Summer Session Kansan
Friday, June 14, 1963
The Text of the President's Speech
WASHINGTON (UPI) — This is the text of President Kennedy's radio-television address to the nation:
"Good evening, my fellow citizens.
"This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro.
THAT THEY were admitted peacefully on the campus is due in good measure to the conduct of the students of the University of Alabama, who met their responsibilities in a constructive way.
"I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.
"Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free, and when Americans are sent to Viet-Nam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops. It ought to be possible for consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodations, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal.
"It OUGHT to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case."
"The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the state in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one-third as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy which is seven years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much.
as much.
"This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every state of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue in a time of domestic crisis. Men of
good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these issues in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right.
"WE ARE CONFRONTED primarily with a moral issue.
"It is as old as the scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution. 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. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot sent his children to the best school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay? One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grand-sons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression, and this nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.
"We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home. But are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other, that this is a land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettos, no master race except with respect to Negroes? Now the time has come for this nation to fulfill its promises. The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no city or state or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them.
"THE FIRES OF frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand. Redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades and protests which create tensions and threaten violence, and threaten lives.
"We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a nation and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or tort. It is a time to act in the Congress, in your state and local legislative body, and above all, in all of our daily lives.
"It is not enough to pin the blame on others. Today this is a problem of one section of the country or another. . . . The fact that we face a great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all.
"Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as wel as reality. Next week I shall ask the Congress of the United States to act, to make a commitment, it has not fully made in this century to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law. The federal judiciary has upheld that proposition in a series of forthright cases. The executive branch has adopted that proposition in the conduct of its affairs, including the employment of federal personnel, the use of federal facilities and the sale of federally-financed housing.
"BUT THERE are other necessary measures which only the Congress can provide, and they must be provided at this session. The old code of equity law under which we live demands for every wrong a remedy, but in too many communities, in too many parts of the country, wrongs are inflicted on Negro citizens as there are no remedies at law. Unless the Congress acts, their only remedy is the street.
"I am, therefore, asking the Congress to enact legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities that are open to the public hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments.
ments.
"This seems to me to be an elementary right. Its denial is an arbitrary indignity that no American in 1963 should have to endure, but many do."
"I have recently met with scores of business leaders urging them to take voluntary action to end this discrimination and I have been encouraged by their response, and in the last two weeks over 75 cities have seen progress made in desegregating these kinds of facilities. But many are unwilling to act alone, and for this reason, nationwide legislation is needed if we are to move this problem from the streets to the courts.
"I AM ALSO asking Congress to authorize the federal government to participate more fully in lawsuits designed to end segregation in public education. We have succeeded in persuading many districts to desegregate voluntarily. Dozens have admitted Negroes without violence. Today a Negro is attending a state-supported institution in every one of our fifty states, but the pace is very slow. Too many Negro children entering segregated grade schools at the time of the Supreme Court's decision nine years ago will enter segregated high schools this fall, having suffered a loss which can never be restored. The lack of an adequate education denies the Negro a chance to get a decent job.
"The orderly implementation of the Supreme Court decision, therefore, cannot be left solely to those who may not have the economic resources to carry the legal action or who may be subject to harassment.
"Other features will also be requested, including greater protection for the right to vote. But legislation, I repeat, cannot solve this problem alone. It must be solved in the homes of every American in every community across our country.
"In this respect, I want to pay tribute to those citizens North and South who have been working in their communities to make life better for all. They are making not out of a sense of legal duty but out of a sense of human decency.
Remember FATHER'S DAY —
JUNE 16
You'll Find
That Just Right Gift
at
"LIKE OUR soldiers and our sailors in all parts of the world, they are meeting freedom's challenge on the firing line, and I salute them for their honor and their courage.
"My fellow Americans, this is a problem which faces us all—in every city of the North as well as the South. Today there are Negroes unemployed two or three times as many compared to whites, inadequate in education, moving into the large cities, unable to find work young people particularly out of work without hope, denied equal rights, denied the opportunity to eat at a restaurant or lunch counter or go to a movie theater, denied the right to decent education, denied almost today the right to attend a state university even though qualified—it seems to me that these are matters which concern us all, not merely presidents or congressmen or governors but every citizen of the United States.
"This is one country. It has become one country because all of us
Fraternity Jewelry Badges, Rings, Novelties Sweatshirts, Mugs, Paddles Cups, Trophies, Medals
411 W. 14th VI 3-1571 AL LAUTER
and all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents.
"We cannot say to 10 per cent of the population that you cannot have that right; that your children can't have the chance to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go into the streets and demonstrate.
"I THINK WE owe them and we ow ourselves a better country than that.
(Continued on page 10)
Therefore, I am asking for your help in making it easier for us to (Continued on page 10)
D & G
AUTO SERVICE
VI 2-0753
½ blk. E. 12th & Haskell
APPLICATION PHOTOS PASSPORTS Fast Service
HIXON STUDIO
Bob Blank, Photographer
721 Mass. V1 3-0330
All NEW Audiotronics High Fidelity Stereo Gives You World's Finest Performance
As Many as 8 Quality Speakers in a Stereo System
New, specially treated 12" woofers reach down to the lowest notes of the range and 2 overt waters extend the response to over 20,000 cps smoothly.
The Garrard Type A-MK11 is only the beginning.
It begins with the fabulous Garrard Type A-MK11 with new "Magnetic" Cartridge. The lightest needle pressure ever — only 2 grams (1/14 ounce).
ALL NEW Custom Stereo Sound Control Center
Special preamplifiers, never found on commercial "Package" units, allow use of superior magnetic cartridges, or the finest tape decks—no "accessories" needed. Thrilling stereo FM RADIO lets you enjoy concert hall realism. Up to 150 watts peak audio power high fidelity dual channel amplifiers.
Installed into an existing cabinet of your choice or into one of our own magnificent units, Nothing Equals Component Sound, for quality, true reproduction.
**PRICES:** Carrard type A-MK11 $79.50 (with cartridge, Ic more);
speakers (4 per walnut enclosure)—$129.5; control center;
tuner, AMF combination—$129.95; (available as kit)—$169.95).
tuner, AMP combination—$129.95; (available as kit)—$169.95).
RADIO TV PARTS-PA SYSTEMS-HIGH FIDELITY
2 Mass V1 3-8500
928 Mass.