The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Nevertheless, significant obstacles remained for minorities attempting to secure equal housing rights. Despite their contributions to the American effort during the Second World War and the ongoing Vietnam War, racial minorities were still subject to overt discrimination when attempting to rent or purchase homes in residential areas.

Organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the G.I. Forum lobbied extensively for federal fair housing legislation, but despite the Fair Housing Act first being put to Congress in 1966 it was met with resistance that stalled its passage. However, over the next two years the national atmosphere began to change and in the aftermath of the race riots of 1967’s ‘long, hot summer’, the Kerner Commission report strongly recommended equal housing legislation.

On 4 April 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a vocal supporter of the Bill, was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. His death prompted riots that spread across the country, amidst which President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Congress to pass the Bill promptly as testament to King and his legacy. Despite further attempts to delay the legislation, an hour of debate on 10 April led to the House approving the bill by a vote of 250 to 172. Johnson signed it in to law the next day, two days after King’s funeral. The Act made it illegal to discriminate regarding the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on race, religion, or national origin.