President Lyndon Johnson shares a historical moment with Dr. Martin Luther King during the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

On July 2, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted into law, and on August 31, President Johnson signed into law the Food Stamp Act, which established a permanent program to strengthen the agricultural economy and improve nutrition among low-income households.

Also during 1964, the proportion of local government managers with advanced degrees more than doubled to 29 percent from 13 percent in 1934, while the proportion of managers with bachelor’s degrees in engineering dropped from 77 percent in 1934 to 32 percent.

And, of course, in 1964, ICMA celebrated its 50th birthday! 

To learn more about the many milestones in the history ofr ICMA, its members, and the professionalism of local government management, visit icma.org/anniversary and scroll through the anniversary timeline on the homepage. Also watch this space in PM, where we’ll highlight an anniversary moment each month.