Papers of John F. Kennedy: President's Office Files. 1/20/1961 - 11/22/1963. Speech Files. 1961 - 1963. Radio and television address on civil rights, 11 June 1963

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Papers of John F. Kennedy: President's Office Files. 1/20/1961 - 11/22/1963. Speech Files. 1961 - 1963. Radio and television address on civil rights, 11 June 1963

1963

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/193891

This file contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning President Kennedy's radio and television address on civil rights. In his speech the President responds to the threats of violence and obstruction on the University of Alabama campus following desegregation attempts, explaining that the United States was founded on the principle that all men are created equal and thus, all American students are entitled to attend public educational institutions, regardless of race. He also discusses how discrimination affects education, public safety, and international relations, noting that the country cannot preach freedom internationally while ignoring it domestically. The President asks Congress to enact legislation protecting all Americans' voting rights, legal standing, educational opportunities, and access to public facilities, but recognizes that legislation alone cannot solve the country's problems concerning race relations. Materials in this folder include a memorandum, drafts by Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen with handwritten notations by the President, in addition to copies of newspaper clippings concerning civil rights articles and notes of suggested remarks handwritten by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

46 pages

eng, Latn

John F. Kennedy Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 6424771

John F. Kennedy Library

Related Entities

There are 2 Entities related to this resource.

Kennedy, Robert F. (Robert Francis), 1925-1968

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vf7ngv (person)

Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also referred to by his initials RFK and occasionally by the nickname Bobby, was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. Senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968. He was the brother of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Senator Edward Moore Kennedy. Kennedy and his brothers were born into a wealthy,...

Sorensen, Theodore C.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60p225j (person)

Theodore C. (Chaikin) Sorensen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on May 8, 1928. He attended the University of Nebraska, where he received a B.S. degree in Law in 1949 and an LL.B. in 1951. Mr. Sorensen was admitted to the Nebraska bar in 1951, the New York bar in 1966, the District of Columbia bar in 1971, and to the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as attorney for the Federal Security Agency from 1951 to 1952 and was a member of the staff of the Joint Committee on Railroad Retirement in the U.S. Sena...