John F. KennedyMay 29, 1927 – November 22, 1963
A Reluctant WarriorThe best way that I know of to describe President Kennedy in regards to civil rights is to refer to him as a “A recuctant Warrior." The only thing that could qualify Kennedy as a progressive when it came to civil rights was the fact that he rode the wave produced by the times and by major civil rights figures. This led him to initiate the most important civil rights bills in the country this century. That bill was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was the act that thousands of Blacks had worked and died for, and more were to follow. Although he didn’t initiate the actions that made this act possible he has to be credited for intiating the legislation into congress. Unfortunately, he would not live to see it enacted.
1960s MAJOR ACHIVEMENTSKennedy and his brother the Attorney General, asked the Freedom Riders to get off of the busses and leave the matter to the courts. However, the Freedom Riders refused. Kennedy assigned federal Marshals to protect the “Freedom Riders.” In September of 1962 James Meredith enrolled at the University of Mississippi. He was prevented from entering the campus, Attorney General Robert Kennedy responded by sending 400 federal marshals and the reluctant President sent 3,000 troops when violence broke out on the campus leaving two dead and dozens injured. This did not stop the courageous James Meredith from his mission and he finally was able to enroll in class. Two months later President Kennedy signed Executive Order 11063 which prohibited racial discrimination in federally supported housing or related facilities. President conferred with M.L. King stressing his point of view that “If we get into a long fight over this in Congress, it will bottleneck everything else, and we will still get no bill." MLK refused to back down. In 1963 Kennedy backed down George Wallace on the doorway of the University of Alabama. Wallace had not allowed two Black students, James Hook and Vivian Malone to enter the campus. Wallace backed away from the door only when Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and the federalized Alabama National Guard forced his hand. That evening Kennedy gave his famous civil rights address on national television and radio launching his all encompassing civil rights legislation. He announced that all would be provided equal access to public schools and other facilities, and that greater protection would be offered for voting rights participants. All of these points were to be part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That night following the speech civil rights advocate Medgar Evers was murdered in front of his home in Mississippi. There were over a hundred thousand marchers who descended on Washington, D.C. for the civil rights March on Washington for jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. Kennedy was in fear that the March would turn off the prospects for the civil rights bills in Congress. He therefore declined to speak at the gathering. To help ensure that it would be a peaceful demonstration, the organizers and the president himself personally edited speeches to remove any inflammatory remarks. Kennedy reluctantly agreed and gave his support to the March. There were thousands of troops on standby. President Kennedy watched the proceedings on TV and was very impressed. Not one arrest was made relating to the demonstration. After the March leaders were invited by Kennedy to the White House for a photo-op. Kennedy felt that the march was a victory for him as well as increasing the chances for his civil rights bill. HIS RELUCTANCE HAD FINALLY ENDED.
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