WACO, Texas (FOX 44) - On July 2, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
This act is said to be a victory for justice in the United States. It prohibits legal discrimination based on race, gender, sex, religion and national origin.
The federal government desegregated schools, as well as public facilities in order to give equal rights to all.
Linda Ann Lewis is a Waco native who was in high school when the act was passed and said she remembers it like it was yesterday.
"I grew up when the Civil Rights Act was signed in the summer of 1964, I was going to be a senior at segregated George Washington Carver High School in Waco, Texas," Lewis said.
The following year, Linda went on to attend the University of Texas-Austin. She said it was 80 African American students amongst about 30,000 other students of a different race.
These new desegregation laws gave Linda and her peers hope for their futures and the numerous opportunities.
“And so, the Civil Rights Act enabled us to know those of us who broke barriers and went to private white universities. In my case, the University of Texas at Austin. We knew it was against the law to discriminate against us based on our race,” Lewis said.
Despite the previous laws of discrimination and segregation, Lewis's community gave her plenty of support throughout her life.
“I lived in the neighborhood and went to the church with the Black man that was over the Waco Messenger. Our teachers, our lawyers, doctors, our preachers all encouraged us to make the world a better place. And we felt that the Civil Rights Act gave us the tools and the knowledge to make that happen,” Lewis said.
Throughout her life Lewis was active in social action and protecting her community. She pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at UT to become more involved in politics and helped African American politicians.
As 60 years have passed since the act was passed, Lewis believes progress has been made but there is still work that needs to be done.
"The 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act says to me, in the words of Curtis Mayfield, we keep moving on up," she said.
