Aug. 19, 1964 | RFK Remarks to Democratic Platform Committee

Aug. 19, 1964 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy told the Democratic platform committee and a nationwide television audience tonight that the nation must face its racial problems squarely and within the framework of the law.
Kennedy’s testimony came as the platform drafters turned from the themes of peace and prosperity to the controversial topic of minority rights on the third and last day of their Washington hearings. They fly to Atlantic City for windup sessions tomorrow and Friday.
“What we need in our platform is not so much a promise to seek new civil rights laws,” Kennedy declared, “as it is a promise to generate the spirit of determination in which our country can and will solve its racial problems.”
He appealed for the creation of “a spirit of respect for the law and of continued, unflagging effort toward equal opportunity.”

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