President John Kennedy did not know when he delivered his historic civil rights address on June 11, 1963, that he would not live to see what he had done. He well knew, though, that while America was facing a legal and moral crisis he needed to strike a steady tone and to point the way toward higher ground.“This is not a sectional issue,” Kennedy said. “Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every state of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety.