Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the USA.

During the 1960s, America took huge strides in providing greater Civil Rights for the African-American community. Thanks to the likes of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X organising mass protests, marches and sit-ins throughout many cities across the USA, the Kennedy and Johnson administration took action in the form of passing various pieces of legislation into law. Arguably the most important law was the first Act passed in this programme, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was pushed forward after the death of President Kennedy. This banned segregation and employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender or colour. It was a pivotal moment in the campaign, bringing an end to the landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) which set in place the 'separate but equal' doctrine. It made it illegal for businesses employing over 25 people to discriminate against race or colour, and gave power to the Justice Department to take any state Government to court if they continued to discriminate against black people. Whilst housing and voting rights still hadn't been dealt with, this legislation was hugely significant in the sense that it paved the way for further reforms and greater equality in the latter part of the 20th century.