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Image of the Kennedys talking to Rev. Baxton Bryant at Love Field
Image of the Kennedys talking to Rev. Baxton Bryant at Love Field

Image of the Kennedys talking to Rev. Baxton Bryant at Love Field

Object number1994.003.0006.0002
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer Tom C. Dillard
ObjectNegative (b&w)
Credit LineTom C. Dillard Collection, The Dallas Morning News/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions15/16 × 1 7/16 in. (2.4 × 3.6 cm)
DescriptionOriginal black and white 35mm negative by Dallas Morning News chief photographer Tom Dillard. The image shows President and Mrs. Kennedy greeting local dignitaries at Love Field on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. They are speaking to Rev. Baxton Bryant, and they are all smiling. Mrs. Kennedy carries the roses given to her by Mrs. Dearie Cabell. Secret Service agent Clint Hill is standing behind the Kennedys, in the upper right corner.
Curatorial Commentary
On the left side of the image, next to the Rev. Baxton Bryant, who is speaking to the Kennedys, the hands and legs of someone sitting in a wheelchair can be seen. While the person's face is obstructed from view by a man's back, other photographs from this collection indicate the person in the wheelchair is probably Annie Dunbar, a Kennedy supporter. - Stephanie Allen-Givens, Collections and Exhibits Manager
In this photograph, President Kennedy is speaking to Rev. Baxton Bryant, then pastor of Elwood Methodist Church in Dallas. Prior to the Texas trip, Bryant vocally complained that Kennedy supporters were being snubbed by not receiving invitations to the Dallas Trade Mart luncheon. He even arranged a protest meeting for Kennedy supporters at the Dallas County Records Building in Dealey Plaza on Monday, November 18. Some sixty-three people attended. As evidenced by this photo, Bryant managed to personally greet President Kennedy at Love Field, where he told the president that Sen. Ralph Yarborough had provided a ticket for Bryant to attend the luncheon. In a 1989 interview, Bryant said that he "stayed up all night making the signs for the young grassroots Democrats," which are visible in many of the photographs taken at Dallas Love Field that day. After the Kennedy assassination, Bryant went on to challenge Dallas mayor Earle Cabell for the Democratic nomination for Congress in 1964. Cabell won the nomination and ultimately unseated Republican Bruce Alger. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator