Civil Rights Act Of 1964
...South, particularly in Birmingham, Alabama, President Kennedy pushed for a very strong civil rights bill through Congress. The first of its kind since the Civil War, this bill drastically called for the end of all segregation in all public places. In the eyes of the civil rights movement leaders, this bill was long over due. Kennedy began by sending the United States Congress a "Special Message on Civil Rights," stating, "Our Constitution is color blind, but the practices of the country do not always conform to the principles of the Constitution. Equality before the law has not always meant equal treatment and opportunity. The harmful, wasteful and wrongful results of racial discrimination and segregation still appear in virtually every aspect of national life, in virtually every part of the nation". Kennedy received praise for his strong and moving words yet was criticized for his weak legislative proposals to remedy the situation. Dr. Martin Luther King began massive protests in the street of Birmingham. To combat these protests, Police Commissioner Bull Conner used any means, including dogs, fire hoses, and electric cattle-prods on the protestors. Making newspapers and television everywhere, the Birmingham atrocity along with Dr. Martin Luther King's famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, ignited the moral conscious of Americans nationwide. While Conner earned a negative reputation, President Kennedy wisely commented, "Bull Connor has done more for civil rights than anyone else. The civil rights movement should thank God for him. He has helped it as much as Abraham Lincoln". The apparent Birmingham defeat for Dr. Martin Luther King in reality was the key point in which the battle to win civil rights became a national fight with the President as one of its strongest allies.
Before the Birmingham situation, Kennedy kept a fragile balance with the...
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