The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Timeline

Public Law 88–352. The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration.

January 1964: President Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” during his State of the Union address
March 1964: LeRoi Jones (later known as Amiri Baraka) premiered his one-act play Dutchman in New York City, and later founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre School in Harlem, ushering in the Black Arts Theater Movement
April 1964: James Baldwin premiered his three-act play Blues for Mister Charlie in New York City, inspired by the Emmett Till murder
June 1964: Mississippi Freedom Summer, a voter education and registration project, began
June 1964: Civil rights workers James Earl Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman abducted and murdered in Mississippi
July 1964: Signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
August 1964: Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 enacted, which established Head Start, Upward Bound, VISTA, Job Corps, and other programs
August 1964: Democratic National Convention refused to seat the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegation
December 1964: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

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