The Role Of Lbj And Kennedy In The Civil Rights Movement

Everyone can agree that as far as presidents go, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson are two of the most important presidents in terms of making huge strides in the Civil Rights Movement. Obviously the two were not the faces of the movement, like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, or Rosa Parks were, but they did provide the legal and legislative means for race equality. However, since the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington, there has been debate over who was the most influential hand in the movement. There is speculation as to whether or not so much would have been done if Kennedy were not assassinated; would he have been able to make as much progress with legislature as LBJ? On the other hand, Kennedy was the President that provided the platform for Johnson to stand on in order to make such ideas reality. All of these ideas beg the question: who played the more influential role in the Civil Rights Movement, Kennedy or Johnson?
For this reason, he instead appointed many African Americans to high-level positions in the administration and strengthened the Civil Rights Commission. He spoke out in support of school desegregation and commended a number of cities for integrating their schools.
President Kennedy may have been hesitant to push ahead with racial equality legislation at the beginning, but millions of African Americans could not delay any longer. Eventually, the Kennedy administration was forced to act. For decades, seating on buses in the South had been segregated along with restrooms, restaurants, and countless other public venues. In May 1961, the Freedom Rides started in order to stop segregation in interstate transportation. In Alabama, a bus being used for the movement was torched and the riders were attacked with bats and tire