Today, November, 22nd is the 48th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I remember when he was a the Democratic presidential nominee against Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee. I was only 9 years old during that election season and thus did not understand anything political. All I knew was that Pres. Eisenhower was for Nixon, the VP taking his place and wondered why my parents were for someone else name John Kennedy. Pres. I was more aware of Pres. Eisenhower and Vice Pres. Nixon with no awareness of John Kennedy. One of my parents told me that they were for Kennedy, because he was a Democrat. I was told that we (my parents) are always for the Democrat.
On this day 48 years ago, I was 12 years old. It was a Friday in 1963. My junior high school (long before the change to middle schools) dismissed the students an hour early at 2:00 p. m. on Fridays. I walked in the house around 2:25 p. m. eastern standard time to my grandmother shouting, “They shot the President!” My immediate response was, “What President?” A few minutes later, Walter Cronkite announced that Pres. Kennedy had died in Dallas, Texas via central standard time. I still remember the sunk feeling that compassed me. I wondered what was going to happen now.
Philly public schools closed until after the nationally televised funeral. Along with my parents, I sat glued to the TV. I remember watching the suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald being escorted and then viewing him being shot. My mother could not get over it. She kept saying, “We just saw a man actually get shot on live TV! Wow!”
I remember the adults in my life loved Kennedy, despite the fact that he voted against the 1957 Civil Rights Act. I think most are unaware of that fact. He was a Democrat for capitalism against the Russian communism. I do not think the kind of Democrat he was would sit well with the Democrats of today.
Right Cogency 