Today marks the 45th anniversary of the day the U.S. Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by a 73-27 vote, a week after an 83-day filibuster by Southern Democrats was shut down. The Senate vote guaranteed that the bill would become law after tinkering to bring the House and Senate versions into agreement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a watershed event in American history, and changed life in the South for good (in both senses of the word). The historic legislation outlawed forced racial segregation in schools, public places, and employment, effectively ending the shameful Jim Crow era in the South. Debate over the bill was extremely fierce and brought about a longterm change in both major political parties, turning the South from solidly Democratic to Republican territory practically overnight. The changes in social customs and mores that grew out of passage of the bill which itself was one of the results of the civil rights movement have changed American life, and particularly Southern life, in innumerable ways; so much so that Southern near-geezers such as this writer can often be heard explaining that its as if were living in a completely different world from the one in which we were raised. And thats not just a good thing, its a great thing.