April 11, 1968

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1968 Civil Rights Act. Credit: Library of Congress

A week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which paved the way for federal prosecution if someone “willingly injures, intimidates or interferes with another person, or attempts to do so, by force because of the other person’s race, color, religion or national origin” because that person was attending school, patronizing a public place, applying for a job, acting as a juror or voting. 

The new law granted Native Americans full access to the rights established in the U.S. Constitution. It also included the Fair Housing Act, which barred racial discrimination in the sale, rental or leasing of U.S. housing in the wake of housing protests in Chicago and elsewhere.

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The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.