8 Steps That Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation that required decades of actionsâand setbacksâto achieve. Author: Universal History Archive/Getty Images The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation that required decades of actionsâand setbacksâto achieve. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. When it was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, it was a major victory for the civil rights movement in its battle against unjust Jim Crow laws that marginalized Black Americans. It took years of activism, courage, and the leadership of Civil Rights icons from Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Little Rock Nine to bring the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to fruition. These are eight key steps that ultimately led to the Act’s adoption.