Which 1964 act banned discrimination in public accommodations and expanded federal powers to protect voting rights and speed school desegregation?

• A. Civil Rights Act of 1964
• B. Affirmative Action
• C. Little Rock Nine
• D. Civil Rights Act of 1957

Answer: (A)

This question tests understanding of how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 used federal power to fight discrimination and speed desegregation. The act banned discrimination in public accommodations—restaurants, hotels, theaters, and other public venues—and gave the federal government stronger tools to enforce desegregation in schools and to prohibit discrimination in programs receiving federal funds. These provisions significantly expanded federal authority to protect civil rights, laying groundwork that would be built on by later voting-rights protections.

Affirmative Action is a policy concept rather than a single act. The Little Rock Nine refers to the group of students who integrated a high school, not legislation. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was an earlier, weaker measure focused more narrowly on voting rights and did not address public accommodations or desegregation of schools to the same extent.