Skip to main content
Massachusetts State Seal
Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Milestones



A photo of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Library of Congress

Public Accommodations
 The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 had many provisions including a ban on discrimination based on race, religion or ethnicity in hotels, motels, theaters and restaurants engaged in interstate commerce.

An office door window with lettering that reads "Commission against Discrimination"

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination . . .

Newspaper covers announce The Civil Rights Act of 1964 in headlines across the country.

The Civil Rights Act . . . 

President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. While Democrats and Republicans may disagree on public policy, the historical signifi cance of this photo is clear
President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. While Democrats and Republicans may disagree on public policy, the historical signifi cance of this photo is clear.
- Massachusetts State Library

The Right to Vote
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been effective in protecting the rights of African-Americans. It included enforcement provisions for particular states with a history of discrimination. The U.S. Supreme Court has recently relaxed enforcement. Currently there is a trend in some states to make registration and participation more diffi cult.


Selma-to-Montgomery March Historical Marker with Alabama crest at the top.

Commemorating the 1965 civil rights march . . .

The 1965 attack on peaceful marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge

The 1965 attack . . .

This 1843 petition from Nantucket, protests the Massachusetts ban on interracial marriage as being “Wrong in the sight of God… Unworthy of the dignity of the Commonwealth since it stands as a perpetual insult and badge of degradation to a respectable portion of its citizens.”

This 1843 . . .

A photo of Mildred and Richard Loving
Mildred and Richard Loving. In 1967 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws banning interracial marriage in the case of Loving v. Virginia.
Library of Congress

Then and Now
In the nineteenth century, abolitionists campaigned to change Massachusetts law banning interracial marriage. In 1843 Massachusetts became the second state to end the prohibition (through legislation.) In 2004 Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through a Supreme Judicial Court decision. Similar arguments about the “freedom to marry,” as a “vital personal right,” were made in both cases