Though he received strong support from black voters in the 1960 election, John F. Kennedy moved cautiously in trying to address problems of racial discrimination in the United States during the first two years of his presidency. But a series of civil rights demonstrations and crises prompted Kennedy to take a more active stance and to introduce comprehensive new legislation in 1963. Messages sent to the President and members of his administration by civil rights leaders document the intensifying struggle for freedom and justice during the Kennedy years. Click on the names of the seven men noted below to access digital copies of communications from these civil rights leaders to the White House.
James Farmer
Martin Luther King, Jr.
John Lewis
A. Philip Randolph
Bayard Rustin
Roy Wilkins
Whitney Young