Flashback: More Democrats than Republicans opposed Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968

Looking back on the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently called on Democrats to rename their party over its ties to the Confederacy and segregation laws, it was Democrats in Congress who voted against those bills in larger numbers than Republicans.

Some liberal commentators, such as Charles Blow of the New York Times, are calling for lawmakers in Congress to work together to craft a Civil Rights Act of 2020 after the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police.

The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 passed in the Democratic-led House 289-126 with 91 Democrats and 35 Republicans opposing it.

The legislation passed in the Democratic-led Senate 73-27 with 21 Democrats and 6 Republicans in opposition.

The bill included “injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodation" and authorized the attorney general to "institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs.”

The Civil Rights Acts of 1968, which built on the civil rights legislation passed in 1964, passed in the Democratic-led House 327-93 with 67 Democrats opposing it and 25 Republicans in opposition.

It passed in the Democratic-led Senate 71-20 with 17 Democrats and 3 Republicans opposed.

The 1968 legislation “prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex.”

Both bills were signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

While significant Republican support helped the landmark civil rights bills pass, Democratic Party support among minorities, particularly African-American voters, has continued to increase since the 1960s.