On June 11tb, 1963, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy addressed the nation on the most pressing domestic issue of the day; the struggle to affirm civil rights for all Americans. His administration had sent National Guard troops to accompany the first black students admitted to the University Of Mississippi and the University of Alabama. In the speech, Kennedy announced that he would be sending civil rights legislation to Congress; that legislation was passed following his death and signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Excerpts of speech on civil rights given by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
"It ought to be possible for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops."
"It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants, and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to public demonstrations in the streets, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and vote in a free election without interference of fear of reprisal."
"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 one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution."
"Ths heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities. If an American because his skin is dark cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place?"
"One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free.
"Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence.
Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality."
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
June 11th, 1963.
