May 17, 1962 - After a luncheon meeting in Washington of Negro leaders and Government officials, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called on President Kennedy to issue a “second emancipation proclamation” in the form of an executive order banning all forms of segregation. Dr. King submitted a 115-page appeal to the White House this morning. Dr. King proposed that President Kennedy issue an executive order calling for:
- Elimination, through use of the “full powers” of his office, of all statutory state and local segregation statutes.
- A ban on racial segregation in Federally assisted housing.
- Desegregation of all segregated school districts by September 1963.
