President John F. Kennedy
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City
April 27, 1961
The very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.
I have worked all over the world with and for people of many different races, skin colors, and languages. Let me tell you, the vast majority are just normal, kind, generous people just like you and me. So, let’s just remove ALL references to race, gender, language, sexual preference from every bit of our lives.
If we don’t discriminate between people, and we make no attempt to classify them, then there can never be any discrimination!
