P1 1WHEREAS, On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people
2participated in the March on Washington, D.C., to demonstrate
3their support of civil rights for African-American citizens, and the
4mass demonstration, as well as the violent attacks on peaceful
5demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama, in the spring of 1963,
6galvanized support for national legislation against segregation,
7causing a cataclysmic change in the political and social order in
8America; and
9WHEREAS, On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson
10signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, legislation proposed
11by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the most sweeping civil
12rights legislation since Reconstruction; and
13WHEREAS, Upon the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
14President Johnson addressed the American public on July 2, 1964,
15stating that the newly passed act “does not restrict the freedom of
16any American, so long as he respects the rights of others. It does
17not give special treatment to any citizen. ...It does say that there
18are those who are equal before God shall now also be equal in the
19polling booths, in the classrooms, in the factories, and in hotels,
20restaurants, movie theaters, and other places that provide service
21to the public. ...This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to
22go to work in our communities and our States, in our homes and
23in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our
24beloved country”; and
P2 1WHEREAS, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 subsequently has
2been amended by the Congress of the United States to extend the
3protections of the law to disabled Americans, the elderly, and
4women in collegiate athletics programs; and
5WHEREAS, In 2014, the nation will commemorate the 50th
6anniversary of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans
7segregation on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national
8origin at all places of public accommodation and prohibits
9discrimination by employers and labor unions and the use of federal
10funds for any discriminatory program; and
11WHEREAS, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal
12segregation, and it is fitting and appropriate that the enactment of
13this historic legislation be commemorated in the State of California;
14now, therefore, be it
15Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
1650th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 hereby be
17commemorated and the citizens of the state be encouraged to
18observe this important occasion in the history of the nation; and
19be it further
20Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
21of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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