“If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public; if he cannot send his children to the best public school available; if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him; if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want,” the president asked directly, “then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsel of patience and delay?”
