JFK SPEAKS TO THE NATION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the evening of June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke to the nation from the Oval Office on the issue of civil rights.
The speech was the first ever given by an American president exclusively on the issue. It followed a failed attempt by Governor George C. Wallace to stop two African-American students from being admitted to the University of Alabama.
JFK called civil rights..."a moral issue....as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution."
President Kennedy said...
"If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his child to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, who would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place."
SOURCE
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster.
JFK Speaks on Civil Rights
June 11, 1963
Photo by Abbie Rowe
JFK Library
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the evening of June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke to the nation from the Oval Office on the issue of civil rights.
The speech was the first ever given by an American president exclusively on the issue. It followed a failed attempt by Governor George C. Wallace to stop two African-American students from being admitted to the University of Alabama.
JFK called civil rights..."a moral issue....as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution."
President Kennedy said...
"If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his child to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, who would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place."
SOURCE
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster.
JFK Speaks on Civil Rights
June 11, 1963
Photo by Abbie Rowe
JFK Library
