History

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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Author Doris Lessing died Sunday at the age of 94. Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature for a life's work which included around 40 books and collections of essays and memoirs.

How Writer Doris Lessing Didn't Want To Be Remembered

10:42am November 18, 2013

by Vicki Barker

Author Doris Lessing died Sunday at the age of 94. Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature for a life's work which included around 40 books and collections of essays and memoirs. Her book, The Golden Notebook, has been called the first feminist novel — a characterization Lessing rejected as "stupid."

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In the middle of downtown Miami, archaeologists excavate a site holding evidence of a more than 1,000-year-old Tequesta Indian village.

National

Once An Ancient Village, Soon An Entertainment Complex?

8:07pm November 15, 2013

by Greg Allen

In downtown Miami, archaeologists uncovered evidence of an American Indian village that was already centuries old when Columbus arrived in the New World. The city and developers are now deciding if the site will be preserved — which would require redesigning the final phase of a billion-dollar project.

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