Oct. 30, 1963 - President Kennedy got a cool reception tonight as he toured the racially disturbed wards of South Philadelphia. Nonetheless, at a Democratic fund-raising dinner at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel that followed the motorcade, the President spoke out forcefully on the civil rights issue, which has created tensions in the city. As he approached the hotel, demonstrators (pictured) from the Student Peace Union, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and the International Christian Youth tried to attract Mr. Kennedy’s attention. The Peace Union group included students from the University of Pennsylvania and Haverford College who protested U.S. support of South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem. Their placards said “Why die for a dictator?” and “All hands off Vietnam” and “No U.S. Dollars for Dictatorship.” Mr. Kennedy showed no sign of seeing any of the placards and he received standing ovation inside the hall a few moments later. He told an audience of 8,000 that much had been done “in education, employment, voting, transportation, housing, and public accommodations” to bring civil rights to all Americans. But “that issue is still very much with us,” Mr. Kennedy said, “and it will continue to be with us until all Americans of every race can regard one another with the quality for which this city is noted: ‘brotherly love.’” These words took on special significance in Philadelphia, where racial tensions have been on the increase in recent months. This seemed to be reflected in the sparse crowds that stood along Moyamensing Avenue, South Broad Street, and Lombard Street to watch the President drive past on his 13-mile route from Philadelphia International Airport to the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. The turnout improved in downtown Philadelphia, where “shopping night” crowds thronged Chestnut and Broad Streets. Overall, however, it was one of the poorest receptions Mr. Kennedy has had in a major city since he became President.
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