In today’s Illinois REALTORS® podcast, we remember April 11, 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, one week after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.

What happened in 1968

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act – also known as the Fair Housing Act – prohibits discrimination because of race, religion, national origin or sex in the sale, rental and financing of housing. Later amendments added handicap and family status to the prohibited categories.

In previous years, Congress wrestled with passing fair housing laws. But Dr. King’s assassination spawned riots across the United States that added to the civil unrest caused by protests over the huge number of American casualties in the Vietnam War.

President Johnson viewed the Fair Housing Act as a fitting tribute to Dr. King, who had been closely associated with fair housing legislation in the U.S., and he lobbied for its passage before Dr. King’s funeral.

For more information on how REALTORS® support fair housing, read “Five things you need to know about fair housing.”