| Existing comment:
John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Robert F Kennedy were regarded as martyrs by many members of the civil rights movement. President John F Kennedy's administration did not push for civil rights legislation, but was forced to react to events. The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Robert Kennedy, forced the governors of Alabama and Mississippi to allow black students to enroll at their respective state universities. Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B Johnson, was more committed to civil rights and was able to pass momentous legislation in 1964 and 1965. Martin Luther King Jr first gained recognition for his leadership in the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of 1955. He became head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and, until his murder in April 1968, was the leading spokesman for African Americans. Robert F Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968 while running for president, a campaign which attracted widespread black support. |