John F. Kennedy's Role In The Civil Rights Movement

The story of John F. Kennedy shows Kennedy and his administration as politicians that focused on half promoting and half downplaying civil rights as a national urgency. Shortly after Kennedy’s speech that was in favor of racial equality and his assassination, King considered his death a blessing for civil rights. "I am convinced that had he lived, there would have been continual delays and attempts to evade it at every point and water it down at every point" (922), and that as a result of Kennedy’s death, segregation would cease to

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. During his campaign he had promised to lead the country down the right path with the civil rights movement. This campaign promise had brought hope to many African-Americans throughout the nation. Ever since Lincoln, African-Americans have tended to side with the democrats and this election was no different. The Kennedy administration had noticed that the key to the presidency was partially the civil rights issue. While many citizens were on Kennedy’s side, he had his share of opposition. Malcolm X differed on the view of the President and observed that the civil rights movement wasn’t happening at the speed Kennedy had pledged. Malcolm X possessed other reasons for his

Kennedy advocates greater civil rights for African Americans. Because of increasing violence and chaos between whites and blacks, Kennedy felt the need to address the nation concerning racism. In John F. Kennedy's speech, The Nation Faces a Moral Crisis in Regard to Race, Kennedy hoped his audience would consider and support equal rights for all men “I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents […] This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds […] It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights

Robert F. Kennedy’s speech was intended to bring the nation together as a whole instead of being sepearated by race. Also, Kennedy used this speech to mention that one of his family members were killed by a white man, in order to empathize with everyone who was affected by the news of Dr. King’s assassination. His speech included:

JFK saw that public displays of terror against minorities embarrassed the united states. Kennedy didn't want the United States to be looked down upon, so he decided to propose a bill to legislate. Whilst writing his proposal Kennedy realised that he would lose the support and respect of white southern senators which outnumber the support of northern senators. This caused the legislative process to be in its early stages when he was assassinated so he never got to finish the process out (crf-usa.org), meaning that JFK did a major part in setting the groundwork for the civil rights bill.

Kennedy also brought the past into his speech. He spoke about Americas founding ideas and how the other countries did not support them. Kennedy wanted to change that. He hoped that every nation would put their differences aside and support each other’s views on freedoms.

Kennedy was loyal to his citizens and wanted everyone to get the same opportunities. Martin Luther king js's "I had a dream speech" convinced him even more to pass a civil rights bill that passed in 1964.

President Kennedy was initially concerned about the march. Multiple incidents in America prior to this protest, have contributed to his concern that the protest would become violent and that the support for his civil rights bill would be weakened. Some incidents include the events that had occurred in Birmingham, Alabama and the 1896 court case involving Homer Plessy and Judge John H. Ferguson. These occurrences utilize violence and industrialize racism and discrimination. ____In 1963, thousands of African-Americans had participated in nonviolent protests, boycotts, and voter-registration drives in Birmingham, Alabama. Although the protesters had exhibited nonviolent resistance, authorities had reacted to their actions with violence. On page

Even though President John F. Kennedy did not fully support the civil rights movement at first because of the fear of losing his voters, he still was the one who planted the seeds for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After the riots in Birmingham he decided to support the movement to its fullest. He supported the March on Washington for jobs and Freedom and had plans to make a stronger Civil Rights Act to our conclusions. He never got to see the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because he got assassinated on November 22nd,

The focus of this investigation will be “To what extent did the assassination of John. F Kennedy affect the civil right movement?” The years from 1963-1964 will be the focus of this investigation, to allow for the analysis from the year of Kennedy’s assassination and to the end of the civil rights movement. This investigation will mainly focus on Lyndon B. Johnson participation during the civil rights movement but also other outside factors. This includes Martin Luther King. Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society and Legacies of the 1964 Civil Rights Act are the two main sources used.

President Kennedy was forced to face the civil rights as a persuasive cause. He was for racial equality, but did little to support it. President Kennedy felt that the Freedom Riders were a nuisance and he

The promotion of civil rights was in alignment with JFK’s goal of winning the presidency, so he crafted a perception of himself as a champion of civil rights in an attempt to win the presidency. He ran for presidency during the era of Martin Luther King Jr. It was an era where a majority of African Americans wanted equal opportunity. African Americans made up a sizable chunk of the electorate base at that time, so it was in JFK’s best interest

Late in his brief term of a thousand days, Kennedy took up the civil rights issue because of the increased in violence in some of the southern states. He called for increased federal power so that voting rights could be enforced. The major civil rights acts included public accommodations opening and an end to job discrimination. (Salem, 2009)

Kennedy went on, however, to risk his political career for these same rights. In response to an outburst at the University of Mississippi after the admittance of a black student, the president said from the oval office on June 11, 1963, “It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated.” Despite Kennedy’s assassination shortly after this proclamation, the Civil Rights Act passed through Congress just weeks later under President Johnson. As JFK intended, the Civil Rights Act afforded equal rights to whites and blacks alike (Kozak).

While Kennedy was in office he become involved in many significant events of the civil rights movement. A noteworthy and controversial event many people do not commonly relate Kennedy with, was the freedom rides of 1961 by the Congress of Racial Equality. This was controversial as Kennedy had to handle the situation carefully without causing a scene and undermining the publicity of the work he was doing with the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy had to work efficiently as a lot of pressure was being put on him. This was done especially by the freedom riders, who were risking their lives, waiting for change to come that Kennedy administration had the power to do. For years and years buses had been segregated in the southern states, and the southern states were not going to let this go easily. Freedom riders were arrested in North Carolina and beaten in South Carolina. In Alabama, a bus was burned and the riders attacked with baseball bats and tire irons.