It was my first class after lunch, Mrs. Whitlow's American History Class. By Georgia Law every eleventh grader in the state had to take American History. As I recall Mrs. Whitlow was a rather strict but fair teacher. She had a way of making history interesting as well as informative. That particular afternoon we were doing a study on Abraham Lincoln and just about to get into the details of his assassination when Eddie Hart, a student from another class opened the classroom door. I can recall he was wearing a brown and tan plaid shirt. Strange that I thought it was Thursday, but I remember the shirt as well as his name and I could easily recognize him today if he has not changed his appearance in the past fifty years.
I even remember his words, "Mrs. Whitlow, the President has been shot!"
"Eddie, that is nothing to joke about," she responded as she was about to start to lecture him on the seriousness of government in general before she realized he was not teasing.
"I am serious, he has been shot", he said.
She went into the hall for a moment leaving her class in a state of shocking silence. Within moments she returned and motioned for us to follow her. The entire student body crowded into the "tv room" which was a large basement room that had once served as the cafeteria in the 1930s when the school was first constructed. We all watched the one television in silence as the newsmen relayed the story of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
My initial response was that of disbelief. I kept waiting on them to announce that it was all a mistake and he was still in surgery and would recover. It was only when they announced that his body was being removed from the hospital that the reality of the situation was felt.
For the remainder of the day and into the evening and all day the next day we never left the television in the living room of the federal housing project apartment where I lived with my mom and her brother, my Uncle Guy. By we, I refer to my mom, my cousin Terry, and my friend Garnett. Terry, Garnett, and I actually talked of taking an overnight trip to Washington but again reality set in as we realized it would take money we did not have to make such a trip.
On Sunday, I was with my Uncle Les and his son, my cousin Billy as we made the short ride from my mom's place to visit my cousin Charlene and her husband Ed and their son Ricky. When we arrived at their house the news was giving the account and showing film of Jack Ruby's assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. I really wished I had seen that event on television. I felt Uncle Les, Billy, and I were probably the only three Americans not to see it.
I recall vividly the details of the funeral the following day, the procession with the riderless horse, the body of the President in the flag draped coffin, the long procession of foreign diplomats and state leaders who followed behind the family as they took that long sorrowful walk. I recall the salute given to his father as his body passed Little John John. I was particularly impressed with the poise and dignity shown by the first lady. She maintained her composure and completed her duties to perfection to earn the love and respect of a hurting nation and a grieving world.
Truthfully, I felt as if we had lost the person who was to bring our nation to a position never seen before in world politics. I had complete confidence in Kennedy's leadership. The establishment of the Peace Corps and the emphasis placed on the Space Race with the Russians were the two things I most remember. As for civil rights, his heart was in the right place, but because of a lack of knowledge and understanding of the full situation, he was never able to make the progress he could have possibly made if he had lived to complete another term of office. His leadership in the Cold War and the Bay of Pigs Incident are most impressive.
Looking back a few years to the 1960 election, it was the first Presidential election I could remember. I had written to the Democratic headquarters and secured bumper stickers and campaign buttons. I displayed the bumper stickers proudly on both the front and rear of my mom's 1953 Mercury. While her political views were in total harmony with mine, she was a little hesitant to display the campaign material on her car. Afterall, it was the conservative south and we were pushing for the election of a liberal Democrat President. She was not ashamed of her conviction nor her liberal beliefs but for her safety. There was some deep hatred of Kennedy in the south, much of it from him being Catholic and we had never had a Catholic President before in our history. Hatred is must often associated with ignorance and misinformation. A grandmother of one of my friends voted against Kennedy because she was told that a Catholic President would force us to destroy our Bibles. She, her grandson, my mom, and I watched the election results and discussed the politics at play. By the end of the evening she was happy that Kennedy had won, though I think she still had her doubts.
A couple of days ago I was talking with a friend from Florida who relayed an interesting observation made by his mom who is near my age. She had told him that the assassination of President Kennedy was the beginning of a change in American History. Up until that time, the US was growing and progressing in basically every possible way, but since that day, we have seen things progressively get worse, year by year. In her words, "we lost our innocence" which is leading to our decline. I have had the chance to run this idea past a few folks today, and everyone I have spoken to has completely agreed.
The integrity and character of a nation are no more than the total integrity and character of the individuals who make up that nation. It is just that simple. President Kennedy said it best, "Ask not what my country can do for me, but ask what I can do for my country". It is only when each one of us answers that question and accepts that challenge will this nation be back on track to becoming what it could and should become. It is not only the responsibility of our leaders but that of each of us as well.
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