President John F. Kennedy proposed the bill in June 1963. After his assassination, Johnson pushed it through Congress, where Southern senators filibustered it for weeks before a vote to end debate succeeded. The March on Washington and campaigns in Birmingham built public pressure for it.
The law has several key sections. Title II bans discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels, restaurants and theaters. Title VI bars discrimination in programs that receive federal funds, which gave the government leverage to desegregate Southern schools and hospitals. Title VII bans employment discrimination and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Supreme Court upheld Title II in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States in 1964.
The law still shapes civil rights today. In Bostock v. Clayton County in 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII protects gay and transgender workers. Title VI is also at the center of current fights over school and college diversity programs.