Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X met briefly once as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was being debated in Washington.
The two leaders met briefly on March 26, 1964, while they were both on Capitol Hill to hear debate on the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That brief encounter was captured by photographers.”Well, Malcolm, good to see you,” King greeted Malcolm X. “Good to see you,” he replied.
Known for his direct rhetoric in denouncing America’s treatment of African-Americans, Malcolm X was a stark contrast to King, who preached tolerance and peace in achieving equal rights.
Some scholars say the two could have formed an alliance, as Malcolm X moved away from the Nation of Islam. But it never happened: Malcolm X was shot and killed less than a year after their first and only encounter. King was assassinated in 1968.
4. The act didn’t help just black Americans
Women, religious minorities, Latinos and whites also benefited from the Civil Rights Act, which would later serve as a model for other anti-discrimination measures passed by Congress, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
Under the Civil Rights Act, women who had been fired because they became pregnant, or were not hired because they had small children, now had recourse. As a result of Title VII, “male only” job notices became illegal for the first time.
Before the Civil Rights Act, women made up less than 3% of attorneys and less than 1% of federal judges; now they make up nearly a third of lawyers, according to the National Jurist, and three of the nine Supreme Court Justices are women.
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission was also created by the law, giving women a workable “hammer” with which to shatter the glass ceiling.
5. A segregationist congressman’s attempt to kill the bill backfired
Virginia’s Democratic Rep. Howard W. Smith was a staunch segregationist and strongly opposed the Civil Rights Act.
Smith, who was chairman of the House Rules Committee, came up with many tactics to discourage the passage of the bill’s Title VII, which would outlaw employment discrimination because of race, color, religion or national origin.
When Smith added the word “sex,” the House reportedly laughed out loud. The ploy was Smith’s attempt to quash support among the chamber’s male chauvinists on the grounds that the bill would protect women’s rights in the workplace, according to Clay Risen in his book “The Bill of the Century.”
Despite resistance, and complex motives, the act eventually passed, laying the groundwork for legal battles to ensure equal employment opportunities for women.
And whether he intended to or not, Smith ended up helping to set the stage for modern feminism.
6. The 1964 law didn’t do much to address discrimination at the ballot box
Black men were granted the right to vote in 1870 under the 15th Amendment (women followed 50 years later). Yet many obstacles — including literacy tests and poll taxes — prevented most blacks in the South from casting ballots.
Source: CNN.com 4/11/14