![]() ![]() The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated” (Kennedy, “President Kennedy’s Radio,” 970). It is as old as the scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution. On 11 June 1963, he directly addressed national concerns over civil rights: “We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. The national media showed images of peaceful demonstrators being attacked by police dogs and high-powered water hoses sweeping people down the street, and Kennedy had little choice but to increase efforts to restore peace. The 1963 Birmingham Campaign, headed by SCLC and local leaders, proved to be a catalyst for increased federal involvement in the struggle. Later that year, he sent federal troops to Oxford, Mississippi, to quell riots at the University of Mississippi following its integration by James Meredith. In 1962, Kennedy slowly began to move forward a civil rights agenda with his administration’s participation in the creation of the Voter Education Project. Despite pleas from King and other civil rights leaders for federal intervention during the violence surrounding the Freedom Rides and the Albany Movement, the Kennedy administration produced little policy progress on civil rights for racial minorities. Initially Kennedy proceeded cautiously with respect to civil rights. On election day, Kennedy defeated Nixon by less than one percent of the popular vote, a margin of victory that highlighted the importance of African American support. Though pressed by reporters, King declined to endorse Kennedy, explaining that it would be inappropriate for him to do so as the leader of the nonpartisan Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In a statement following his release, King told reporters he owed “a great debt of gratitude to Senator Kennedy and his family,” and downplayed the candidate’s political motivations: “I’m sure that the senator did it because of his real concern and his humanitarian bent” ( Papers 5:39). Kennedy, made phone calls that helped hasten King’s release on bail from Georgia State Prison at Reidsville. Following the recommendations of campaign advisors, Kennedy called Coretta Scott King to offer his sympathy and his brother, Robert F. House of Representatives and eight years in the Senate before securing the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 1960.ĭuring the 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy interceded when King was convicted for a probation violation after participating in a sit-in in Atlanta. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he followed his father into politics and served three terms in the U.S. history, and one in which Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement played a pivotal role.īorn to a wealthy and politically prominent Boston family, Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940. ![]() Kennedy and Republican candidate Richard Nixon proved to be one of the closest elections in U.S. The 1960 presidential campaign between Democrat John F. ![]()
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