More than half a century ago the United States was waking up to the tumultuous times of the civil rights era; the African American was not relenting to the continuous racial segregation that had plagued the country from the 20th-century slavery era. President John F. Kennedy had not made the issue a major priority of his presidency until he made his famous speech in favor for the abolition of slavery. But before then, he was an ardent oppose of equality when he failed to vote for Eisenhower’s 1957 Civil Rights Act. From the very onset, he was hell-bent on the issue and supported segregation. But then he changed tune during his campaigns in 1960 when he vied for the presidency.
As a hero of World War II, Kennedy had firsthand experience of what it meant to be brave in the face of an enemy, and that same bravery is what he saw in the civil rights protesters who received a lot of bashing from the segregationists accompanied by police dogs in the highly segregated South. Those incidents made him admire the civil rights demonstrators whose eyes were aimed at the prize and were not distracted by the physical challenges they faced. When he first took office, President John F. Kennedy was in the least interested in civil rights
At the very beginning of his presidency, Kennedy did not want to address any issues concerning the civil rights movement because he did not want to expose the racial inequalities that the United States had been dealing with for the rest of the world. Besides, at the time his actions had been seen as a way of not wanting to alienate his Southern voters. So he decided to remain distance with the racism issue for his political success when seeking his second term President Kennedy never wanted to be on the opposing side of the southern Democrats who were in Congress. It turns out that he had a keen interest in what the majority of White Americans wanted.
In May 1961, there was a fight between black and white civil rights activists famously known as the Freedom Riders, when they reached Montgomery, Alabama a white mob attacked them and Kennedy did not take any federal action. There were many other instances when the president was expected to come out in support of the African American community but failed to do so.
In June 1963, the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace blocked two black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama. But then President Kennedy came out in support of the black community and asked the Alabama National Guard to help protect the students and ensure they enrolled at the university. That was the second time that the president openly regarded the views and feelings of the African American community. That action was the hallmark of a bright future for the minority groups in the United States.
On June, 11th 1963, the president delivered his infamous speech commonly referred to as the Civil Rights Address. His was a response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. It is believed that Kennedy was never a moral beacon that could embrace such a moral issues. The only contact he had with the blacks was when they did servant jobs in his home and at the White House. Through King’s letter, the president was provoked and pushed to take a stand on the issue. It was not like he had not shown his support for the black community, but then he was not committed to it. It was through that speech that he gave a proposal for a Civil Rights Bill in which he requested that the American society embraces minimum changes that the American society could ask for and a maximum that all Americans could support.
President Kennedy had experienced firsthand what it meant to be looked down upon in a society where a certain group of people were4 deemed inferior or outsiders. While his family was living in Boston, they had experienced segregation firsthand. Rich families of Boston saw their Irish background as lacking class and vulgar despite their family being rich. The family moved to New York, which was more cosmopolitan at the time.
It is highly believed that his efforts to embrace the civil rights and help desegregate the United States cost him his life. He was assassinated because it was seen as if he was aligning himself with the black community. He had put so much pressure on the federal government organizations to absorb and employ more African Americans; his final move came in when he appointed his brother Robert Kennedy as an Attorney General, a move that was seen as a way of using the courts and laws to enforce the civil rights legislations he had championed. His hands were tied, but he made bold steps towards desegregating the country and it is for that reason that he remains endeared to the black community and the rest of the Americans.
Reference
Hoberek, A. (2015). The Cambridge Companion to John F. Kennedy. New York: Cambridge University Press
