Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington attended by approximately 200,000 people on the Washington Mall.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin in places of public accommodation covered by interstate commerce, such as restaurants, hotels, and theaters. It also allowed the federal government powers to enforce desegregation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot to death as he stood on the balcony outside his hotel room in Memphis, TN. His assassination, in part, led to the momentum behind the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Title VIII was the first comprehensive housing law. It prohibited a broad range of discriminatory practices based on race, religion, color and national origin.

The statute listed a number of specific practices that were prohibited: refusal to deal, false denial of availability, discriminatory terms and conditions, discriminatory advertising, financial discrimination, denial of participation in brokerage services, blockbusting, and anything that otherwise made housing unavailable. Complaints had to be filed within 180 days of the act of discrimination, and resolutions reached through Federal efforts to persuade the parties to change their practices or a private lawsuit. In reality, many people who suffered both overt and subtle discrimination had no knowledge of which agencies to approach for help, where to make the complaint, and most were without the financial resources necessary for legal assistance. — Promises Kept

“I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY ON THE RED HILLS OF GEORGIA, THE SONS
OF FORMER SLAVES AND THE SONS OF FORMER SLAVE OWNERS WILL BE ABLE TO SIT TOGETHER AT THE TABLE OF BROTHERHOOD”