"EVENTS HAVE STEPPED UP THE DRIVE FOR FULL EQUALITY"

JFK ADDRESSES  CONFERENCE OF MAYORS IN HAWAII 

Honolulu, Hawaii (JFK+50) On June 9, 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed the United States Conference of Mayors meeting here in Honolulu.  The site was the Lawn House at the HILTON HAWAIIAN VILLAGE HOTEL*.  The main topic was race relations.

President Kennedy said...

"In the last analysis, what happens in Birmingham, or Chicago... depends...upon the leadership of those communities.
We will back you up...but the mayor of every metropolitan city...must be aware of the difficult challenges he...will face in the coming months."

The President continued...

"The events in Birmingham have stepped up the tempo of the nationwide drive for full equality--and rising summer temperatures are often accompanied by rising human emotions."

JFK reminded the mayors that the role of the Federal government is not to control civil rights demonstrations but to provide peaceful solutions through legislation and Executive action.  The President said it was not only the right thing to do but financially beneficial to America's cities.

He said cities which have racial disturbances....

"attract less capital and less business," as in Birmingham, Alabama where investment in  new plant and expansion "had declined some 80% in a few years."

The President continued...

"The time for token moves and talk is past....and...it is our responsibility...to see that (civil rights) are won in a peaceful and constructive way, and not won in the streets."

JFK concluded his remarks to the mayors with these words...

"I do not say that all men are equal in their ability, their character, or their motivation, but I say they should be equal in their chance to develop their character, their motivation, and their ability.  They should be given a fair chance to develop all the talents that they have, which is the basic assumption and presumption of this democracy of ours."

*The Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel, located at 2005 Kalia Road in Honolulu, was built on the former village of KALIA, the childhood home of DUKE KAHANAMOKU.  It was developed in the early 1900s by Henry J. Kaiser.

SOURCE

"Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, January 1 to November 22, 1963," United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1964.

                          Dukes Lagoon
                Hilton Hawaiian Village
                     Honolulu, Hawaii
        Photo by Travis.Thurston (2009)

"THEY COME FOR POLITICAL DISCOURSE, MILITARY EVALUATION &....VACATION"

PRESIDENT KENNEDY VISITS THE ALOHA STATE 

Honolulu, Hawaii (JFK+50) On June 9, 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited the Hawaiian Islands where he addressed the US Conference of Mayors at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.  The subject of the President's speech was the role of federal and state government in the struggle for civil rights.

The President, who described the issue of race relations as a "national problem," called on the mayors to "look at (their) own unemployment, delinquency (and) housing indicators" with respect to race.

The President said he would work with the mayors "in every way we can," and that "the federal government, through legislative and executive action (can)...provide peaceful remedies."

In addition to JFK, POTUS who have visited Hawaii during their presidential years include William Howard Taft (1905), FDR (1944), LBJ (1966), Gerald R. Ford (1975), Ronald Reagan (1986), George H.W. Bush (1991), Bill Clinton (1995), George W. Bush (2003), Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Jonathan Saupe writes...

"They come for a number of reasons:  political discourse, military evaluation and planning, economic development and...vacation."

SOURCES

"Address to U.S. Conference of Mayors, Honolulu, Hawaii, 9 June, 1963," www.jfklibrary.org/

"From Taft to Trump, here's a look at presidents who have graced its shores," by Jonathan Saupe, February 19, 2018, www.hawaiinewsnow.com/

Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel

Honolulu, Hawaii

JFK VISITS HAWAII

JFK PROMISES PEACEFUL REMEDIES IN CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE 

Honolulu, Hawaii (JFK+50) Fifty-two years ago today, June 9, 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited the Hawaiian Islands where he addressed the US Conference of Mayors at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.  The subject of the President's speech was the role of federal and state government in the struggle for civil rights.

JFK, who described the issue of race relations as a "national problem," called on the mayors to "look at (their) own unemployment, delinquency (and) housing indicators" with respect to race.

The President said he would work with the mayors "in every way we can," and that "the federal government, through legislative and executive action (can)...provide peaceful remedies."

President Kennedy concluded...

"It is clear...that these (civil) rights are going to be won--and...our responsibility...is to see that they are won in a peaceful and constructive manner."

Mary Adamski of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin writes that every President of the United States from FDR to George W. Bush has visited Hawaii.  Her article was written in 2003, so certainly we can add Barack Obama to that list.

During his four day visit in July 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt planted a Kukui tree at Iolani Palace.  Harry S Truman spent an entire month in Hawaii.   Every POTUS since 1962 has "made a pilgrimage to the USS Arizona Memorial."

SOURCES

"Address to U.S. Conference of Mayors, Honolulu, Hawaii, 9 June, 1963," www.jfklibrary.org/

"Isles a stopover and vacation spot for presidents," by Mary Adamski, October 22, 2003, www.archives.starbulletin.com/

Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel

Honolulu, Hawaii