SNCC And The Betrayal Of The Kennedy Administration

17 Pages 4178 Words

SNCC and the Betrayal of the Kennedy Administration
By: Catherine A. Jenkins


Thesis:

Although the late former President Kennedy and his administration are recognize and commended for ‘aiding’ in the Civil Rights movement; there are a lot of black activist such as SNCC who look back with bitter feelings. Activist who are hesitant to use the word ‘aided’ when speaking of the Kennedy administration and the Civil Rights Movement.

Introduction:

To many Negroes who lived during the 1960’s and lived as well as breathed the Civil Rights Movement it was more than a historical time line of events. Events such as the student sit-ins (which gave rise to SNCC-student Non-violent Coordinating Committee), pray-ins, Freedom Rides, March on Washington’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Malcolm X’s assassination, Lowndes County Freedom Organization, King’s assassination, and the birth and fall of the black Panther Party. To the Negroes who were the movement this historical time line is as surface as the history of it taught in contemporary high schools. Where high school teachers, teach their students of three names and three associations to define the Civil Rights Movement as a struggle. These three names are Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. The three associations are: “I Have a Dream” speech, the quote of Malcolm X’s philosophy, “By all means necessary”, and the women who was too tired to give her seat up on a segregated bus. Now ask these students the contents of the, “I Have a Dream” speech and majority of them all will recite the same abstract. “I have a dream that one day my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” If you ask the student for more than that they will almost always give you a perplexed expression or search and find no answer. If you ask a student the phi...