What was the Civil Rights Act of 1968?
Answer
A law protecting fair housing
Explanation
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was a federal law protecting fair housing by prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing on the basis of race, religion, or national origin, and later expanded to include sex, disability, and family status. Often called the Fair Housing Act, it was the third major civil rights statute of the 1960s, following the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act on April 11, 1968, exactly one week after the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. King had been a leading champion of fair housing legislation, particularly in his Chicago campaign of 1966. After his death, Johnson urged Congress to pass the bill as a tribute to the slain civil rights leader, and the bill that had been stuck in Congress for years moved quickly. Riots in more than 100 cities following King's assassination added urgency. The Senate passed the bill 71 to 20 on March 11, 1968, and the House passed it 250 to 172 on April 10, 1968.
Title VIII of the act, the Fair Housing Title, prohibited discrimination in renting or selling housing covered by the act, in advertising, in mortgage lending, and in homeowner's insurance. It also prohibited discriminatory practices such as steering buyers to particular neighborhoods on racial grounds and redlining by banks that refused to lend in minority neighborhoods. The Department of Housing and Urban Development was given authority to enforce the law.
The act also included Title I, the Indian Civil Rights Act, which extended most Bill of Rights protections to American Indians dealing with tribal governments, and several titles strengthening federal protections against violence aimed at civil rights activity. Title X, the Anti-Riot Act, criminalized crossing state lines to incite riots and was used controversially against the Chicago Seven. Congress amended the Fair Housing Act in 1974 to add sex as a protected category and in 1988 to add disability and family status, including pregnancy and the presence of children under 18.
Despite the act, residential segregation has persisted in many American cities, and the Justice Department and HUD continue to investigate and prosecute housing discrimination.
Why this matters for your test
USCIS asks about the Civil Rights Act of 1968 because fair housing is the third major pillar of mid-twentieth century civil rights law, alongside the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Knowing the act helps applicants understand the legal framework that governs where Americans live and how housing decisions still affect equal opportunity today.
Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions (2025)
