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President Kennedy's Civil Rights Message
On June 11, following the standoff with Governor George Wallace (1919–1998) at the University of Alabama, President Kennedy appeared on national television at 8:00 p.m. to announce his plan to submit a civil rights bill to Congress. In an impromptu speech that was partially extemporaneous, he described civil rights as "a moral issue . . . as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution." He highlighted the subjects of voting rights, public accommodations, school desegregation, and the high rate of black unemployment. Acknowledging the urgency of the moment, Kennedy warned, "The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand." Later that evening NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers was murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. |