1923 Sheet Music: What does it say to citizens that the Ku Klux Klan is still active in the Unite...
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Viewing Life from Different Perspectives
1963 started out with a US Postage rate hike, when a first class stamp rose from 4 to 5 cents. Alabama saw George C. Wallace sworn in as the state governor with a speech that declared "..segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!". NBA basketball was not segregated; Wilt "the stilt" Chamberlain was a star. Both Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle signed $100,000. contracts with their teams: the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees. In August, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his now famous "I have a dream speech". President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. was assassinated in November.1963 was a busy year. Kennedy spoke about segregation calling it "morally wrong", while Wallace was busy ordering State Police to prevent black students from enrolling in white schools and universities. This caused the Federal government to issue an injunction to stop the practice. The USA and Russia were embroiled in a Cold War. It was agreed upon that the use of nuclear weapons was MAD, acronym for Mutually Assured Destruction of planet earth. Kennedy proposed a joint US and Soviet moon voyage after the Soviets missed their moon landing. Major League baseball introduced fans to the Alou brothers, Matty, Felipe and Jesus; Elston Howard was the first black player to receive an American League Most Value Player award.
Television in 1963 was still seen in black and white on small screens. If it were not for music, I probably would have stayed in my bedroom reading, rather than joining dad to watch the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights. New on the pop scene was a 13 year old harmonica playing blind kid called "Little Stevie Wonder" who scored a hit with a tune called "Fingertips". 1963 saw the start of what was called "The British Invasion" with these strange "mop-heads" called the Beatles. Bob Dylan created some controversy by walking off the set of the Ed Sullivan Show and would later croon "the time's they are a' changing". A favorite garage band tune, "Louie, Louie" was considered obscene by radio DJs and U.S. teens probably did not notice that the Supreme Court ruled against reading of Bible verses public schools.
Comments
Alyce, this is a great article. I love that you reviewed 1963 within various contexts, considering many perspectives---what a way to open some eyes and show people how far we really have come in what is now 45 years.
I'm just catching up on some older articles--I enjoyed reading this one. I was born in '61 and my mom often says she was holding me in her arms when Kennedy was shot.
All I remember about 1963 is that the news about JFK's assassination and funeral pre-empted my cartoons. (I was four years old.) Interesting article.
Thanks everyone for comments. Tyler Mills: Ha, I think anyone should be able to survive on a hundred grand a year! But I do not know the expenses today's ballplayers have; like do they still get meal tickets and transportation paid. It would be nice if they had a cap on their salaries, so the cost of a bleacher seat was still affordable for the poor. I have quite a few family members that do not mind making A-Rod very wealthy and their are a few stars that use that wealth to help those poor that can not afford to see a live game, or even the cost of cable to watch one on TV.
This article brought back so much memory. My thoughts drifted back to Washington, DC, where I lived at that time. A lot was going on in that year, some very sad. When President JF kennedy was assassinated, there were lots of tears in DC and other states. How well do I remember 1963. A super write.
tina t
(Guest)
(Guest)
11/23/2007
A lot of water under the bridge since 1963 and yet as things change they remain the same.
Alyce, do you think A-Rod could survive on one hundred grand a year? Oh, how times have changed!
Aww yes I remember 1963. I was a Sophmore in High School. Thanks for the memories. :}
Another super article!
Great article. I was born in 1963. Sigh.
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