--- title: Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Meaning Behind the Signing Date description: President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964 canonical: https://time.com/3911037/civil-rights-act-1964/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-02T14:00:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:01.211Z article:section: History og:title: Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Meaning Behind the Signing Date og:description: President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964 og:url: https://time.com/3911037/civil-rights-act-1964/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15619037391bbb5d/6988533c55a85968a3a8c5ea/lbj1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Meaning Behind the Signing Date twitter:description: President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15619037391bbb5d/6988533c55a85968a3a8c5ea/lbj1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Meaning Behind the Civil Rights Act's Signing Date > Sponsored content. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: The March on Washington: The Movement Begins [Watch (HLS stream): The March on Washington: The Movement Begins](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eYWENlb4.m3u8) (6:26)  _Published 2014-04-07. The March on Washington was a peaceful demonstration for racial equality. But it would not have happened without the beatings, arrests and violent struggle for civil rights that had already engulfed the Deep South._  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 2, 2015 2:00 PM UTC  President Lyndon B Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act in a ceremony at the White House, Washington DC, July 2, 1964 . President Lyndon B Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act in a ceremony at the White House, Washington DC, July 2, 1964 .PhotoQuest / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 2, 2015 2:00 PM UTC For President Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act into law on July 2, 1964, was a no-brainer: the date was a Thursday, just as it is this year, and the symbolism of marking the hard-fought victory just before Independence Day would be a shame to waste. But, as TIME [noted](http://time.com/vault/issue/1964-06-26/page/19/) in its original 1964 coverage of the[ landmark legislation](http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=97), the Fourth of July wasn’t the only significant date in play. The date on which the Senate passed the bill was June 19, 1964—precisely one year after “President John Kennedy sent to Congress a civil rights bill, \[and\] urged its speedy passage ‘not merely for reasons of economic efficiency, world diplomacy or domestic tranquility, but above all because it is right.'” Though Kennedy had been assassinated the previous fall, the law he had advocated for had actually grown in strength and scope. After the House also passed the bill and it went on to the President, the season of its signing—and not just the calendar date—would also prove significant. The bill included many obviously important provisions affecting matters of great weight, like voting rights and equal employment. But, as TIME pointed out, it would take months to see the voting rules take effect, and the labor matters included a period during which businesses could adjust. On the other hand, one of the parts of the law—a part that may seem today to be far less important—was, as TIME put it, “effective immediately, and likely to cause the fastest fireworks.” The law entitled all persons to equal use of public accommodations, from hotels and movie theaters to soda fountains and public swimming pools. In the run up to the final vote, St. Augustine, Fla., proved why pools—long a contentious point, for the necessary closeness that comes with sharing the water with other people—would be a hot topic: --- > “” --- Due to the time of year, the new law’s effects would be immediately visible at swimming pools around the country. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3911037/civil-rights-act-1964/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3911037/civil-rights-act-1964/"},"headline":"The Meaning Behind the Civil Rights Act's Signing Date","datePublished":"2015-07-02T14:00:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:59:01.211Z","description":"President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964","url":"https://time.com/3911037/civil-rights-act-1964/","keywords":["Civil Rights","politics","JFK"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15619037391bbb5d/6988533c55a85968a3a8c5ea/lbj1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15619037391bbb5d/6988533c55a85968a3a8c5ea/lbj1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act","caption":"Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act","creditText":"PhotoQuest / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/civil-rights/","name":"Civil Rights"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3911037/civil-rights-act-1964/","name":"The Meaning Behind the Civil Rights Act's Signing Date"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The March on Washington: The Movement Begins","description":"The March on Washington was a peaceful demonstration for racial equality. 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