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But on November 22, 1963, the nation was rocked by the assassination of Kennedy, thrusting his successor, Vice President Johnson in the executive chair. Johnson wasted little time in attempting to get the bill passed, saying in an address to Congress, “No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights Bill for which he fought so long.”

Johnson met with several civil rights leaders and worked across party lines to get the law enacted, but was nearly upended by the efforts of the “Southern Bloc” of white Democrats who opposed the law. The most infamous politician on the opposing side was South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond.

After a filibuster in Congress that stretched well over two months with a number of compromises on both sides, the bill was passed 73–27 on June 19, 1964 in the Senate. The House adopted the Senate’s version of the bill, later voting 289–126. On July 2, 1964, Johnson signed the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law inside the East Room of the White House.

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Little Known Black History Fact: Civil Rights Act of 1964  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

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