Why Is Jfk Civil Rights Speech Effective

John F. Kennedy, held the position of the 35th president of the United States of America from 1961 to 1963. This largely coincided with the ongoing years of the Civil Rights movement, knowing for trying to achieve equality for all people of color, especially african-Americans. During this time, Kennedy had complicated relationship with the movement, but left a lasting impact when he voiced his support in hs speech that was broadcasted around the nation: Report to the American People on Civil Rights. This speech was able to make his stance on the movement widely known and set a precedence for the end of his short presidency. To some extent John F. Kennedy’s speech “Report to the American People on Civil Rights” was effective in progressing the

At the point before Kennedy was elected president of the United States of America, the movement had made slow progress through non-violent protests such as boycotts and sit-ins and had gained some political recognition for their movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed under president Dwight D. Eisenhower and showed that there was a sign of support from the government, something that the African-American community had not previously had. Although it was a success in that sense, the bill had been weakened by Southern congressman in order to decrease the power of the bill over their states. So, even with their victory, the black community still had struggles when trying to gain equality. This was also true for Brown V. Board of Education. In this supreme court case that was unanimously decided in favor of Brown, the courts ruled that all public schools would have to integrate to truly be equal. It would be psychologically harmful to students to keep them separated and have them treated as less than white students. This became the supreme law that all schools

Kennedy, often abbreviated JFK, had served in the House of Representatives for three terms. His first campaign for the seat led up to November 5, 1946, in which he first spoke out and voiced his opinion on Civil Rights where he “complimented on the heroism of African Americans during the Second World War and apart from that he called for the abolition poll tax” (Lupačová 15-16). Although a minor comment regarding his ideas towards the subject, it was a start for JFK, especially due to his high society status, through his family’s wealth and his seat in the House of Representatives. Yet, it could be perceived that her was only trying to appeal to young black voters rather than truly speaking out on behalf on of the cause. It was not until his run for a seat as a United States Senator in 1951 that his support for the Civil Rights Movement was pushed to the forefront of his campaign. He garnered support from ethnic communities by recruiting prominent African-American figures to his campaign such as Herbert Tucker, who worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Lupačová 18). Kennedy was also known to throw tea parties for African-American women in black neighborhoods and talk to black businessmen (Lupačová 18). Even with this larger show of support for the African-American, it can still merely be seen as a political move for votes rather than a campaign for