# Civil Rights Act of 1968 *Federal civil rights statute, Pub. L. 90–284, 82 Stat. 73 (enacted April 11, 1968); Title VIII is the Fair Housing Act.* The **Civil Rights Act of 1968** is a federal statute, Public Law 90–284, 82 Stat. 73, enacted on April 11, 1968.[^1] President [[Lyndon Johnson]] signed it that day. Its Title VIII is the [[Fair Housing Act]].[^2][^3] The Act enters the Minnesota record through [[Walter Mondale]]. He was then a U.S. Senator from Minnesota and had earlier served as [[Attorney General of Minnesota]]. With Senator Brooke (R-MA), Mondale sponsored the Fair Housing Act of 1968 as an amendment to the pending civil rights bill. The [[University of Minnesota]] Law Library calls him "a key player in its success."[^4] The [[Minnesota Historical Society]] credits his "successful brokering" of the provision.[^5] A 2021 presidential proclamation states that he was "instrumental in the passage of The Fair Housing Act".[^6] The fair housing titles were intended to follow up the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^7] [[Title VII]] of that 1964 Act is the basis of a federal action against the State, [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] (D. Minn.), filed January 14, 2026.[^8] The [[United States Department of Justice]] announced the suit in release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*.[^9] ## Who In 1966 President Johnson proposed a civil rights bill that the Senate did not pass. The measure that became the 1968 Act was introduced on February 17, 1967. Representative Manny Celler introduced it in the House and Senator Philip A. Hart in the Senate.[^7] Mondale held hearings on his own fair housing bill in the summer of 1967. According to the University of Minnesota Law Library exhibit, that bill never left committee, but the hearings "established the case for housing equality."[^4] The following year, Mondale and Brooke offered fair housing as an amendment to the pending civil rights bill. To secure passage, they later tabled their language in favor of somewhat narrower legislation introduced by Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL).[^4] President Johnson signed the bill on April 11, 1968.[^2][^4] ## What The Act is organized in titles.[^1] - **Title I** added 18 U.S.C. § 245 to the federal criminal code. It authorizes prosecution of anyone who uses force, or the threat of force, to injure, intimidate or interfere with a person because of race, color, religion or national origin while that person takes part in a federally protected activity. Protected activities include voting, attending a public school or college, applying for employment and serving as a juror.[^7] - **Title I penalties** run from a fine or up to one year in prison for the base offense. The maximum rises to ten years where bodily injury results or firearms, explosives or fire are used, and to life imprisonment or death where kidnapping, sexual assault or murder is involved.[^7] - **Titles II through VII** make up the Indian Civil Rights Act, now codified at 25 U.S.C. §§ 1301–1303. It extends many, though not all, Bill of Rights guarantees within tribes.[^7] - **Title X**, the Anti-Riot Act, makes it a felony to travel in interstate commerce with intent to incite or take part in a riot. In June 2019 a federal district court in California held the provision "overbroad in violation of the First Amendment."[^7] The fair housing title bars discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of dwellings based on race, color, religion and national origin.[^4] Sex was added as a protected class in 1974.[^7] The 1988 amendments added people with disabilities and families with children, and allowed plaintiffs' attorneys to recover fees.[^7] The National Archives and the Minnesota Historical Society identify the Fair Housing Act as Title VIII; Wikipedia's summary applies that name to Titles VIII and IX together.[^2][^5][^7] The 1964 Act had already barred housing discrimination in programs receiving federal assistance. The University of Minnesota exhibit states that this provision was rarely enforced and did not reach the sale or rental of privately owned housing.[^4] The Civil Rights Act of 1866 had prohibited housing discrimination but provided no federal enforcement mechanism. Wikipedia's summary also lists the [[Civil Rights Act of 1960]] among the statutes that preceded the 1968 Act.[^7] ## When - **February 17, 1967:** the bill is introduced in both chambers.[^7] - **Summer 1967:** Mondale holds hearings on his fair housing bill.[^4] - **August 16, 1967:** the House takes an initial vote on H.R. 2516, which passes 327–92 with no fair housing provisions yet included.[^7] - **March 4, 1968:** the Senate invokes cloture.[^7] - **March 11, 1968:** the Senate passes H.R. 2516, now including fair housing requirements.[^4][^7] - **April 4, 1968:** Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated. The University of Minnesota exhibit states that the assassination "resulted in a sense of urgency regarding civil rights."[^4] - **April 5, 1968:** Mondale tells the Senate it should act "by immediately passing the 1968 civil rights bill."[^4] - **April 10, 1968:** Congress passes the bill.[^4] - **April 11, 1968:** Johnson signs the bill, which becomes Public Law 90–284.[^1][^2] ## Where The Minnesota Time Table records both the Senate passage of March 11 and the House passage of April 10 as taking place in Washington, D.C.[^10] Wikipedia's summary places the signing during the riots that followed King's assassination.[^7] ## How Opponents in the Senate filibustered in order to defeat the bill or remove its fair housing provision. Cloture at the time required the agreement of two-thirds of the Senate. Three cloture motions failed. The fourth, on March 4, 1968, carried 65–32 with no votes to spare.[^7] The University of Minnesota exhibit records that the fair housing cause gained "bipartisan support among Northern senators."[^4] The bill then went to the House, where changes to weaken it had been expected. After King's assassination, the House passed it without those changes.[^4] ## How many - **House initial vote, August 16, 1967:** 327–92.[^7] - Republicans: 161 for, 25 against. - Democrats: 166 for, 67 against, 1 present, 11 abstaining. - **Senate cloture vote, March 4, 1968:** 65–32.[^7] - **Senate passage, March 11, 1968:** 71–20.[^7] - Republicans: 29 for, 3 against, 4 not voting. - Democrats: 42 for, 17 against, 5 not voting. - **Housing discrimination:** Wikipedia reports a HUD estimate of about 2 million cases a year. It also reports a National Fair Housing Alliance estimate closer to 4 million a year, which excludes discrimination based on disability or familial status.[^7] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who Governor [[Orville Freeman]] appointed Mondale Minnesota attorney general in May 1960. After [[Hubert Humphrey]] was elected Vice President in 1964, Governor [[Karl Rolvaag]] appointed Mondale to Humphrey's Senate seat, which he held through 1976.[^5] Proclamation 10185, issued on April 20, 2021, after Mondale's death, records his public offices:[^6] - attorney general of Minnesota, 1960–1964; - U.S. Senator, 1964–1976; - [[Vice President of the United States]], 1977–1981. The Minnesota Historical Society biography states that open housing legislation had failed in Congress in 1966 and 1967. Mondale then agreed to lead another attempt, which passed as Title VIII of the 1968 Act.[^5] Within an hour of the signing, Senator Phil Hart (D-MI) wrote Mondale a note crediting him with moving the Senate "to do right."[^4] ### What The United States' complaint is brought under Title VII of the 1964 Act. It cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times. Among the cited provisions is subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^8] According to DOJ release No. 26-21, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^9] The record of the complaint in this pack does not show it relying on the 1968 Act.[^8] The complaint's statutory basis, Title VII, was construed by the Supreme Court in *[[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]]*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025). The Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs." It also rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^11] ### When The complaint was filed on January 14, 2026, and DOJ announced it the same day.[^8][^9] This record shows no ruling in the case. ## Notes [^1]: United States Congress, *Public Law 90-284, 82 Stat. 73* (April 11, 1968) — text and enactment date of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg73.pdf [^2]: National Archives, *Civil Rights Act of 1968* (Milestone Documents, undated) — signing by President Johnson on April 11, 1968; Title VIII as the Fair Housing Act. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act-of-1968 [^3]: National Archives, *Civil Rights Act of 1968 / Title VIII* (undated) — overview of the Act and its Title VIII. https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/civil-rights-act-of-1968 [^4]: University of Minnesota Law Library, *Civil Rights / Fair Housing* (Walter F. Mondale digital exhibit, October 31, 2014) — 1967 hearings; Mondale–Brooke amendment and Dirksen substitute; Senate passage March 11, 1968; Mondale's April 5 floor statement; congressional passage April 10, 1968; signing April 11, 1968; Hart note. https://mondale-librarycollections.law.umn.edu/civil-rights-fair-housing [^5]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Walter F. Mondale Biography* (undated) — Mondale's offices and appointments; his brokering of the 1968 Fair Housing Act as Title VIII. https://www.mnhs.org/mondale/biography [^6]: The President, *Proclamation 10185: Death of Walter Mondale*, 86 Fed. Reg. 21633 (signed April 20, 2021; published April 23, 2021) — Mondale's terms of office; his role in passing the Fair Housing Act. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-04-23/pdf/2021-08655.pdf [^7]: Wikipedia, *Civil Rights Act of 1968* (revision 1380659082, retrieved October 27, 2026; CC BY-SA 4.0) — titles; amendments; legislative history; cloture and passage votes by party; 2019 Anti-Riot Act ruling; discrimination estimates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1968 [^8]: United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed January 14, 2026) — Title VII action citing Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^9]: United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*, release No. 26-21 (January 14, 2026) — announcement of the suit; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^10]: Minnesota Time Table, rows TL-0201 and TL-0204 (March 11 and April 10, 1968) — Senate and House passage in Washington, D.C. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1968 [^11]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — holding on Title VII's disparate-treatment provision; rejection of the "background circumstances" rule. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf