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How Did John F Kennedy Influence The Civil Rights Movement

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John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States has expressed various issues during his Inaugural Address in 1961 and one of it was about civil rights in the states. When John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, African Americans throughout most of the South were denied voting rights, barred from public facilities, subjected to insults and violence, and couldn’t expect justice from the courts. In the North, they are faced by discrimination in education, employment, housing, and many other areas. Therefore, the Civil Rights Movement have made essential progress to bring justice. One of the impacts was, John F. Kennedy pressured the Federal Government Organizations to employ more African Americans in America’s equivalent of Britain’s …show more content…

Meredith Jr, an African American Air Force veteran, was denied admission to the “Ole Miss” which is the University of Mississippi. He tried registering four times without success. Meredith got legal add from the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and fought his case and the Supreme Court found in his favor. Long telephone conversations between the Attorney General, President Kennedy and Governor Ross Barnett failed to produce an answer. When federal marshals convoyed Meredith to campus in another attempt to register for classes, rioting erupted which led to death of two people and injuries to dozens. Therefore, President Kennedy mobilized the National Guard and sent federal troops to the campus. Meredith registered the next day and attended his first class, and segregation ended at the “Ole Miss”. In another event, Governor George Wallace had sworn at his inauguration to protect "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever." In June 1963, he upheld his promise to “stand in the school house door" to prevent two black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama, Vivian Malone and James Hood ,To protect the students and secure their admission, President Kennedy federalized the Alabama National

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