A LETTER FROM PRESIDENT KENNEDY
THE WHITE HOUSE washington October 15, 1962 Dear Morris: I am glad to know that The Progressive is planning a special number to mark the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. In issuing...
...It was a part-payment on our debt to the Founding Fathers of this republic — an installment in our national determination to realize for all our citizens the promise of equal rights and equal opportunities to which this nation is forever dedicated...
...I am sure, too, that The Progressive will remind us that the task is not complete -- that no American can cease striving until every American, whatever his creed or color, enjoys the rights assigned to all Americans in the Declaration of Independence...
...In issuing this proclamation one hundred years ago, Abraham Lincoln performed one of the great acts of our history...
...and I hope that, in doing so, you will give full credit to the Negro people themselves...
...I am sure that The Progressive will take note of the gains made in the century since the Emancipation Proclamation...
...But the Emancipation Proclamation was more than an individual act of wisdom and courage...
...It has been, more than anything else, the proud and steadfast commitment of our Negro fellow citizens to the fulfillment of their rights that has brought about the extraordinary advances of these years...
...Morris H. Rubin Editor The Progressive Madison 3, Wisconsin...
...Sincerely, John F. Kennedy Mr...
Vol. 26 • December 1962 • No. 12
