Kennedy’s Secret Meeting: Behind Closed Doors with the Business Elite

In a move that sent shockwaves through the nation’s capital, President John F. Kennedy convened a clandestine meeting with 100 of the country’s top business leaders at the White House on June 4, 1963. The stakes were high as Kennedy sought to ease the mounting racial tensions that had been brewing across the nation. The unusual gathering, described as ‘private’ by the White House, brought together representatives from the nation’s largest hotel, motel, and theater chains, as well as prominent restaurateurs and retail moguls.