Fifty years (and one day) ago, segregationist Governor George Wallace personally blocked an entrance of the University of Alabama to prevent the enrollment of two Black Americans. A damned, Massachusetts Liberal-Yank, President John F. Kennedy sent the National Guard to protect the two and ensure their admittance. That night, Kennedy delivered an address from the Oval Office. In it, he explained the situation in Alabama and eloquently described the ongoing struggle of Black Americans to attain true equality and freedom in the country (100 years removed from Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation). He then proposed federal legislation to ensure true equality and freedom for all:
President John F. Kennedy’s Report on Civil Rights (6/11/63 – Introduction/In Color!)
While, sadly, Kennedy wouldn’t live to see his proposal become law, his bold leadership was nonetheless a driving force on the political and governmental fronts of the Civil Rights Movement not seen before nor since. Considering the direct, positive impact it had on the lives of millions of Black Americans–and its reverberations across the entire political landscape–the speech stands alone as the greatest driver of transformational change in this country in the last 150 years.
” . . . 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 . . . “
. . . Words to keep in mind as most of our gay brothers and sisters still struggle for their civil rights. Note the boldness and forthrightness of these and the other words, especially when contrasted with Obama’s historic announcement in support of gay marriage–one couched in relatively confusing and personalizing language (” . . . [A]t a certain point, I’ve just concluded that, for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think that same sex couples should be able to get married”). The 2012 election has come and gone, and we’ve yet to see the White House propose federal legislation to ensure that right. Going forward, I pray that all of our progressive political leaders will follow JFK’s example and find the strength to fight boldly for such legislation. I also pray that we are bold enough as an electorate to demand such a fight from those political leaders.
(twitter: @BillTaylor2; go Bruins!)
