ABSTRACT
At the US Embassy, situated at the Avenue Rosa Parks in Cameroon’s capital of Yaoundé, is a statue of John F. Kennedy. The bronze and pedestalled presence of America’s 35th president in the courtyard of the embassy underscores his importance to Cameroon and indeed, to all of Africa. In Uganda, locals celebrated Kennedy for “his comprehension of their aspirations, and by his comprehension of the realities of their problems,” stated Joseph E. Casey, who represented Kennedy at the independence celebration of that country. In Kenya, they were many people named after Kennedy. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana respected Kennedy and considered him to be a man with whom he could have frank discussions about Africa’s problems. As president, Kennedy moved quickly to fulfill his promises of aid to African nations. The United States must embark on a “bold, imaginative new program for the development of Africa,” he stated.
