This Day in Black History: April 10, 1968

This Day in Black History: April 10, 1968

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed by Congress, making housing discrimination illegal.

Published April 10, 2012

It was a landmark piece of legislation that made it illegal to discriminate against in housing based on race, creed or national origin. Indeed, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 by Congress was seen as the legislation that would forever change a pattern of housing discrimination in the United States. It was signed into law the next day by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had earlier signed other landmark civil rights laws. At the heart of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was a law known as the Fair Housing Act, which tightened existing laws at the time and which made it more difficult to discriminate in rental and financing of housing based on race, religion or national origin. The legislation came after decades of widespread discrimination, which legally kept African-Americans completely out of all-white neighborhoods. The legislation also allowed Black victims of discrimination to seek redress for being discriminated against.


(Photo: Courtesy Library of Congress)

Written by Jonathan P. Hicks