Almost There

Almost There President John Kennedy was assassinated before the success of the civil rights movement. Some people feel that President Kennedy gets more recognition than he should for being involved in the movement. President Kennedy was a president whom focused mainly on foreign affairs, which lead some people to believe because civil rights was a domestic issue President Kennedy did not take it seriously. During President Kennedy’s time in the office there were some motions pass in the favor of civil rights, however; they were small and almost ineffective. People believed that President Kennedy’s main focus was to get reelected into office. The president would accomplish this by passing enough laws to keep the African American vote, but few enough not to upset the southern white voters. It was said by Martin Luther King Jr. himself said that President Kennedy could put an end to the injustice by the stroke of a pen. A historian argues that president Kennedy was only a bystander in the success of the civil movement. While sitting on the fence about President Kennedy’s involvement in Civil Rights, I believe his role in Civil Rights was essential; however he could have played a more lucrative roll. President Kennedy did help advance Civil Rights for African Americans by passing laws, however small, they were essential and also his work put into the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that was passed after his death. President John F. Kennedy’s initial approach toward the Civil Rights Movement was a rather slow one. Kennedy being the democratic candidate in the early sixties was campaigning against Republican candidate Richard Nixon, who had an adequate history dealing with Civil Rights. Being young and Catholic set Kennedy at a disadvantage; Americans were reluctant to vote for Kennedy because he was not the norm of the last 36 presidents prior to him. President Kennedy would take a different approach to win over the people, Kennedy would being bring about a new freedom for the people. President Kennedy’s involvement in Civil Rights stirs up mixed feelings, some believe that he was essential in the progression of Civil Rights and others believe that he deserves on credit in advancing Civil Rights. President Kennedy’s involvement in Civil Rights was initially sluggish; however gained momentum all the way into his last days. During Kennedy’s term in office, his administration tried greatly to appease both African Americans and Southern whites in order to maintain a balance in votes. Kennedy’s administration would form a committee for Equal Employment Opportunity, this pushed for businesses to hire African Americans in their work place. The committee did little good to, ensure that African Americans would receive jobs in white collared professions. Kennedy would also implement a housing provision that would fail also. Things were still very segregated and business and housing companies were still discriminating against African Americans. The Kennedy Administration was a major supporter in pushing for desegregation in places; however the methods they would use took longer than the groups like the Freedom Riders or SNCC. The activist groups could not sit around and wait for law to be passed they had to act themselves, trying to raise the consciousness of other Americans. This reflected poorly on the Kennedy Administration because leaders in the Civil Rights saw this as Kennedy trying to appease both parties to ensure his vote. When President Kennedy did start his term in office there were still other organizations that were formed from the Civil Rights that began to establish sit-ins as a way to oppose their oppressor and fight against the injustices that were plaguing their lives. Another organization were the Freedom Riders they travel all around the south testing the laws that were supposed to be constitutional, laws that were upheld by the federal government. These groups travel through the south with no escorts on the bus trying to uphold the federal law. In the minds of Civil Rights advocates it was essential to have the support of the federal government to back the movement because they were able to interfere in state issues with cause. The United States did not represent a federal legal system, which made it difficult for people whom were victims of injustice to receive a fair assessment. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee were organized during President Kennedy’s term, the students would take the bus to different cities protesting against the injustices of their Civil Rights. When they arrived in Montgomery, Alabama they were subject to a beating by large mob of people and there was not a police officer in sight. The Kennedy Administration called out United States Marshall’s to patrol the mob. According to Allen Matusow, “Though the Kennedy’s had intervened in the South to protect integrationists, they had done so with carefully calculated circumspection. Hoping to cushion the blow, they used Marshals instead of soldiers, kept the president in the background, and stressed the need to uphold the law, rather than the moral right of blacks to use desegregated facilities…. But to countless southern racists unlearned in the law the meaning of federal marshals in Montgomery seemed clear: the president had joined forces with the agitators and race mixers. A wound had opened in the relations of the Kennedy’s and the white South that would never heal.”(Matusow,74). President Kennedy did not want to involvement of government soldiers at this time because it would send the wrong image to his Southern white voters. These students were being harassed; their lives were put in danger. The students believed in the cause that they were fighting for and they did not care if they were ridiculed, ostracized, and abused to achieve their goals of desegregation. The Supreme Court Decision of 1954, in the Brown vs. Board of Education was the spark of the movement. The schools were being desegregated, so education of black and white students was a major factor because the education system was not balanced. The milestone in the Civil Rights allowed for colored children to receive the same education, because it was now consider unconstitutional. The decision by the Supreme Court was major, the leader behind this were the major black figures in the Civil Rights, at the time Kennedy was not even thought of as far as Civil Rights. Leaders in the community were making a mark for Civil Rights themselves. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader in the black community, always pushing for a civilized non-violence Civil Rights Movement with in the Black community. Not only did Martin Luther King Jr. work with President John F. Kennedy himself to establish this but he expected more from the federal government in aiding this cause for Civil Rights. There are a number of leaders that have made a bigger name for themselves for being apart of the Civil Rights in America, an example would be those like Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. These individual have put in an extreme amount of dedication in advancing the movement towards Civil Rights. It is to the point where at the mention of Civil Rights, at least one of their names is assumed. When one thinks of President John F. Kennedy with limited understanding of his term in office, they may see him to as a dominate force in Civil Rights. The Civil Rights movement had begun way before President John F Kennedy got into office and it would take place after him also. To say that President John F. Kennedy had no say so or not real cause in advancing the Civil Rights is obviously a misinterpretation, however; it one were to say President John F. Kennedy did not exercise his full ability in the favor of the Civil Rights Movement. This is the sole reason that those who object his involvement in the Civil Rights feel this way because they understand with his power and based on the platform that he was to implement in the first place it would have been resolved a little faster. President Kennedy is not wrong in his fight towards the movement because any small change may have a bigger affect on a different person, however he could have been more aware of the issues about the Civil Rights movement in the beginning before making promises that he was unable to keep. The platform the President John F. Kennedy started off with had a major change in store of colored people and that is what a lot of them expected of him went they voted him into office and President Kennedy fell short of those expectations.