Kennedy and Civil Rights
As President, John F. Kennedy had to deal with serious problems here in the United States. In most southern states, schools, buses, restaurants, and other public places were racially segregated. There were separate schools, separate seats on buses, and separate areas in restaurants for whites and for blacks. State and local laws also prevented black Americans from voting.
Since the 1950s, many people--black and white--had been working to change these laws. During the 1960 presidential campaign, Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most famous leaders of the civil rights movement, had been jailed for leading protests in Georgia. Kennedy called his wife, Coretta Scott King, and offered his help. Many African Americans then decided to vote for Kennedy.
Civil rights leaders, however, were disappointed with the slow and careful pace of President Kennedy's efforts to ensure equality for all Americans. Kennedy believed in challenging unfair laws in the courts rather than holding public demonstrations. He believed that demonstrations would anger many white southern members of Congress whose help he needed to pass new laws and approve treaties. Events, however, forced Kennedy to change his views. In May 1961, a group of white and black people ignored segregation laws and traveled together by bus through the south. In several cities, crowds of angry white people beat these "freedom riders" and burned their buses. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, JFK's brother, had to send U.S. marshals to protect the freedom riders. Their actions eventually led to the desegregation of all buses and waiting rooms used for travel between states.
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In September 1962, the nation faced the threat of violence in the State of Mississippi. James Meredith, an African American and an Air Force veteran, applied and was admitted to the University of Mississippi. However, when he arrived on campus, university officials would not let him go to class because he was black. Both John and Robert Kennedy had long talks over the telephone with the Mississippi governor, Ross Barnett. However, they failed to convince Barnett to allow James Meredith to attend classes. In order to enforce the Constitution and to protect Meredith, Kennedy ordered the National Guard and federal marshals to the University. After a riot in which two people died and dozens were injured, Meredith registered for classes and segregation ended at the University of Mississippi.
Segregation had not ended everywhere, however. Almost a year later, Alabama's governor, George Wallace, who had promised to support segregation "today, tomorrow, and forever," would not allow African American students to attend the University of Alabama. After President Kennedy was forced once again to send soldiers to protect students who wanted nothing more than an education, he decided to speak to the nation on television about civil rights. He said Americans had a legal and a moral responsibility to provide equal access to education and guarantee voting rights for all citizens.
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In addition to all the problems and challenges of being President, John Kennedy also had to fulfill the role of our nation's head of state. He and his wife Jacqueline hosted dinners and parties in Washington for the leaders of other nations. They also traveled to Latin America and Europe. Because Mrs. Kennedy believed that the nation's capital should be the center for arts and culture as well as the center of government and law, she invited many musicians, writers, and dancers to the White House to perform.
On November 21, 1963, President Kennedy flew to Texas to give several political speeches. The next day, as his car drove slowly past cheering crowds in Dallas, shots rang out. Kennedy was seriously wounded and died a short time later. Within two hours of the shooting, police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald and charged him with the murder. On November 24, a Dallas man, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald before there was a chance to put him on trial. Although Oswald denied that he shot Kennedy, most of the evidence indicates that he really did. To this day, however, many people disagree about the facts of JFK's assassination. Some people insist, for example, that there was a second gunman firing at Kennedy, and that he and Ruby were part of a conspiracy. None of these theories has ever been proven.
President Kennedy's death caused enormous sadness and grief among all Americans. Most people still remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news of the murder. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington for the President's funeral, and millions throughout the world watched it on television.
As the years have gone by and other Presidents have written their chapters in history, John Kennedy's brief time in office stands out in people's memories--for his leadership, personality, and accomplishments. Many respect his coolness when faced with difficult decisions--like what to do about the missiles in Cuba. Others admire his ability to inspire people with his eloquent speeches. Still others think his compassion and his willingness to fight for new government programs to help the poor, the elderly and the ill were most important. Like all leaders, John Kennedy made mistakes, but he was always optimistic about the future. He believed that people could solve their common problems if they put their country's interests first and worked together.