Black and white photograph of crowd in Dealey Plaza

In the summer of 1965, Richardson, Texas, resident Martina Langley launched an effort, almost singlehandedly, to convince the City of Dallas to finally recognize the Kennedy assassination at the site of the tragedy. Langley organized the Committee for Kennedy Assassination Site Memorial and visited the plaza hundreds of times, speaking to tourists and passing out leaflets. Her efforts led the Dallas Park Board to propose this multi-paneled bronze marker mounted on marble supports, although the wording of the marker was the subject of some controversy. Originally, the Dallas Park Board only briefly acknowledged the assassination beneath eight detailed paragraphs about the city's early history. Langley successfully pressured the Dallas city council to remove the extraneous Dallas historical information in March 1966. A specific reference to Lee Harvey Oswald was deleted during final review of the text. The marker was installed in November 1966 without an official dedication ceremony. Instead, Langley herself, along with her two children, led an informal ceremony and placed a large floral wreath at the site with the message: "Lest We Forget." -- Stephen Fagin, Curator