John F. Kennedy's Impact On The Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Writing Assignment

"We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty”. This was said by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. His campaign promised to lead the country down the right path with the Civil Rights movement. The campaign promise had brought hope to many African-Americans throughout the nation. John F. Kennedy had the greatest impact on the Civil Rights movement by his Civil Rights Bill, the American address to the people, and his assassination. Kennedy wanted to change discrimination and segregation as much as he could while
Kennedy gave his famous Civil Rights speech. In which he addressed the segregation of whites and colors. Kennedy gave his ideas about colors and whites and how everyone should be treated equally. In his speech he stated, “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 of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” He wanted the whites to realizes that the United States of America wasn’t just founded by strictly white caucasians. JFK wanted the country to think of the colors as one of them. He pushed them to see everyone as one equal people. One people who were not discriminated based on their heritage. What inspired this speech was the insane amount of violence in different places around the US. For example, in Birmingham, Alabama the police would use high pressured water hose and police dogs to take down any demonstrators. This violence and multiple other incidents were broadcasted live on television and viewed like Monday night
Among them was A. Philip Randolph, who was the iron fist behind the march, and Martin Luther King who joined Randolph to support the demonstration. The “Top Ten” organized the whole demonstration and predicted 100,000 people to gather before the Lincoln Memorial. Kennedy was worried that the demonstration wouldn’t get his bill passed and do the opposite of what he wanted. The “Top Ten” took in Kennedy’s concerns and signed on an agreement understanding that one of the main goals of the demonstration will be to fire up support for the Civil Rights Bill. The march took place on Wednesday, August 28th where more than 200,000 people from all over the country congregated in front of the Lincoln Memorial. This is where Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Soon after the demonstration, Kennedy would meet a sudden tragic