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JFK - Civil Rights Address
1963
On June 11th 1963, George Wallace defined his legacy with his “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.”
The Alabama governor, who months earlier had famously said “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” physically blocked African American students Vivian Malone and James Hood as they attempted to attend classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
A strong states’ rights advocate, Wallace stood in front of the door (surrounded by national news media) and announced his resolute opposition to the integration of the school. “I stand here today, as governor of this sovereign State, and refuse to willingly submit to illegal usurpation of power by the Central Government,” he said.
President John F. Kennedy responded by federalizing the Alabama National Guard and ordering 100 troops to escort the students into the campus. When the troops arrived, Wallace stepped down.
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free.
And when Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.
— John F. Kennedy
National Address, June 11th 1963
President John F. Kennedy – Civil Rights Address
Date: June 11, 1963
Location: The White House, Washington, D.C.
“Good evening, my fellow citizens:
This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama.
That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro. That they were admitted peacefully on the campus is due in good measure to the constructive and responsible efforts of the students of the University of Alabama and to the law enforcement officials of the Federal Government and the State of Alabama.
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents.
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.
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free.
And when Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.
It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street.
It ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal.
It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color.
In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated.
But this is not the case.
The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing a high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one-third as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy which is seven years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much.
This is not a sectional issue.
Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety.
Nor is this a partisan issue.
In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.
This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right.
We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.
The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities—whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.
If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place?
Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?
One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression.
And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.
We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it. And we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world—and much more importantly, to each other—that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes?
That we have no second-class citizens except Negroes?
That we have no class or caste system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes?
Now the time has come for this Nation to fulfill its promise.
The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no city or State or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them. The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand.
Redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades, and protests, which create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives.
We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and as a people.
It cannot be met by repressive police action.
It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets.
It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk.
It is time to act in the Congress, in your State and local legislative body and, above all, in all of our daily lives.
It is not enough to pin the blame on others, to say this is a problem of one section of the country or another, or to deplore the past.
It is the responsibility of the Government at every level to ensure that constitutional rights are respected in every part of the country.
We have a right to expect that the Negro will be responsible, will uphold the law, but he has a right to expect that the law will be fair, that the Constitution will be color-blind.
This is what we are talking about.
This is a matter which concerns this country and what it stands for, and it requires a change in the heart and the mind if not the law.
It is not a new issue.
It has been before the Congress and the country for a number of years.
2nd Draft, Speech Prompt
The House Judiciary Committee today began hearings on a number of proposals to secure the constitutional rights of Negroes.
This administration has proposed measures to help solve it.
We are now preparing a bill which will be presented to the Congress as soon as it is ready.
It will not be easy to write. It will not be easy to pass.
But the events of Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no American can afford to ignore them.
We must have the courage to make a final and fundamental break with the past, and we must do it now.
This will be a major item on our agenda, and it will be a major item in the Congress.
We must hope that it will be met with understanding and goodwill, that all Americans of all races will join in this effort.
If we are to move ahead in harmony and with mutual respect, I want to be clear.
The Federal Government will not relent in its effort to assure every American the equal rights which he is entitled to.
Nor will we permit the violence of a few to deny the rights of the many.
My fellow Americans, this is a problem which faces us all—in every city of the North as well as the South.
Today there are Negroes unemployed, denied education, and the dignity that comes with it.
Many of them live on the outskirts of hope—some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both.
Our task must be to help replace their despair with opportunity.
This is not just a Negro problem, it is an American problem.
And together with a growing number of white Americans, we are determined to solve it.
Finally, I ask every American to stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents.
This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal.
And the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free.
And when Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only.
It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.
It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street.
It ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal.
It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color.
In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated.
But this is not the case.
The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day.
One-third as much chance of completing college.
One-third as much chance of becoming a professional man.
Twice as much chance of becoming unemployed.
About one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year.
A life expectancy which is seven years shorter.
And the prospects of earning only half as much.
We are confronted primarily with a moral issue.
It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.
The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities.”*