Charlie Kirk said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was "a huge mistake" when it was passed in the 1960s. He criticized the Act for creating what he described as a "permanent DEI-type bureaucracy" and believed it weakened constitutional freedoms such as First Amendment protections. Kirk's critique was framed not as opposing racial equality, but as opposing the bureaucratic and cultural consequences he saw emerging from the Act decades later. He also expressed strong opposition to affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which he regarded as racially divisive and harmful. Kirk viewed the Civil Rights Act as having been turned into an "anti-white weapon" and was critical of prominent civil rights figures like Martin Luther King Jr. Kirk's statements sparked significant controversy and condemnation from many civil rights groups and leaders, who argued his rhetoric was exclusionary and harmful to the principles of equality and justice.
