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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-AEH-01
In this interview Henry discusses meeting John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Robert F. Kennedy; discussing Mississippi and civil rights issues with President JFK; voting rights and poll taxes; the freedom rides; the murder of three young activists in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964; Mississippi politics beginning in the late fifties; white people in Mississippi; school segregation; the 1960 presidential election; and early contact with the federal government and the Justice Department in 1961, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-07
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss the very limited proposal for voting rights legislation before the demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama; how civil rights groups did not always understand politics or how to get things through Congress; John F. Kennedy [JFK] trying to explain political difficulties to civil rights leaders; meetings on civil rights legislation and the strategy for getting the votes for a civil rights bill in both houses of Congress; RFK’s disagreements with Lyndon B. Johnson on civil rights legislation; RFK, the Justice Department, and the reapportionment cases; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin and the subsequent attack on RFK in the press; JFK’s role in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963; speeches at the March on Washington; George Wallace, Alabama state troopers, and the investigation into the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, September, 1963; and JFK, James J. Delaney, and the issue of aid to church schools, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-06
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss civil rights legislation, and how it was innovative and yet inevitable; meetings between RFK and businessmen on civil rights legislation; RFK’s unintentional intimidation of the businessmen based on his history with Senate hearings on labor; attempting to put leadership in the community (North and South) to deal with the problem of segregation and other racial discrimination; hostile treatment of RFK in Alabama; working with the NAACP on school desegregation; the desegregation of the University of Alabama, and the question of if and how to bring in troops to help; and using the incident at the University of Alabama as a political stepping stone, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-05
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss how John F. Kennedy [JFK] and RFK grew increasingly more involved with and concerned about civil rights; getting Martin Luther King out of jail during JFK’s 1960 campaign; civil rights advisers during JFK’s 1960 campaign; RFK becoming Attorney General amidst the civil rights battle and the transitional period in the Department of Justice [DOJ]; how Marshall got his position in the DOJ; the struggle over school desegregation; the New Orleans school crisis of February 1961; the Freedom Riders and violence against them; sending federal marshals to Alabama; trying to find a bus driver to get the Freedom Riders out of Birmingham, Alabama; criticism of RFK’s response to the Freedom Riders; how Freedom Riders were arrested and threatened in Mississippi; African-American voting rights in the South and DOJ authority; difficulties with judges; Supreme Court appointments; the FBI and organized crime; reorganization of the DOJ; RFK’s interactions with the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover after JFK’s death; Hoover’s allegations about JFK and the Kennedy family; the alleged FBI wiretapping of officials; JFK’s opinion of Hoover; FBI press releases; connecting the civil rights movement with communism to discredit it; FBI involvement in civil rights matters; issues with the FBI as having civilian control of a police force; JFK’s communication with King and other civil rights leaders; civil rights legislation; the issue of equal employment; the Civil Rights Commission; and violence against African Americans in Birmingham in the spring of 1963, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JOFD-02
Dolan discusses the federal judgeship appointment process, his involvement with the 1960 Citizens’ for Kennedy-Johnson, and the civil rights issues of the 1960s, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JLF-01
Farmer discusses the 1960 presidential campaign; the relationship between Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the John F. Kennedy (JFK) administration, interactions with Robert F. Kennedy and the Justice Department, the Freedom Rides and other civil rights actions; and JFK’s impact on civil rights, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LEM-03
In this interview Martin discusses helping fill government positions after John F. Kennedy [JFK] is elected President, 1960; the appointment of African American judges, including Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; providing African American candidates for different agency positions; civil rights crises during JFK’s Administration; Lee White as the White House advisor on civil rights; the civil rights bill introduced in 1963; religious groups in the civil rights movement; the issue of “white backlash”; and working for President JFK versus working for President Lyndon B. Johnson, among other issues.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-22B
Dictation Belt 22B contains four sound recordings from June 18, 1963. The recording of the conversation in item 22B.1 begins on Dictation Belt 22A.4. Item 22B.1 is a part of a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Allen C. Thompson. They continue to discuss demonstrations and other aspects of the civil rights situation in Mississippi. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 22B.2 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Representative Wayne L. Hays of Ohio. They discuss a legislative strategy for a foreign aid bill, taking into account the negotiating stance taken by Representative Otto E. Passman of Louisiana. Machine noise precedes and follows the conversation. Item 22B.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Allen C. Thompson. President Kennedy and Mayor Thompson discuss civil rights issues in Jackson, including demonstrations and civil unrest, plans to hire African Americans to fill various jobs, and the need to resolve matters in a way that various groups will accept. They also discuss consulting Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. At the beginning of the recording, [White House Operator?] addresses Mayor Thompson. Item 22B.4 is a brief telephone exchange between Personal Secretary Evelyn Lincoln and the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Allen C. Thompson. Lincoln speaks to Mayor Thompson while trying to transfer his call to an outside line to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The recording ends abruptly.Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-22A
Dictation Belt 22A contains four sound recordings. Item 22A.1 a brief telephone exchange on June 12, 1963, between Personal Secretary Evelyn Lincoln and a White House Operator. Lincoln asks the operator to place a call to Mrs. John Fell on behalf of President John F. Kennedy. Machine noise precedes and follows the exchange. Item 22A.2 is a telephone conversation held on June 12, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Representative Carl Albert of Oklahoma. They discuss the defeat of a bill in the House of Representatives, votes of particular congressmen, and the effect of an order requiring racial integration. [White House Operator?] speaks to Representative Albert while he holds for President Kennedy. There is an echo during a brief segment of the recording. Item 22A.3 is a telephone conversation held on June 14, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Governor Jimmie Davis of Louisiana. They discuss a close vote in Louisiana and a possible visit by Governor Davis. The quality of recording of Governor Davis’s side of the conversation is very poor. Most of Governor Davis’s speech is inaudible. Item 22A.4 is part of a telephone conversation held on June 18, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Allen C. Thompson. They continue to discuss demonstrations and other aspects of the civil rights situation in Mississippi. President Kennedy asks about issues raised by visiting clergymen from Jackson. The recording of this conversation ends abruptly and continues on Dictation Belt 22B.Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JVL-01
This interview focuses on the transit strike in New York City, Lindsay and Robert F. Kennedy’s [RFK] collaborations on New York City matters, and reflections on RFK’s understanding of public life and the cities, among other issues.
Textual folder
Burke Marshall Personal Papers
BMPP-036-002
Textual folder
Burke Marshall Personal Papers
BMPP-033-003
Textual folder
Burke Marshall Personal Papers
BMPP-030-013
Textual folder
Burke Marshall Personal Papers
BMPP-016-009
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-108-002
Sound recording of a meeting held on August 28, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Civil Rights Leaders: Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, Walter Reuther, Whitney Young, Floyd McKissick, Eugene Carson Blake, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and other unidentified participants. Wilkins, Randolph, and the other civil rights leaders initially report to President Kennedy on the March on Washington, but then turn the conversation to the pending civil rights legislation in Congress and the need for action to ensure equality. President Kennedy reviews a head count of votes in Congress on the administration's bill and legislative strategy. Martin Luther King speaks briefly. Randolph calls for a crusade with President Kennedy as its leader. Vice President Johnson explains the realities of political power in relation to Congress--how to craft a coalition of support, pressure on business leaders, approaches to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, etc. There is also a discussion of the right of African Americans in the military to demonstrate. At the end of the meeting, there is a coordination of statements on the completion of the meeting and President Kennedy reads the statement he intends to release. Please note that this Civil Rights Meeting recording was opened to research use in July of 1984. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 108, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 108 in its entirety.