 801. The Secretary of Commerce shall promptly conduct a survey to compile registration and voting

statistics in such geographic areas as may be recommended by the Commission on Civil Rights. Such a survey

and compilation shall, to the extent recommended by the Commission on Civil Rights, only include a count of

persons of voting age by race, color, and national origin, and determination of the extent to which such

persons are registered to vote, and have voted in any statewide primary or general election in which the

Members of the United States House of Representatives are nominated or elected, since January 1, 1960. Such

information shall also be collected and compiled in connection with the Nineteenth Decennial Census, and at

such other times as the Congress may prescribe. The provisions of section 9 and chapter 7 of title 13, United

States Code, shall apply to any survey, collection, or compilation of registration and voting statistics carried out

under this title: Provided, however, That no person shall be compelled to disclose his race, color, national

origin, or questioned about his political party affiliation, how he voted, or the reasons therefore, nor shall any

penalty be imposed for his failure or refusal to make such disclosure. Every person interrogated orally, by

written survey or questionnaire or by any other means with respect to such information shall be fully advised

with respect to his right to fail or refuse to furnish such information. …

TITLE IX — INTERVENTION AND PROCEDURE AFTER REMOVAL IN CIVIL RIGHTS CASES…

TITLE X — ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE…

TITLE XI — MISCELLANEOUS…