History

Franklin D. Roosevelt smiled upon hearing that he was leading the 1928 contest for governor of New York, more than six years after he contracted polio.

Books
Arts

Roosevelt's Polio Wasn't A Secret: He Used It To His 'Advantage'

4:07pm November 25, 2013

In The Man He Became, historian James Tobin says, despite misimpressions to the contrary, Americans of Franklin Roosevelt's day were well-aware of his disability — it was an important part of the personal narrative that helped him win the presidency.

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The Rev. T.J. Jemison escorts Mary Briscoe (left) and Sandra Ann Jones from jail in Baton Rouge, La., on April 4, 1960. The two had been in jail as a result of lunch counter sit-ins.

National

Rev. T.J. Jemison Remembered As Civil Rights Movement Pioneer

7:21pm November 22, 2013

by Debbie Elliott

Louisiana is paying tribute Friday to the Rev. T.J. Jemison, a strong and steady voice against unequal treatment for blacks in the Jim Crow South. Jemison helped organize a bus boycott in Baton Rouge in 1953 and later advised Martin Luther King Jr. and others on how to orchestrate the Montgomery boycott.

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Glenda Rike's husband was in the room when President Kennedy received his last rites. She recounted his experience to her son, Larry, on a visit to StoryCorps.

National

Witnessing History In A Dallas Emergency Room

5:29pm November 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

When he went to work on Nov. 22, 1963, ambulance driver Aubrey Rike had no idea that he would soon be offering a moment of support to Jacqueline Kennedy. "It was unbelievable that something like that happened, and he was part of it," says Rike's widow, Glenda.

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During JFK's funeral, live TV coverage helped make John-John Kennedy's salute an indelible image of American history.

Arts

How Live TV Helped America Mourn The Loss Of JFK

2:50pm November 22, 2013

by David Bianculli

Critic David Bianculli remembers watching the original news coverage of Kennedy's assassination — four days of unprecedented television — when he was 10 years old. He recalls how from that point on, TV, not radio, was the dominant medium for breaking news.

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National

Shortened Term Limited JFK's Accomplishments, But Not His Contributions

2:36pm November 22, 2013

Fresh Air's Dave Davies discusses John F. Kennedy's abbreviated term in office with presidential historian Robert Dallek, who finds that while you can make an argument that Kennedy accomplished little, he represents something special in the American experience. Dallek's latest book is Camelot's Court: Inside The Kennedy White House.

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National

Moved By Kennedy's Death, The Boston Symphony Played On

9:08pm November 21, 2013

by Theo Balcomb

The orchestra was mid-performance when news of the president's assassination reached the symphony hall in 1963. The musicians had to decide: suspend the concert or continue? Their decision transformed a moment of shock into a moment of shared consolation.

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Dallas is preparing for Friday's 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and hoping to show how much the city has changed.

National

Marking Kennedy Assassination, Dallas Still On 'Eggshells'

8:22pm November 21, 2013

by Wade Goodwyn

Dallas became known as the "City of Hate" after President John F. Kennedy was killed there. But the city has changed, and it hopes that the 50th anniversary of the assassination on Friday will be a chance to show the extent of that transformation.

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Politics & Government

Mexican-American Vets Ignited Kennedy's Latino Support

9:12am November 21, 2013

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Most politicians recognize the importance of the Latino vote, but John F. Kennedy might have been the first presidential candidate to actively court it. Viva Kennedy clubs started by former Mexican-American veterans were an important factor in Kennedy's 1960 victory.

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Formerly known as the Alexandria Slave Pen, this ashen gray row house in Alexandria, Va., once housed one of the country's largest slave-dealing firms.

National

A New Life For An Old Slave Jail

7:31pm November 19, 2013

by Hansi Lo Wang

Lewis Henry Bailey was freed from slavery in Texas and began his journey back to Virginia by foot 150 years ago. The jail where he was sold to slave dealers as a child is now a museum and the offices of a local Urban League chapter just outside of the nation's capital.

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In 1973, Ray Litt and a group of Detroiters went to court in an attempt to force the state to desegregate the city's schools.

Education

How Court's Bus Ruling Sealed Differences In Detroit Schools

1:46pm November 19, 2013

by Sarah Alvarez

It's been 40 years since the Supreme Court accepted what became a landmark case about school desegregation. The case was controversial because it involved busing students between a largely African-American city — Detroit — and its white suburban areas.

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