Housing Discrimination Ends: Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 on April 11, exactly one week after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis. Title VIII of the act, known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. King had been fighting for fair housing in Chicago in 1966, where he faced some of the most violent opposition of his career. The law was weaker than advocates wanted: enforcement mechanisms were limited, and it exempted single-family homes sold without a broker. Real estate redlining and steering persisted for decades. The act was strengthened by amendments in 1988 that added disability and familial status as protected categories.
April 11, 1968
58 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on April 11
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