Passing the torch: 50 years after President Kennedy’s inauguration

By Produced by Katie O'Brien
Passing the torch: 50 years after President Kennedy’s inauguration
Fifty years ago, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. AP/file
Fifty years ago, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. AP/file
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Passing the torch: 50 years after President Kennedy’s inauguration
Fifty years ago, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. AP/file
Fifty years ago, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. AP/file
1 / 9

Passing the torch: 50 years after President Kennedy’s inauguration

By Produced by Katie O'Brien
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Thursday is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. And as far away in time and place as that event sounds, some argue that Chicago can take a little credit – that Kennedy might not have been president without former Mayor Richard J. Daley and his very public support.

To celebrate the milestone, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum released digital copies of its archives. “Eight Forty-Eight” listened to tape from his epic inaugural address to a civic luncheon in Chicago and found more than a few gems. And that some things never change.

To honor the silver anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, the show revisited significant moments of his presidency and had experts reflect on his legacy.

The voices of former Federal Communications Commission chair Newton Minow, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Lonnie Bunch, writer Carol Felsenthal and the executive director of the ACLU of Illinois Colleen Connell.