![handle is hein.journals/hplp36 and id is 1 raw text is:
Public Accommodations and the Civil Rights
Act of 1964: A Surprising Success?
Brian K. Landsberg
In 1964, for the first time since the end of Reconstruction,
Congress enacted a law banning race discrimination in public
accommodations, Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is
difficult today to understand why this law, which forbade hotels,
restaurants, gas stations, and places of entertainment to discriminate
based on race, color, or national origin, gave rise to such heated
opposition and the longest filibuster in the history of the U.S. Senate.
On its fiftieth anniversary, it seems appropriate to look at the origins
and scope of this law anew and ask: What was the legal and cultural
landscape that helped determine the content of the Act? What
conditions warranted federal legislation governing public
accommodations? What were the objections to the Act? Why were
there such strong law enforcement concerns about compliance with
the Act?
Pursuing these inquiries leads to further questions regarding
the implementation of the Act. First, did Title II achieve
desegregation in the areas it was supposed to address? [My answer
is a slightly qualified yes.] Second, why did compliance come more
readily to this law than to some other areas, such as school
desegregation and fair housing? Today, Title II gets little attention,
while other non-discrimination laws, such as fair employment, fair
housing, and voting rights legislation continue to produce litigation
and garner public attention; yet, in 1963 and 1964, Title II was
considered a key provision, as well as a very controversial one.
Should we be surprised at the success thus far of Title II? Looking
' Distinguished Professor, Pacific McGeorge School of Law. The author thanks
participants in a Pacific McGeorge workshop and the Hamline Journal of Public
Law and Policy Spring 2014 Symposium for their helpful comments on an earlier
draft. Thanks to Robert Mayville, my research assistant, for his outstanding
assistance. Thanks also to Ryann Sparrow for able editing of the draft.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/hplp36&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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