“Amendment offered by Mr. SMITH of Virginia to HR 7152, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, or national origin”:
“On page 68, line 23, after the word ‘religion,’ insert the word ‘sex.’
“On page 69, line 10, after the word ‘religion,’ insert the word ‘sex.’
“On page 69, line 17, after the word ‘religion,’ insert the word ‘sex.’
“On page 70, line 1, after the word ‘religion,’ insert the word ‘sex.’
“On page 71, line 5, after the word ‘religion,’ insert the word ‘sex.’
“O.K.”
“Accepted — FEB 8 1964”
In U.S. legislation
Religion comes
before sex:
after the word “religion” insert
the word “sex” but after religion do not insert
sex, and do not wait until after sex to insert
religion. Remember that in U.S. legislation
Even God comes
before women
The quoted portion was excerpted from the U.S. House Rules Committee clerk’s record of the markup session amending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add the word “sex” to the bill. It’s displayed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Penelope Romo is a California-raised, recent East Coast transplant who has taught English and creative writing to young students in classrooms across the U.S. and the globe. If you wander into a coffee shop and survey the room for notebook scribblers and magazine readers, chances are she’ll be among them.
