Rossein said some people might have confused Johnson’s 1965 order with the 1964 Civil Rights Act he signed into law that went into effect July 5, 1965. That law created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and more widely prohibits employment discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion and sex.

The new Justice Department leadership has put a freeze on civil rights litigation, and suggested it may reconsider police reform agreements negotiated by the Biden administration.

Trump “is quickly implementing Project 2025 and is targeting all minorities,” said researcher Allison Chapman.

For many people, Donald J. Trump being sworn in as president on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is antithetical to the legacy of the civil rights icon.

Some recipients of pardons related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol are exploring lawsuits alleging civil rights violations.

National Urban League president Marc H. Morial on Wednesday called President Trump's executive order dismantling federal diversity and affirmative action practices "an assault on the Civil Rights Movement and everything we've achieved in the last 60 years.