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Image of protestors during U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson's visit to Dallas
Image of protestors during U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson's visit to Dallas

Image of protestors during U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson's visit to Dallas

Object number2004.058.0118.0002
Date10/24/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer Bill Winfrey
ObjectNegative (b&w)
Credit LineBill Winfrey Collection, The Dallas Morning News/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions2 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. (5.7 x 5.7 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOriginal black and white negative on Kodak Safety Film taken by Dallas Morning News photographer Bill Winfrey. The image shows demonstrators holding signs outside Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas on U.N. Day, October 24, 1963. Their signs read: "UN Masters of Deceit," "UN Red Front," "US or UN," "Adlai Remember the Bay of Pigs," and "Hungary Now Cuba." More than 100 right-wing demonstrators showed up to protest U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson's visit to Dallas, less than a month before the Kennedy assassination.
Curatorial Commentary

U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson's rocky visit to Dallas less than a month before the Kennedy assassination helped to solidify the impression of Dallas as a hateful and violent city in the popular imagination. The incident was mentioned by numerous media outlets following the assassination and contributed to the "city of hate" stigma that befell the community following President Kennedy's tragic death.

After witnessing Ambassador Stevenson encounter vocal protestors and get hit on the head with a placard following his speech at Memorial Auditorium, his Dallas host, Stanley Marcus, personally warned Vice President Lyndon Johnson that President Kennedy's upcoming visit to Dallas was "a great mistake." According to Marcus, Johnson replied that it didn't make any difference because the Texas trip was already planned. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator