Fifty years ago today JFK spoke out against the immorality of segregation. In a nationally televised address, he said “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.” In that speech he told the nation, “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 freed from the bonds of injustice. . . It is time to act in Congress.” This speech was the impetus for Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sadly President Kennedy did not live to see it. (Excerpted from the NYTimes, Adam Clymer, 6/8/13.) Can we really say: “we’ve come a long way, baby!”?
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:44:38 +0000
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