To the Latino community, President John F. Kennedy is seen as the first president in history to recognize and acknowledge the community’s significance in the U.S. as well as care about the issues affecting them at the time. JFK made history on Nov. 21st 1963 when he, along with first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, attended a League of United Latino American Citizens (LULAC) dinner in Houston, Texas, becoming the first president in the country’s history to meet and sit down with a Latino organization.
“(Kennedy) represented a new era, a youthful ‘we can do whatever we want’ mentality,” said Isaac Garcia, Brigham Young University history professor and author of “Viva Kennedy: Mexican Americans in Search of Camelot.” “He had the kind of personality that people could reflect their own aspirations on.”
Originally, JFK had agreed to stop by the dinner briefly, say hello and move on. This planned wave and move-on idea turned into President Kennedy addressing the Rice Hotel Ballroom crowd.
After President Kennedy spoke to the audience, he introduced his wife and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy who stole the show by expressing her gratitude and admiration for Texas and the Latino community, in complete Spanish.
The 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination is a moment in history that will never be forgotten, but if there is any light to be shed from this horrific event, it is the significant impact JFK had on the country and the Latino community. Vme will air an exclusive documentary in collaboration with the U.S. National Archives, “JFK 50 Anos,” tonight at 10pm EST to remember that tragic day in history when President Kennedy was assassinated.
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