NHD

Importance of John F Kennedy fight for Civil Rights in early 1960’s America

Process paper

This project focuses on civil rights reform, the reaction of different people in the 1960’s and the revolution that occurred to give more opportunities to African American or non- white Americans.  There are many events under president Kennedy that were important for civil rights.

One example is "The Birmingham Desegregation Campaign." During the summer of 1963, Blacks  protested to get the attention of the President and the Congress to give them equal civil rights.

The second example is many events in the nation that tried to prevent the 1964 Civil Rights Act from being passed in Congress. Kennedy had to fight to get supporters to back his act. This impacted African Americans then, and there are many effect that have lasted until today.

I picked John F Kennedy because he is an important person when looking at reaction and reform.

After world war 11 African Americans spoke up more when they were not treated well or equally. They began to protest more and demand protection of civil rights.

To find sources for this project I looked for articles about people’s reaction, JFK and civil rights events.

When I started this project , I wanted to look for a topic that really includes the reaction, reform and revolution. I think by looking this topic I can learn all important things.

"The Birmingham Desegregation Campaign." Amistad Digital Resource. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. <http://www.amistadresource.org/civil_rights_era/birmingham_desegregation_campaign.html>

       In this article the protest that happened all across the country during the summer of 1963 is detailed.  It explaine how Blacks  protested to get the attention of the president and the congress to give them equal and civil rights.  There is a link to a video that shows how the protest became violent but were not going to stop unless the president acted. This is a good summary of the violence, the planning, and the courage of those who were fighting in the south for Black Americans to get rights.

"Civil Rights Movement - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. <http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Civil-Rights-Movement.aspx?p=3>.

     This is an article that summarizes events that lead up to the passing of the Civil rights Act of 1963. The article presents three main events that lead up to this. First, the working conditions in Birmingham Alabama is discussed.  Next, the article talks about the March on Washington, and finally it talks about how President Kennedy started the legislation process but was killed and President Johnson carried on with the act. This an excellent article about the timeline of events that lead to the Civil rights Act of 1963 becoming part of American Law.

"1964 Civil Rights Act." Spartacus Educational. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcivil64.htm>.

    The article is about how events in the nation at the time tried to prevent the Civil Rights act from being passed in Congress.  There is a discussion about how Kennedy had to fight to get supporters to back his act.   Next It follows up with how the congress  how the argued against passing the bill in when they met.   Finally, it continues to show how this impacted African American who were tried to be persuaded not to support the Act.  The article should have had more details about the struggle between the supporters and those who were against the act.This article was too short but it gave a clear summary of the fight to get civil rights legislation passed.

History News Network. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. <http://hnn.us/articles/39024.html>.

       This article tried to get into President Kennedy’s head and his thought process.  His thoughts about  race,ethics ad being determined to help African Americans is examined.  It was a question of doing the right thing from 1961-1963.  The article analysis conversations Kennedy had with with brother about event taking place in the south to discourage African Americans from getting equal rights. He was trying to decided if this was the right thing to do at that time:  give Blacks equal rights.

“John Kennedy and Civil Rights." History Learning Site. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/john_kennedy_and_civil_rights.htm>.

      This article summarized important events during his presidency however it ask an important question:  did Kennedy support civil rights.  The article answers the question by saying Yes  Kennedy did according to the writer. It talks about his promises in  speeches before his election, and during his time in office.   It outlines how the speeches did support civil rights for African Americans but that Kennedy did not live long enough to talk about his support and see his promise come true. This is a good summary of the JFK time line and events that lead him to think about Civil rights during his last term in office.