"WHAT ACTION TO TAKE ON HUMAN RIGHTS"

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS CONVENES IN NEW YORK

New York City (JFK+50) On October 11, 1960, the National Conference on Constitutional Rights and American Freedom met here in New York.  It was the first in a two-day event which had been "organized at the suggestion of Senator John F. Kennedy."

400 people from 42 states attended the conference.  According to Eleanor Roosevelt, they came "to discuss and recommend to a possible future President what action should be taken on human rights."

Senator Hubert H. Humphrey* (D-Minnesota) served as chairman of the conference.  Attendees heard from panels who "told their stories of conditions as they actually are in their states on fundamental human rights as the right to register and vote."

*Hubert Horatio Humphrey (1911-1978) was born in Wallace, SD & attended the University of Minnesota & LSU.  HHH served in the U.S. Senate 1949-1964 & 1971-1978.  He was Vice-President of the United States 1965-1969.

SOURCE

"Excerpt, My Day, October 19, 1960," by Eleanor Roosevelt, The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, www2.gwu.edu/

 

 

Hubert H. Humphrey 

Vice-Presidential Portrait 

Library of Congress (1965) 

"IN GOING TO AFRICA YOU REPRESENT THE BEST OF OUR COUNTRY"

JFK SPEAKS TO STUDENTS OF OPERATION CROSSROADS AFRICA

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the morning of June 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke to members of Operation Crossroads Africa* on the South Lawn of the White House.  

The President told the students that he "brought along as a reserve" Senator Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota) "who has been very interested in this program and who is a member of the African subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee."

JFK, who referred to OCA as "the progenitors of the Peace Corps," said that the students can begin to "change the face of Africa."  He continued...

"In going to Africa you represent the best of our country & I know they will welcome you.  And I think that you will have the feeling of having served this country & in a broader sense, the free community of people in a very crucial time."

*Operations Crossroads Africa is a student organization of volunteers who are bound for Africa to work in schools & hospitals & on roads.  There were 292 students in the group.  OCA is a privately financed interracial, non-denominational organization.

SOURCE

"Remarks to Student Volunteers Participating in Operation Crossroads Africa, June 22, 1962," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States:  John F. Kennedy, January 1 to December 31, 1962.  United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1963.

THIS IS SIMPLY THE BEST MAN IN AMERICA FOR THE JOB

LBJ RECOMMENDS HHH FOR VP

Atlantic City, New Jersey (JFK+50) On August 26, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson spoke to the delegates of Democratic Convention and recommended Senator Hubert H. Humphrey* of Minnesota as his running mate.

The President said...

"This is simply the best man in America for the job."

LBJ went on to compliment his predecessor, John F. Kennedy...

"Four years ago one of our greatest Americans stood before this... Convention. We grieved at his loss but we carried on and...have fulfilled his program without flinching."

*Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. (1911-1978) was born in Wallace, South Dakota & received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota & his Masters at Louisiana State University.

HHH served as 38th Vice-President (1965-1969) & lost his bid for the presidency to Richard Nixon in 1968.

SOURCE

"Remarks Before the National Convention Upon Recommending the Nomination of Hubert Humphrey as Vice-President," August 26, 1964, The American Presidency Project, by Gerhard Peters & John T. Woolley, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/

Hubert H. Humphrey

VPOTUS

Library of Congress Photo (1965)

Peace Corps Created

PEACE CORPS CREATED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 53 YEARS AGO TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order #10924 53 years ago today, March 1, 1961, creating the Peace Corps.

Although JFK first talked about the possibility of a Peace Corps during his presidential campaign in 1960, a bill had previously been introduced in the United States Senate by Hubert H. Humphrey (D) Minnesota in 1957.

President Kennedy saw the corps as both a means of giving young Americans to answer his call to service "...ask what you can do for your country" and to counter anti-American viewpoints around the world.

Arlene Riley of Cal State Fullerton

Peace Corps Volunteer

Teaching art in Upper Volta

JFK's brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, would be appointed the first director of the Peace Corps.  

Within just 2 years, the organization would have 7300 volunteers serving in 44 countries.

JFK greeting Peace Corps volunteers

JFK Library Photo

YANKEE SLUGGER MICKEY MANTLE RETIRES

New York City (JFK+50) Mickey Mantle, who made his debut for the New York Yankees in right field in 1951, retired from Major League Baseball 45 years ago today, March 1, 1969.

Mantle, born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma on October 20, 1931, dominated the American League for more than a decade.

In 1956, he won baseball's "Triple Crown" for the highest batting average, most home runs and most runs batted in.

The Mick died at the age of 63 in Dallas, Texas in 1995.  He was made a member of the Hall of Fame in 1974.

HUBERT H. HUMPHREY

January 13, 1950


Jacob Malik, USSR UN representative, storms out of a Security Council meeting & announces the Soviet Union will boycott future meetings in reaction to the defeat of his proposal to expel the representative of Nationalist China.

January 13, 1966


LBJ appoints the 1st African American cabinet officer, Robert C. Weaver, as Secretary of the Department of Housing & Urban Development.


Weaver had been an adviser to the Secretary of the Interior under FDR & head of the Housing & Home Finance Agency under JFK.

January 13, 1978


Hubert H. Humphrey, the 38th Vice-President of the United States, dies.  Humphrey, a "New Deal" Minnesota Senator, was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 1960.  


Humphrey was the choice of LBJ in 1964 to be his running-mate.  In 1968, he won the Democratic nomination for President only to be defeated in the general election by Richard M. Nixon.

January 13, 1864

Stephen Foster, "America's 1st professional songwriter", dies at age 37. Foster's 1st hit, "Oh! Susanna", was just one of 200 that he wrote. 

 

January 13, 1898

The Independent Labor Party of the United Kingdom has its' 1st meeting.

The party's goal is 'to secure the collective and communal ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange."

The party calls for reforms which include an 8 hour work day, provision for the sick, disabled, aged, widows & orphans.

January 13, 1941


James Joyce, "Ireland's greatest author", dies in Zurich, Switzerland at age 58.


Joyce's masterpiece, Ulysses, is regarded as one of the greatest works in the English language.  


Joyce was born in Dublin in 1882.  He lived in Paris from 1920 to 1940.