Civil Rights / Fair Housing Act

People

President Lyndon B. Johnson

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 stands as the final great legislative achievement of the civil rights era. Title VIII of the Act, commonly known as the **Fair Housing Act**, prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The legislation's passage was directly connected to both the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, and the subsequent "Holy Week Uprising" that saw riots erupt in more than 100 American cities. The fight for federal fair housing legislation was long and contentious. Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota noted that "over successive years, a federal fair housing bill was the most filibustered legislation in U.S. history." A proposed Civil Rights Act of 1966 collapsed entirely because of its fair housing provision. The bill that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was introduced as H.R. 2516 by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Emanuel Celler of New York on January 17, 1967. The House passed the bill in August 1967, and it moved to the Senate with amendments on March 11, 1968. In February 1968, Senators Walter Mondale (D-MN) and Edward Brooke (R-MA), the first African American popularly elected to the Senate, introduced legislation to prohibit discrimination in housing. Senator Brooke spoke movingly of his own experience returning from service in World War II and being unable to purchase a home for his family because of his race. A filibuster began and continued for 10 days. On February 20, supporters fell short of the two-thirds votes needed to end debate. To secure passage, Mondale and Brooke eventually tabled their legislation to make way for a slightly less comprehensive bill introduced by Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL). On March 4, 1968, after three failed attempts, the Senate finally invoked cloture. The bill passed the Senate on March 11 by a vote of 71-20. The bill then entered limbo as the House Rules Committee, which had long acted as a brake on civil rights initiatives, postponed action on the amended Senate bill. Prospects seemed bleak when the House adjourned on the afternoon of April 4, 1968. That evening, **Martin Luther King Jr.** was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The nation's mood changed dramatically as riots, later called the **Holy Week Uprising**, broke out in more than 100 cities across the country. The uprising caused 43 deaths, more than 3,000 injuries, and over 27,000 arrests. Washington, D.C., experienced the most damage, with more than 1,200 fires, 13 deaths, approximately 7,600 arrests, and $24 million in property damage ($174 million in today's currency). Baltimore, Chicago, and Kansas City also saw significant destruction. President Johnson increased pressure on Congress to pass the legislation, arguing that the bill would be a fitting testament to King and his legacy. Johnson wanted the bill passed before King's funeral in Atlanta. King had been closely associated with the fight for fair housing since the summer of 1966, when he led marches in Chicago calling for open housing as part of the **Chicago Freedom Movement**. On August 5, 1966, during a march through the all-white neighborhood of Marquette Park, King was struck by a rock thrown by a hostile white crowd. He later stated: "I've been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I'm seeing in Chicago." The 1968 Fair Housing Act was a direct result of the 1966 Chicago open housing movement and King's subsequent assassination. On April 10, 1968, Representative **John Anderson** of Illinois switched sides, voting to send the bill to the House floor despite his constituents' mail running two to one against it. As troops responding to the riots still ringed the U.S. Capitol, with National Guard soldiers quartered in the basement to guard against violence from nearby Black neighborhoods, the House passed the bill by a vote of **250-172** (or 250-171 in some accounts). President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 into law on April 11, 1968. Title VIII (Fair Housing Act) prohibited: - Refusal to sell or rent a dwelling based on race, color, religion, or national origin - Discrimination in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental - Discriminatory advertising indicating preference based on protected characteristics - Blockbusting (persuading owners to sell by suggesting minorities are moving in) - Discrimination in mortgage lending and real estate services Titles II-VII (Indian Civil Rights Act) applied many provisions of the Bill of Rights to Native American tribal governments, representing a significant federal intrusion into tribal internal affairs. Title X (Anti-Riot Act) made it a federal crime to use interstate commerce to incite, promote, or participate in a riot. This provision was later used to prosecute the **Chicago Seven** but was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in 2019. The Dirksen compromise weakened the original bill's provisions. The so-called **"Mrs. Murphy" exemption** excluded owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer rental units from most fair housing requirements. Single-family homes sold or rented by owners without using real estate agents were also exempt, provided owners held no more than three such homes. Religious organizations and private clubs limiting occupancy to members were similarly exempt. These exemptions reduced the Act's coverage to approximately 80 percent of the nation's housing stock. The compromise also weakened enforcement by eliminating HUD's authority to hold hearings, issue complaints, and publish cease and desist orders, while lowering penalties for violations. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 continued to prohibit all discrimination in property sales or rentals based on race or color, meaning the Mrs. Murphy exemption could not be used for racial discrimination. For its first two decades, the Fair Housing Act was widely criticized as a "toothless tiger." The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) could only investigate complaints and attempt voluntary conciliation between parties. If a landlord or seller refused to cooperate, HUD had no power to compel them.