Paul was a devoted father, and a patriot. Tonight, he had gathered his four children together in solemn anticipation. They embodied the future of the nation, and he could not in good conscience allow them to miss President Kennedy’s speech. “Kids, come out of your rooms. The President is about to address the nation!” he ordered as he rose from the table. His wife switched on the T.V. and sat perched on the arm of the couch, leaving space for their eager audience. The children focused their attention, in spite of their young age, following their father’s sombre example. They admired the image of the White House’s Oval Office. JFK, as they called him, made a carefully staged entrance, both humble and dignified. Paul studied him with admiration. Like millions of other Americans, he hung on the president’s every word. Kennedy’s voice began to crackle over the airwaves: “The government will do everything within its power to maintain order, to protect the lives of its citizens, and to ensure the law is upheld.”
As he was speaking, Martin Luther King’s house was being bombed. Extremists in Alabama had once again sought to re-establish their vision of order through terror, and justice through bloodshed. Driven by hatred, they were prepared to do anything. They were terrified of losing their privileged status, of seeing their convictions shaken and their worldview upended. This man sought a dream, and to galvanize an entire people. He made uplifting speeches, and purported to be a pacifist. This was what he deserved; a punishment that would set an example. In the early days of his presidency, John F. Kennedy had remained silent on the issue of civil rights for African-Americans. He took a cautious approach to the South, a land defined by segregation and discrimination, and where States’ rights ruled supreme. The president had seemed eager to avoid crossing Members of Congress, as he had struggled to obtain their support for the majority of his national policies.
“Papa, what’s going on?” little Jenny asked her father.
“Listen to the president’s speech! This is history. He’s saying that whites and blacks should be equal in this country.”
“Why are they so mean to them in Alabama?” Tony asked, his voice full of concern.
“Those are extremists, sweetie,” his mother answered. “They don’t think like we do.”
“And what about in New York?” their eldest asked.
“Things are different here. After Abraham Lincoln made his Emancipation Proclamation, black folks started to flee the south and come up north, especially to New York and Chicago. The South was a bad memory for most of them.”
“Who’s Abe-ram Lincoln?” asked Suzy, the youngest.
“Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of these United States,” explained the father to his children. “He was assassinated – killed – by an extremist,” he added, with a sad sigh.
However, President Kennedy’s position on Civil Rights had begun to evolve during the Freedom Rides of 1961, when African-Americans started riding segregated buses in the South. Although he had deployed federal marshals to quell racial violence, he had publicly stressed that he had done so for legal reasons rather than moral ones – American citizens had the constitutional right to travel, and all they had done was exercise this right. Nevertheless, several activists had encouraged the President to address Civil Rights as a moral issue. In 1963, a growing number of white Americans were concerned about the rising influence of black leaders such as Malcolm X, and began to fear that the civil rights movement was about to take a violent turn. Depictions of racial violence in the media also made ideal content for Soviet propaganda during the Cold War, and tarnished the US’s image abroad – an issue of key concern to President Kennedy.
His speech had come to an end; their mother switched off the T.V. and started getting the kids ready for bed. Before saying goodnight, she whispered softly into their ears: “We can be proud to be American. This is the greatest country on earth.” Suzy, however, was still worried:
“Mommy, I’m scared,” she said.
“Everything will be OK, sweetie,” her mother cooed.
“Will they kill President Kennedy too?” she asked.
“Heavens no! That could never happen!”
Alan Alfredo Geday