Tomorrow Project Challenges
JFK-Civil Rights
"Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free," President John F. Kennedy said in his speech to the nation June 11, 1963. Consider President Kennedy's words. Will America remain a beacon of hope and democracy in the world? Write, if you are inspired.
Following the forced desegregation of the University of Alabama, President John F. Kennedy called on all Americans to address the "moral crisis" and guarantee that America is a "land of the free" for all citizens. President Kennedy's speech was in response to threats of violence and obstruction at the university. He said that the United States could not preach freedom internationally while ignoring it domestically. He asked Congress to enact legislation protecting all Americans' voting rights, legal standing, educational opportunities, and access to public facilities.
After significant opposition to the legislation and following the assassination of the president on Nov. 22, 1963, Congress enacted President Kennedy's Civil Rights Act, officially the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It became law under President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964.
[Photo: John F. Kennedy campaigns for the Presidency in Dayton, Ohio, in October 1960. (Sven Walnum Photograph Collection, Kennedy Library]