What was the primary aim of the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

The 1964 Civil Rights Act fundamentally aimed to outlaw discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, establishing a legal framework to protect individuals from discriminatory practices in various aspects of life such as employment, education, and public accommodations. This landmark legislation represented a significant step in the fight for civil rights, addressing systemic inequalities and providing mechanisms for enforcement, including the establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

While the other options relate to civil rights and equality, they either address specific areas that were influenced by the act or emerged from the broader civil rights movement. For example, expanding voting rights was significantly addressed in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which focused specifically on ensuring voting access, particularly in the Southern states. Affirmative action, which promotes equal opportunities for marginalized groups in education and employment, developed as a concept in response to ongoing inequalities and was formalized in later policies. Promoting equal education opportunities became more emphasized through subsequent legislation and court rulings, particularly in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) but is not the primary focus of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Thus, the most accurate reflection of the primary aim of the Civil Rights Act is the outlawing of discrimination in various