Message to EPA Employees: The Civil Rights Act: 60 Years Later (July 2, 2024)
Colleagues,
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our nation on July 4, we also commemorate one of the most consequential dates in our nation’s history. Sixty years ago today, July 2, Congress passed and President Johnson signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act helped realize the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that we are “created equal” and have “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In an effort to make America a more perfect Union, the Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin with respect to education, employment, public accommodations, and voting.
From the struggle for emancipation, to the civil rights movement, to the fight for environmental justice, the pursuit of basic civil rights for all people has formed the foundation for some of the most important movements in our nation's history. The contributions of so many brave individuals like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, May Chen, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Dolores Huerta, Dr. Robert Bullard, Marsha P. Johnson, Judith Heumann, and Dr. Beverly Wright have made such a profound impact on every aspect of American life from science and technology, to art and entertainment, to innovation and commerce, to law and environmental protection.
At the EPA, our long-standing dedication to the environment and to civil rights has been expanded by President Biden’s commitment to justice for communities that for too long have not received the full benefits from the EPA’s progress. We actively support states, cities, and communities to prevent discrimination, and we are using the full suite of agency tools to uphold the promise of the Civil Rights Act.
As part of these efforts, we launched the new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights to advance the agency’s commitment to deliver on environmental justice and civil rights. We reached groundbreaking agreements with recipients of federal funds to address civil rights complaints. We also stood up the Office of Inclusive Excellence to enhance our commitment to a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplace. And, our Office of Civil Rights continues to lead our EEO efforts to prohibit discrimination in employment pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Thanks to these efforts, we have embedded our commitment to civil rights in our FY 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan, Agency Equity Plans, and EEO Action Plans. To learn more about these accomplishments, please visit our 60th anniversary webpage.
There is still more work to be done. As we continue on the road to justice, I want to close with the words I shared in 2022 when I stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Alabama commemorating the 57th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday. I said that everything we do at EPA will be rooted in the realities and demands and aspirations of communities who’ve suffered at the hands of indifference, neglect, and inaction for far too long. Our legacy must be felt not just by the people up to the fence line, but also by the people on the other side of the fence. We have to make all lives, regardless of zip code, fundamentally better.
I want to thank you for continuing to step up every day to meet this challenge, for upholding the tenets of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and for helping to make sure everyone has clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and clean land to live, work, and play on.
Sincerely,
Michael S. Regan
Administrator