The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark piece of civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibited unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations. Originally proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it was signed into law by his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, following the longest filibuster in Senate history. The act effectively ended the legal 'Jim Crow' laws that had enforced segregation in the Southern U.S. for decades. It empowered the federal government to enforce desegregation and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The act is considered the crowning legislative achievement of the Civil Rights Movement, led by figures like Martin Luther King Jr.