►
Description
As part of Arlington County's Black History Month events, author Steven Levingston discusses his book, Kennedy and King: The President, the Pastor and the Battle Over Civil Rights, at the Arlington Public Library on February 8 2018.
A
Good
evening
my
name
is
Michelle
Fernandes
and
I
am
from
the
department
of
programs
and
partnerships
here
at
Arlington,
Public
Library.
Thank
you
all
so
much
for
joining
us
here
today
to
hear
Stephen
Livingston
discuss
his
book
Kennedy
and
King
the
president,
the
pastor
and
the
battle
over
civil
rights.
Special
thanks
to
our
partners
at
one
more
page
books
for
being
here
with
us
and
making
copies
of
Kennedy
and
King
available
for
purchase.
Mister
Livingston's
appearance
is
part
of
the
Arlington
Public
Libraries
system-wide
celebration
of
Black
History
Month
for
a
listing
of
other
Black
History.
A
Month
programs
visit
us
online
at
library,
Arlington,
Va,
u.s.
slash
black
history,
follow
us
on
social
media,
and
we
have
some
book
displays
on
the
second
floor
and
throw
out
some
of
our
branches
and
pick
up
one
of
the
Flyers
on
your
way
out.
If
you
don't
have
one
already
tonight's
speaker,
Stephen
Livingston
is
the
nonfiction
editor
at
The
Washington
Post.
He
has
also
worked
for
The
Wall
Street
Journal,
the
International
Herald
Tribune,
The,
Associated
Press
and
the
China
daily
and
has
worked
in
Beijing,
Hong,
Kong
and
Paris.
A
He
grew
up
in
Southern
California
and
holds
degrees
from
UC
Berkeley
and
Stanford
University.
In
addition
to
Kennedy
and
King.
Mr.
Livingston
has
written
two
other
books,
little
demon
in
the
City
of
Light,
a
true
story
of
murder
and
mesmerism
in
Belle
Epoque
Paris
published
in
2014
and
the
Kennedy
baby.
The
loss
that
transformed
JFK,
published
in
2013
Kennedy
M
King,
has
received
widespread
praise,
congressman
and
civil
rights
leader
John
Lewis
described
it
as
the
story
of
two
brilliant
leaders
who
injected
new
meaning
into
the
veins
of
American
society.
A
Together
their
influence
created
a
moral
imperative
that
changed
the
US
and
the
world
Livingston's
book
is
both
historical
and
visionary.
By
reminding
us
of
these
great
leaders
and
their
accomplishments.
This
book
will
fuel
your
passion
for
the
new
work
we
still
need
to
accomplish
in
our
society
without
further
ado.
Please
join
me
in
welcoming
Steven
Livingston.
B
That
was
nice.
Thank
you
very
much,
and
it's
great
to
be
here.
Thank
you
for
having
me
and
thank
you
all
for
coming.
I
should
say
first
that
I
have
this
audio-visual
presentation
that
you
can
see
here,
and
sometimes
these
things
go
a
little
haywire
and
anything
if
anything
goes
wrong
as
we're
putting
it
together.
Here,
we
can
all
just
laugh
along
together.
How
about
that?
B
I
should
also
say
that
some
of
the
images,
particularly
the
video
that
I'll
be
showing,
is
old
and
grainy
so
be
prepared
for
that,
and
even
though
they
are
not
the
greatest
things
to
look
at
and
some
respects
because
of
the
graininess,
they
are
delicious,
as
you'll
see
anyway.
I'm
really
glad
to
have
the
chance
to
discuss
my
book
here
so
close
to
where
much
of
this,
the
action
of
the
book
actually
took
place
for
most
of
us
for
most
of
our
history.
B
B
B
He
didn't
feel
a
need
to
take
credit
for
things
that
he
couldn't
rightly
claim
far
from
it
in
1961
he
traveled
to
Paris
for
an
important
summit
meeting
and
there
his
wife
took
center
stage.
The
French
fell
in
love
with
her
she
dressed
beautifully.
She
spoke
French,
the
president
realized
she
had
stolen
the
heart
of
just
about
every
French
man
and
woman.
In
fact,
she
had
upstaged
him,
but
did
he
complain?
Did
he
whimper?
Did
he
try
to
steal
the
limelight
back?
No,
he
took
it
with
his
usual
ease
and
elegance.
B
C
B
Yes,
50
years
ago,
we
had
a
president
who
understood
irony
and
often
as
his
aide
Arthur
Schlesinger
put
it.
It
was
directed
at
himself.
It
helped
him
to
lighten
crises
and
hold
people
in
problems.
In
balance,
it
was
an
unending
source
of
perspective
and
an
essential
part
of
the
way
he
criticized
himself.
B
President
Kennedy
was
skeptical
of
those
who
believed
they
went
only
from
success
to
success
and
he
was
keenly
aware
of
his
own
failings
and
acknowledged
his
stumbles.
When
his
predecessor,
Dwight
Eisenhower,
published
the
first
volume
of
his
presidential
memoir,
Kennedy
dryly
commented
apparently
Ike
never
did
anything
wrong.
Then
he
told
an
aide
when
we
come
to
write
our
memoirs
of
this
administration
we'll
do
it
differently.
B
We've
come
a
long
way
from
those
days.
50
years
ago
we
had
a
president
who
placed
the
high
importance
on
speaking
the
truth
as
best
he
could
to
the
American
people.
He
respected
the
role
of
the
Free
Press,
as
he
put
it.
The
news
media
are
invaluable
as
a
check
on
what
is
going
on
in
the
administration,
and
he
added
there
is
there,
isn't
any
doubt
that
we
could
not
do
the
job
at
all
in
a
free
society
without
a
very,
very
active
press.
B
We
are
in
a
different
era.
Today,
I
can't
imagine
President
Kennedy,
asserting
that
the
press
is
the
enemy
of
the
American
people,
sure
he
didn't
like
having
his
mistakes
and
failures
revealed,
but
he
never
shut
out
reporters
quite
the
contrary.
He
appeared
regularly
before
the
news
media.
He
held
a
televised
press
conference
every
16
days
on
average
64
of
them
during
his
short
term
during
the
sure
that
the
press
gave
him
a
hard
time
now
and
then
and
in
private.
He
talked
about
his
frustrations
with
the
media,
but
he
never
insulted
a
reporter
in
public.
E
D
B
Fifty
years
ago
we
were
in
a
dangerous
cold
war
with
the
Soviet
Union
and
some
and
the
world
sometimes
felt
poised
at
the
edge
of
nuclear
Armageddon,
but
President
Kennedy,
never
taunted
the
Soviet
Union,
never
called
premier
Khrushchev
by
any
derogatory
names.
Despite
the
tensions,
Kennedy
maintained
a
sense
of
fun.
It
was
ready
with
a
laugh
as
part
of
our
Cold
War
competition.
We
were
in
a
space
race
with
our
communist
adversaries.
There
was
one
crucial
battlefield
in
our
undeclared
war
and
the
Soviets
were
ahead
of
us.
B
D
I
guess
we
chimpanzee,
who
was
flying
in
space,
took
off
the
1008
he
departed.
Everything
is
perfect
and
working
well,.
B
Well,
yes,
today,
things
are
different,
humour,
charm
and
civility
have
been
erased
from
the
political
landscape.
That's
disappointing,
but
there's
something
even
more
to
consider.
I
mentioned
this
difference
between
America
today
and
50
years
ago,
only
because
it
raises
a
curious
historical
question,
a
question
that
seems
all
the
more
pertinent
now
and
it's
this
does.
John
Kennedy
have
any
relevance
to
our
world
today
and
we
could
go
further
and
ask:
does
history
have
any
relevance
to
America
today,
John
Kennedy
had
an
answer
for
this.
He
once
said
we
celebrate
the
past
to
awaken
the
future.
B
Now
the
trick
with
writing
history
and
reading
it
is
you
want
it
to
have
meaning
to
reveal
something
about
our
lives
as
we
live
them
now,
and
the
beautiful
thing
is,
history
is
alive.
It's
the
story
of
all
of
our
lives,
public
and
private.
It's
the
story
of
our
perpetual
struggle
to
improve
ourselves
and
our
nation.
It's
the
story
of
our
quest
to
be
better
than
we
have
been,
and
that's
why
I
believe
the
tale
in
my
book,
Kennedy
and
King
is
as
relevant
now
as
it
was
in
its
own
time
in
the
early
1960s.
B
F
C
Whether
we
are
going
to
treat
our
fellow
Americans
as
we
want
to
be
treated
if
an
American,
because
it's
in
his
dog
cannot
eat
lunch
in
a
restaurant
open
to
the
public
if
he
cannot
send
his
children
to
the
best
public
school
available.
If
he
cannot
vote
for
the
public
officials
who
represent
him
if
enjoyed,
he
cannot
enjoy
the
full
and
free
life
which
all
of
us
want.
Then,
who
among
us
would
be
content?
You
have
the
color
is
engaged
and
standing
in
play
and.
B
That
was
John
Kennedy
in
1963
in
June,
talking
from
The
Oval,
Office
speaking
to
the
nation,
and
in
those
short
few
minutes
he
became
America's
first
civil
rights
president
and
that's
the
common
image
of
John
Kennedy,
a
champion
of
civil
rights.
For
many
years
there
were
three
portraits
side
by
side
on
the
wall
of
many
African
American
homes,
who
was
Jesus,
Martin,
Luther,
King
and
John
F
Kennedy.
B
The
John
Kennedy,
who
spoke
to
the
nation
in
June
of
1963,
was
not
the
same
man
who
entered
the
wife's
White
House
in
January
1961
that
earlier
Kennedy,
the
young
charismatic
new
president,
was
not
a
civil
rights.
President
advocate
he
was
more
concerned
about
his
political
agenda
than
the
struggles
of
20
men
in
black
Americans.
It
took
him
two
and
a
half
years
to
evolve
into
a
president
who
saw
civil
rights
as
a
moral
necessity
and
that's
the
storyline
in
my
book.
B
It
begins
really
with
a
simple
question:
how
did
John
the
John
Kennedy
of
1961
become
the
John
Kennedy
of
1963?
The
answer
contains
many
parts.
It
is
made
up
of
John
of
Kennedy's
character,
his
personal
development
and
his
desire
to
shine
in
history,
but
there
is
also
this
President
Kennedy
had
a
guiding
spirit.
You
could
say
an
angel
on
his
shoulder
the
deeper
you
look
at
those
two
and
a
half
years.
The
more
carefully
you
look
everywhere.
You
look
stands
the
Reverend
Martin
Luther
King
jr.
his
preaching
his
reasoning,
his
leadership
and
most
important.
B
His
moral
authority,
Martin
Luther
King,
was
instrumental
in
guiding
President
Kennedy
toward
his
awakening
on
civil
rights,
but,
like
all
of
us,
Kennedy
was
also
driven
from
within.
He
was
in
a
permanent
state
of
becoming
he
was
always
seeking
to
be
better
than
he
was
the
people
closest
to
him
recognized.
He
had
an
enormous
capacity
for
growth,
Ted
Sorensen
signed
on
as
an
aide
to
Senator
Kennedy
in
1953,
and
stayed
with
him
for
the
next
ten
years.
He
was
struck
by
Kennedy's
curiosity
by
the
way
he
absorbed
new
information.
B
B
There
it
goes
as
Sorensen
points.
Sorensen
put
it
no
attribute.
He
possessed
in
1953
was
more
pronounced
or
more
important
than
his
capacity
for
growth.
His
willingness
to
learn
his
determination
to
explore
and
to
inquire
into
profit
by
experience,
but
there
was
something
more
to
Kennedy's
determination
to
improve
himself.
There
was
in
him
a
raw
ambition
for
greatness
John,
Kennedy
favored,
the
great
man
theory
of
history,
the
notion
that
larger-than-life
personalities
guided
the
course
of
human
destiny.
B
Of
course,
large
import
and
personal
forces
were
always
at
work,
influencing
the
director
to
direction
of
history,
but
ultimately,
according
to
the
great
man
theory,
it
was
the
wisdom
and
boldness
and
decisions
of
certain
individuals
who
determined
the
course
of
human
life.
The
idea
originally
belonged
to
the
19th
century
thinker,
Thomas
Carlyle
in
the
1830s
Carlyle
put
it
this
way.
The
history
of
what
man
has
accomplished
in
this
world
is
at
bottom,
the
history
of
the
great
men
who
have
worked
here
over
the
years.
B
The
theory
was
accepted
by
some
historians
are
rejected
by
others,
but
it
was
never
an
all-or-nothing
idea.
Carlyle
himself
even
acknowledged
that
great
leaders
understood
that
they
channeled
the
great
impersonal
forces
motivating
their
societies.
As
the
contemporary
historian,
Margaret
Macmillan
has
said,
leaders
have
choices
and
the
capacity
to
take
history
down
one
path
rather
than
another.
B
Kennedy
ascribed
the
notion
that
history
was
not
simply
a
passive
unfolding
of
events
beyond
the
control
of
individual
actors.
The
British
historian
Isaiah
Berlin,
once
noted
after
a
dinner
with
Kennedy
that
Jack's
eyes,
as
he
put
it
Shawn
with
a
particular
glitter
when
he
discussed
men
who
shaped
history,
Kennedy
wished
to
join
the
ranks
of
these
betrayal
Blazers.
He
longed
to
mold
history,
to
mold
himself
into
a
figure
who
asserted
his
political
and
moral
courage
and
left
his
mark
on
history,
and
that
was
the
key.
B
The
display
of
courage,
John
Kennedy,
was
always
measuring
himself
against
a
standard
of
courage.
Courageousness
his
father,
Joseph
Kennedy
encouraged
his
sons
to
adhere
to
a
culture
of
manliness.
Courage
was
essential
to
self
perception
of
the
Kennedy
men.
Kennedys
were
men
of
action,
risk
and
domination.
B
Jack's
brother
Joe,
driven
by
this
Creed,
took
on
a
risky
and
dangerous
world
war.
Two
bombing
mission
that
killed
him
lieutenant
Jack
Kennedy
showed
his
courage
in
World
War
two
after
his
PT
boat
was
rammed
and
cut
in
half
by
a
Japanese
destroyer
at
great
whisk
risk
to
himself.
He
saved
the
life
of
one
of
his
crew
men
in
armed
national
praised
as
a
war
hero,
but
with
his
typical
charm,
and
wit,
he
played
down
his
bravery.
When
a
high
school
student
asked
him
how
he
became
a
hero,
Kennedy
quipped,
it
was
easy,
they
sank.
B
My
boat
courage,
physical
political
and
moral
was
something
never
something.
Kennedy
took
lightly
from
his
youth
to
his
death.
He
demonstrated
the
quiet
courage
required
by
a
life
of
chronic
illness
and
constant
pain.
Arthur
Schlessinger
remembered
that
Robert
Kennedy
once
told
him
that
courage
was
the
virtue
jack
most
admired
a
Schlessinger
observed
in
the
first
instance.
B
B
At
the
time.
Senator
John
Kennedy
was
in
a
New
York
Hospital
recovering
from
back
surgery.
It
was
a
risky
operation
because
Jack
suffered
from
Addison's
disease,
an
adrenal
gland
disorder
that
heightened
the
chance
of
infection
and
in
fact,
three
days
after
the
procedure,
he
got
an
infection
and
fell
into
a
coma
by
the
time
the
Senate
vote
came.
However,
he
was
still
in
the
hospital
recovering,
but
he
was
alert
and
under
pressure
to
join
his
colleagues
to
per
man,
Joe
McCarthy,
but
Kennedy
hesitated.
B
He
was
under
personal
pressures
to
McCarthy
was
a
friend
a
fellow
Irishman
and
womanizer,
whose
company
JFK
had
enjoyed
long
before
his
anti-communist
crusade,
Jack's
father
liked.
Mccarthy
too,
he
had
invited
him
to
the
family
estates
in
Hyannis
Port
in
Palm,
Beach
and
McCarthy
had
even
dated
two
of
Jack's
sisters,
Patricia
and
Eunice,
but
McCarthy
was
also
a
menace
to
the
nation.
B
He
had
destroyed
reputable
reputable
men
and
women
by
falsely
accusing
them
of
having
communist
associations
when
it
came
time
to
vote,
Jack
could
have
indicated
his
preference
from
his
hospital
bed,
but
he
lost
his
nerve
and
remained
silent.
The
Senate
condemnation
of
McCarthy,
passed
by
a
large
margin
and
Kennedy,
was
the
only
Democratic
senator
who
did
not
vote
in
favor
of
it.
His
moral
courage
had
eluded
him
before
his
surgery,
Jack
had
planned
to
write
a
magazine
article
on
political
and
moral
courage.
B
Now
the
project
assumed
fresh
importance
for
him.
He'd
been
taken
to
task
for
his
cowardice
on
the
McCarthy
vote
and
he
had
come
to
recognize
his
blunder,
his
moral
failure,
and
so
he
threw
himself
into
this
project.
He
overlooked
the
pain
of
his
slow
recovery
and
worked
with
intensity.
Soon.
The
magazine
article
had
expanded
into
a
book.
He
got
considerable
help
from
Ted,
Sorensen
and
others.
Together
they
identified
eight
senators
who
had
risked
their
political
careers
to
stand
up
for
their
principles
in
the
book.
B
B
Some
historians
have
discounted
the
timing
of
the
book.
Sorenson
himself
has
written
that
Kennedy
did
not
pursue
the
project
to
atone
for
his
role
in
the
McCarthy
vote,
but
the
fact
is
Kennedy
did
pursue
it.
He
could
easily
have
dropped
it,
given
his
weakened
state
and
his
need
to
convalesce,
or
he
could
have
chosen
another
subject,
but
he
was
passionate
about
this
issue.
It
preyed
on
his
mind,
historian,
Doris
Kearns
Goodwin,
has
observed
in
choosing
to
write
about
the
moral
courage
of
others.
B
Jack
Kennedy
may
well
have
been
trying
to
sort
out
his
thoughts
about
his
own
courage
at
this
point
in
his
life,
however,
Jack's
moral
courage
was
indeed
only
literary
by
writing
the
book.
He
discovered
what
it
took
to
attain
moral
courage,
but
he
had
not
risen
to
the
ranks
of
such
men
toward
the
end
of
the
book.
Kennedy
writes
in
a
way
that
sounds
as
though
he's
urging
himself
to
greater
heights
as
he
put
it.
B
B
It
would
take
time,
but
eventually,
Kennedy
did
look
into
his
own
soul
on
civil
rights.
Here
was
this
chance
to
demonstrate
his
moral
courage
and
again,
it
must
be
said.
Kennedy's
journey
was
not
a
solitary
one.
It
was
Martin
Luther
King,
who
helped
direct
his
eyes.
Inward
and
I'd
like
to
tell
you
a
tale
from
the
book
that
shows
the
complicated
relationship
between
these
two
men,
Kennedy
and
King.
B
B
B
Martin
Luther's
wife,
Martin,
Luther,
King's,
wife
Coretta,
was
six
months
pregnant
at
the
time
with
their
third
child.
She
was
in
the
courtroom
and
she
burst
into
tears,
realizing
that
now
she
faced
the
prospect
of
giving
birth
three
months
later,
while
her
husband
was
still
in
prison
and
the
worries
went
deeper
King
if
he
were
put
to
hard
labor.
B
As
the
judge
ordered
he'd
worked
side-by-side
in
a
road
gang
with
white
ruthless
killers,
men
who
had
nothing
to
lose
and
everything
to
gain
by
murdering
an
african-american
celebrity
celebrity
and
civil
rights
troublemaker
now
King's
imprisonment
coming
as
it
did
just
weeks
before
the
election
put
both
Kennedy
and
both
the
Kennedy
and
the
King
camps,
Kennedy
and
Nixon
camps
in
a
tight
spot.
How
are
they
just
to
respond?
B
B
B
The
Kennedy
camp
took
a
different
tack
inside
the
campaign.
King
had
two
passionate
proponents:
White
House
aide
Harris
Wofford,
who
was
a
longtime
friend
of
the
Kings
and
Sargent
Shriver,
John,
Kennedy's,
brother-in-law
and
head
of
the
campaign's
civil
rights
section.
Soon.
These
two
men
came
up
with
a
simple
but
risky
plan.
John
Kennedy
needed
to
show
some
compassion.
All
he
had
to
do
was
pick
up
the
phone
and
call
Coretta
King,
but
the
political
fallout
alarmed
one
of
Kennedy's,
King
advisors,
Kenny,
O'donnell
and
he
and
Shriver
went
head
to
head.
B
O'donnell
saw
nothing
but
disaster
for
the
campaign.
He
warned
Kennedy.
There
are
a
million
ways
politically
it
could
be
a
mess,
but
Schreiber
was
insistent
and
he
demanded
a
few
moments
with
his
brother-in-law
in
private.
You
know
I'm
right,
Shriver,
told
O'donnell,
maybe
O'donnell
said
then
he
reminded
Shriver
how
things
often
go
in
politics
if
it
works,
you'll
get
no
credit.
If
it
doesn't
work,
you'll
get
all
the
blame.
B
At
the
time,
Kennedy
was
in
a
hotel
suite
in
Chicago
preparing
to
leave
for
his
next
campaign.
Stop
Schreiber
went
into
the
bedroom
and
found
his
brother-in-law
alone
folding.
His
clothes
into
his
suitcase,
he
laid
out
his
idea,
but
Kennedy
didn't
seem
to
be
listening.
His
mind
was
elsewhere
unknown
to
any
of
his
campaign.
Staff
John
Kennedy
himself
had
been
outraged
by
Kings
imprisonment.
B
Jailing
King
for
four
months
was
in
Kennedy's
eyes
a
judicial
abomination,
but
he
also
knew
how
delicate
the
matter
was
politically,
and
he
saw
only
one
option
to
work
quietly
through
backchannels
that
morning
he
had
phoned
the
governor
of
Georgia
to
see
if
there
was
any
way
the
governor
could
intercede
on
Kings
behalf
Shriver
knew
none
of
this
and
he
continued
to
argue
his
point.
He
told
Kennedy
that
calling
Coretta
would
show
he
had
sympathy
for
a
pregnant
woman
who
was
afraid
for
herself
and
for
her
husband.
You
just
need
to
tell
mrs.
B
B
How
do
I
get
to
her
and
then
in
the
king
home
in
Atlanta,
the
phone
rang
after
several
seconds,
Coretta
heard
a
voice
that
was
familiar
to
her
from
the
recent
televised
presidential
debates.
Good
morning,
mrs.
King
the
voice
said
this
is
Senator
Kennedy.
There
was
a
brief
exchange
of
pleasantries
and
then
Kennedy
offered
his
sympathy.
He
said
he
understood
she
was
expecting
a
baby
and
he
knew
how
hard
this
must
be
for
her
I
just
wanted
you
to
know.
He
told
her
that
I
was
thinking
about
you
and
dr.
King.
B
If
there
is
anything,
I
can
do
to
help.
Please
feel
free
to
call
on
me,
and
that
was
it.
The
call
was
over.
It
lasted
no
more
than
90
seconds
afterwards.
Shriver
informed,
Kenny,
O'donnell
and
don't
O'donnell
was
gloomy.
You
just
lost
us
the
election.
He
said
in
Washington,
Bobby
Kennedy
flew
into
a
rage.
He
was
the
Kennedy
campaign
manager
and
now
he
saw
defeat
John
Kennedy,
showing
sympathy
to
a
civil
rights
leader.
Why
not
just
hand
the
election
to
Nixon.
B
Shriver
never
forgot
Bobby's
phone
call.
He
landed
on
me
like
a
ton
of
bricks.
He
scorched
my
ass
Shriver
remembered
Bobby
was
furious,
saying
his
brother
was
going
to
lose
the
election
because
of
that
stupid
call,
but,
like
his
brother,
Bobby
was
privately
outraged
by
Kings
treatment
and
like
his
brother,
he
sought
to
work
behind
him
back
channels
without
anyone
knowing
not
even
his
own
aides.
B
Later
that
day,
he
made
it
to
his
own
telephone
call
directly
to
judge
Oscar
Mitchell
and
he
let
Mitchell
know
in
no
uncertain
terms
that
he
stood
in
violation
of
the
law.
The
fact
was,
the
law
required
a
man
in
King's
situation
to
be
freed
on
bail,
well,
pressure
quickly
mounted
on
Mitchell
and
the
next
day
he
released
King
on
a
two
thousand
dollar
bond.
B
B
Black
newspapers
across
the
country
rallied
their
readers
and
endorsed
Jack
Kennedy
to
New
York
Amsterdam
news,
the
Baltimore
afro-american,
the
Chicago
Defender
Kennedy
had
not
been
known
as
a
great
friend
of
black
voters.
He
was
too
cozy
with
some
racist
politicians
and
he
hadn't
spoken
out
forcefully
enough
on
civil
rights,
but
in
a
single
day
he
erased
his
negative
reputation
and
the
news
about
the
call
stayed
mostly
within
the
black
communities.
The
mainstream
press
picked
up
the
story,
but
it
wasn't
played
very
large
and
the
television
networks
gave
it
only
modest
coverage.
B
B
Martin
Luther
King
recognized
the
possibility
of
both
impulses
and
they
didn't
necessarily
contradict
each
other.
There
are
those
moments
in
history.
King
said
that
what
is
morally
right
is
politically
expedient,
whatever
the
impulse
with
the
election
only
days
away,
John
Kennedy
was
riding
a
wave
of
popularity
in
black
homes,
on
the
streets
and
in
the
churches,
Martin
Luther,
King's
father,
a
prominent
Atlanta
minister,
was
a
Nixon
man.
He
planted
to
plan
to
vote
against
Kennedy
because
of
his
religion,
but
now
he
told
his
congregation.
Kennedy
can
be
my
president
Catholic
or
whatever
he
is.
B
Daddy
King
promised
to
round
up
all
the
votes
he
could
for
Kennedy
I've
got
a
suitcase,
he
said
and
I'm
going
to
take
them
up
there
and
dump
him
in
his
lap,
but
Shriver
and
Wofford
weren't,
taking
anything
for
granted.
They
scrambled
to
capitalize
in
the
black
communities
turned
to
Kennedy.
They
raced
to
produce
a
small
pamphlet
printed
on
cheap
blue
paper.
With
the
title
the
case
of
Martin
Luther
King.
The
aim
was
to
highlight
Kennedy's
compassion,
in
contrast
to
Nixon's
callousness
at
first
the
men
printed
50,000
copies,
then
another
250,000.
B
In
the
end,
some
2
million
Amplatz
were
handed
out
to
congregate,
sat
black
churches
in
st.
Louis,
Detroit,
Chicago,
Philadelphia,
Atlanta
and
elsewhere,
and
on
Election
Day.
As
we
know,
Kennedy
eked
out
a
victory
beating
Nixon
by
only
a
hundred
and
twenty
thousand
votes
in
Illinois
Kennedy
won
by
nine
thousand
votes
and
250,000
blacks
turned
out
for
him.
In
Michigan
he
carried
the
state
by
67
thousand
votes
and
another
250
thousand
blacks
cast
ballots
for
him.
B
Black
leaders
claimed
they
gave
Kennedy
his
margin
of
victory
in
11
states
for
a
total
of
a
hundred
and
sixty
nine
electoral
votes.
A
Gallup
poll
found
that
overall,
some
70%
of
african-americans
voted
for
Kennedy.
From
the
black
perspective.
It
was
in
arguable.
Their
community
had
put
John
Kennedy
into
the
White
House.
B
E
B
At
times,
Kennedy
kept
King
at
a
distance,
ignored
him
even
questioned
his
loyalty
to
America,
but
Martin
Luther
King
never
gave
up
in
speeches,
television
interviews,
phone
calls
to
the
White,
House,
telegrams
and
occasional
face-to-face
meetings
with
the
president.
King
was
unrelenting.
He
challenged
Kennedy
instructed
him
to
think
in
moral
terms
about
the
legacy
of
slavery
and
the
meaning
of
inequality
in
America,
King,
challenged
Kennedy
to
be
a
great
man
of
history,
as
he
declared
human
progress,
never
rolls
in
on
wheels
of
inevitability.
B
B
B
Two
and
a
half
years
of
segregated
universities,
riots
and
arrests,
but
finally,
Kennedy
found
his
moral
courage.
He
had
discovered
to
the
best
of
his
ability
what
it
felt
like
to
be
black
in
America
through
his
long
struggle
full
of
many
hesitations.
He
finally
saw
black
lives
not
just
through
the
eyes
of
a
white
privileged
New
Englander,
but
from
the
perspective
of
a
black
man,
a
black
woman
and
a
black
child,
and
on
that
June
evening
in
1963,
President
Kennedy
went
before
the
nation.
B
C
H
B
The
influence
of
Martin
Luther
King
was
there
in
the
themes
and
language
of
the
President's
speech,
and
not
just
in
Kennedy's
call
for
a
moral
vision
on
civil
rights,
but
in
the
way
the
president
laid
out
his
argument.
The
emphasis
on
empathy
and
conscience
during
the
Birmingham
protests
King
had
spent
time
in
prison,
and
it
was
from
there
that
he
wrote
his
famous
letter
from
Birmingham
jail
in
it.
B
Kennedy
had
absorbed
Kings
perspective
earlier
in
his
speech,
he
described
the
realities
of
life
much
as
King
had
as
we
heard
earlier.
He
said
if
you
were
a
white
American
subjected
to
such
treatment.
Would
you
be
content
to
have
the
color
of
your
skin
changed
and
stand
in
a
black
man's
place
in
a
certain
sense?
King
was
the
author
of
the
president's
civil
rights
speech.
King's
teachings
had
penetrated
the
president's
conscience
and
were
echoed
in
his
words
that
night
on
television,
as
one
observer
noted
throughout
the
speech,
Kennedy
seemed
to
be
channeling.
B
Martin
Luther
King
by
1963
John
Kennedy,
had
finally
found
his
conscience
on
civil
rights
and
his
voice
after
he
spoke
to
the
nation.
King
sent
him
a
telegram.
He
called
the
speech
one
of
the
most
eloquent
profound
and
unequivocal
pleas
for
justice
and
freedom
for
all
men
ever
made
by
any
president.
B
B
Back
in
1954
and
55,
when
John
Kennedy
wrote
profiles
and
courage,
he
had
an
idealized
view
of
the
courageous
politician
and
throughout
most
of
his
political
career.
His
place
among
such
men
was
largely
imaginary
on
civil
rights.
He
had
moved
only
with
tentative
steps
and
for
every
advance.
There
was
a
measurable
retreat,
but
over
the
months
and
years
of
his
presidency
he
grew
almost
imperceptibly.
As
a
politician,
a
president
and
a
man
on
civil
rights,
he
listened
to
Martin
Luther
King,
to
his
brother,
Robert
Kennedy,
and
to
his
own
conscience.
B
B
The
President
had
the
opportunity
to
address
an
injustice
that
for
too
long
contradicted
America's
values
by
acting
on
civil
rights,
Kennedy
not
only
asserted
his
political
will.
He
also
lifted
the
nation
on
to
a
higher
moral
plane.
At
last,
he
had
risen
to
the
ideal
he
had
envisioned
for
himself
when
he
wrote
profiles
and
courage,
as
Kennedy
asserted
in
that
book.
A
man
does
what
he
must,
in
spite
of
personal
consequences,
despite
of
obstacles
and
dangers
and
pressure,
and
that
is
the
basis
of
all
human
morality.
B
Looking
back,
Martin
Luther
King,
perhaps
said
it
best.
We
saw
two
Kennedys,
he
explained
a
Kennedy,
the
first
two
years
of
visit
of
his
term
and
another
Kennedy
emerging
in
1963
in
Kings
view.
The
second
Kennedy
was
a
man
who
not
only
saw
the
moral
issues
but
was
also
in
King's
words
willing
to
stand
up
in
a
courageous
manner
for
them.
King's
message
it
finally
sunk
in,
but
King
also
knew
that
historic
change
never
came
easily.
What
he
learned
from
his
experience
with
John
Kennedy
remains
relevant
to
this
day,
as
he
put
it.
I
With
respect
to
historic
support
for
the
Republican
Party
by
the
the
African
American
community,
is
it
fair
to
say
that
if
Kennedy
hadn't
done
so
well
with
a
black
community
in
1960
that
Nixon
would
have
taken
most
of
the
Republican
vote
in
the
his
call
to
Coretta?
Scott
King
gave
him
the
margin
of
victory.
I.
Think.
B
Yes,
in
the
last
point,
and
also
on
the
earlier
points,
that's
a
very
good
point,
because
the
Republican
Party
was
becoming
more
enlightened
on
black
issues
and
Richard
Nixon
was
was
very
popular
with
with
blacks
or
some
some
blacks,
Jackie
Robinson,
in
particular,
was
a
big
fan
of
Richard
Nixon,
and
so
the
the
part
both
parties
were
really
starting
to
see
that
some
necessary
change,
I
think
was
was
was
imperative
in
the
country
and
I
think
you're,
probably
probably
pretty
much
right
on
the
heart
there
that
if
things
hadn't
guys
as
we
like
to
talk
about
history,
it's
never
inevitable
and
in
all
of
these
little
moments
cause
history
to
swing
one
way
or
another,
we're
in
the
middle
of
that
right
now
in
1919
60
election
with
King
getting
arrested
and
Kennedy
deciding
to
make
that
call.
B
That
was
just
a
moment
that
really
caused
things
to
move
historical,
historical
trends
to
move
in
ways
that
you
can't
even
you
can't
even
really
assess
in
some
ways.
Just
because
of
that
one
moment
it
was
not.
It
was
not
in
it
was
not
inevitable,
I
mean
so
I
think.
If
that
hadn't
happened,
we
might
have
seen
an
entirely
different
result
in
there
in
the
election
as
well.
It's
very
interesting
when.
B
Part
of
the
problem
there
I
believe,
came
from
J
Edgar
Hoover,
who
was
adamantly
racist
and
anti
King
and
feared
King's
power
and
and
persuasion
in
the
country
and
was
making
up
a
lot
of
things
about
King.
The
Kennedys
had
no
choice
in
some
ways
to
believe
what
they
were
told
by
their
FBI
chief
who
said
he
had
documents
said
he
had
proof
of
what
he
told
John
and
Bobby
Kennedy
about
the
communist
affiliations
of
Martin
Luther.
B
G
H
I
hope
this
isn't
too
off
the
wall,
but
I
was
in
high
school
during
this
time.
I
had
family
all
over
the
country.
My
grandfather
lived
down
in
Texas.
My
father
from
Missouri
was
a
little
bit
interested
in
democratic
politics
and
that
what
I
was
thinking
as
time
went
on
was
the
third
person
in
this
kind
of
structure
who,
over
the
over
the
years,
had
a
profound
effect.
H
That's
Lyndon,
Johnson
I
sense
that
people
thought
at
the
time
of
the
nomination
that
he
was
put
on
the
ticket
to
balance
Kennedy
so
that
he
wouldn't
be
wouldn't
like
too
much
of
the
New
England
liberal,
but
he
certainly
had
a
very
unusual
role
for
a
Texas
politician.
So
you
have
any
thoughts
about
Lyndon
Johnson's
how
he
got
into
this
and
oh
I'm,
sorry
how
he
got.
B
Well,
as
we
all
know,
Lyndon
Johnson
was
instrumental
in
passing
the
legislation
after
Kennedy's
death
and
in
many
respects
it
might
have
been
a
lot
harder
if
John
Kennedy
was
still
the
president
trying
to
pass
legislation
because
Lyndon
Johnson
was
was
a
man
of
the
Senate
understood
how
to
work
the
Senate
and
as
president,
he
was
able
to
do
that
in
a
very
effective
way.
So
I
mean
his
role.
Was
you
know
it
was
tremendous
when
he
understood
what
needed
to
be
done
and
went
after.
You
know
the
plan
to
do
that.
H
B
B
It's
a
good
question:
I
do
think
it
might
have.
It
was
to
to
win
southern
support,
I
mean
clearly
and
I.
Don't
know
that
in
some
ways
Kennedy
was
perceived
as
as
a
you
know,
New
England
liberal,
but
in
other
ways
he
was
not.
He
was
kind
of
conservative
in
many
ways
as
well.
So
I
don't
know
that
the
conservative
angle
was
was
all
that
much,
but
I
really
I'm
not
read
in
enough
on
that.
To
really
say
anything,
that's
terribly
intelligent
know.
E
F
First
of
all,
thank
you
very
much
enjoy
this
I
think.
Did
you
book
talk
about
any
of
their
personal
criticisms
with
each
other
they
may
have
held
privately,
and
the
other
didn't
know
that
I.
B
B
John
Kennedy
I
think
he
had
sort
of
a
sort
of
private
admiration
for
Martin,
Luther,
King
and
an
understanding
of
his
power,
and
he
needed
to
sort
of
understand
it
more
and
to
tap
more
into
it.
There
were
times
when,
when
they
were
having
discussions
in
the
White
House,
there
was
one
particular
case.
It's
in
the
book.
B
I
can't
remember
exactly
what
the
discussion
what
the
moment
was,
but
it
was
a
critical
moment
in
the
civil
rights
crisis
and
Kennedy
wanted
to
hear
what
Martin
Luther
King
had
to
say
what
Martin
Luther
King
thinks
should
be
done
or
what
he
thought.
The
reaction
would
be
among
his
you
know
those
people
and
so
that
he
had
one
of
his.
B
His
lieutenants
Kennedy
had
one
of
his
lieutenants
go
and
call
Martin
Luther
King,
while
the
other
advisors
and
Kennedy
folks
were
discussing
this
issue,
and
then
he
came
back
and
told
King
I'm
told
Kennedy
in
the
crowd
that
you
know
King
thinks
this,
but
he
he
was
a
little
cagey
about
what
his
advice
was,
but
it
sort
of
more
shows
that
Kennedy
had
this.
Had
this
respect
and
understanding
that
King
was
a
voice
that
really
had
to
be
listened
to.
If
he
was
going
to
make
any
progress
and
he
was
going
to
do
right
thing.
J
J
See,
okay,
all
right
good!
It's
reassuring!
The
I!
Don't
want
to
be
too
repetitive
on
the
Johnson
question,
but
I
was
thinking
along
similar
lines.
Do
you
think
to
what
degree
do
you
think
and
again
this
a
little
beyond
the
scope
of
your
book,
but
that
you
know
the
death
of
John
Kennedy
and
then
and
then
also
you
know,
Martin,
Luther,
King
and
and
Robert
Kennedy?
J
B
That's
that's
a
good
question.
I
think
it
did
push
it
forward,
because
one
of
the
first
speeches
in
Lyndon
Johnson
gave
after
Kennedy
was
assassinated
was
that
he
wanted
to
honor
his
legacy
on
civil
rights
and
he
was
gonna
move
forward
with
that.
So
he
already
sort
of
pushed
that
ball
forward
and-
and
let
people
know
that
how
important
that
was
to
the
Kennedy
administration
and
how
important
you
thought
it
was
to
the
whole
nation
right
now
right
at
that
time,
and
so
I
do
think.
B
B
Even
on
that
night,
when
Kennedy
gave
his
famous
speech
in
June,
11
and
Martin
Luther
King
was
so
ecstatic
and
many
blacks
around
the
country
were
very
excited
that
things
were
really
moving
forward
on
that
very
same
night
was
the
night
that
Medgar
Evers
came
home
after
being
out
and
working
on.
His
efforts
in
civil
rights
and
was
shot
dead
in
his
driveway
and
his
children
heard
it
and
came
running
out
and
so
on.
B
So
you
have
this
trend
of
with,
with
all
kinds
of
you
know,
efforts
to
push
our
country
forward
in
all
sorts
of
ways
in
particularly
in
civil
rights,
where
you
feel
like
you're
moving
forward
and
you
just
always
kind
of
run
into
a
wall,
and
you
have
you
have
terrible
tragedy
and
you
step
backwards.
It
happened
again
after
the
great
march
on
Washington
after
King
gave
us.
B
You
know,
I
have
a
dream
speech
just
a
few
weeks
after
that,
or
it
was
that
terrible
bombing
at
the
16th
Street
Baptist
Church
in
Birmingham,
and
killed
four
little
girls.
So
you
know
they
thought
that
that
that
March
went
off
beautifully.
It
was
peaceful,
it
was
forward-looking
and
it
achieved
a
lot
and
Kennedy
was
overwhelmed
and
he
thought
it
was
great
and
we
were
really
moving
forward.
And
then
you
have
another
one
of
these
instances
where
you
just
get
pulled
up
by
the
short
hairs
and
in
some
ways
that's
sort
of
this.
B
K
B
B
Many
people
ask
that
question
and
it's
an
excellent
question
and
it's
it
I
do
get
into
that
in
in
the
book
as
well,
though,
I
try
to
focus
on
on
the
influence
of
Martin
Luther
King,
but
Bobby
Kennedy
was
always
there.
Bobby
Kennedy,
as
we
know,
was
a
was
a
more
passionate
figure
than
John
Kennedy
and
he
was
also
I
think
which
I
talk
about
in
the
book
was
evolving
a
lot
faster
than
than
his
brother,
John
and
I.
B
Think
he
made
that
clear,
even
though
he
was
trying
to
do
his
brothers
bidding
and
his
brother
wanted
to
slow
down
and
wanted
to
do
these
other
things.
Bobby
was
always
there,
like.
You
know
that
enthusiastic
puppy
wanting
to
to
bark
and
push
his
brother
forward
to
do
bigger
and
greater
things
on
civil
rights,
and
we
certainly
saw
that
after
John
was
assassinated
in
the
way
that
Bobby
evolved
through
until
his
until
his
death.
B
Partly
I
think
we
don't.
We
may
not
have
some
of
the
figures
who
have
a
moral
authority
to
lead
us
in
a
way
that
figures
of
the
past
have
but
I
think
if
those
moral
authorities
are
there,
they
have
a
harder
time.
Getting
their
message
across
and
being
heard
is
part
of
the
problem
as
well,
because
there's
we
live
in
a
different
media
generation
as
well
that
the
media
is
so
fractured
and
so
diffuse
that
it's
it's
really
difficult
for
some
people
who
accept
I
completely
contradict
myself.
B
If
I'd
mentioned
our
president,
because
he
used
the
media
beautifully
to
push
himself
very
high
and
far,
but
many
others
who
want
to
express
themselves
and
want
to
have
them
have
a
moral
impact
in
a
broad
way
and
maybe
come
from
a
lower
base,
have
a
harder
time
attracting
the
larger
audience,
because
there
are
so
many
audiences
out
there
and
and
it's
so
it's
so
fractured
I.
Think
in
you
know,
in
Martin
Luther
King's
day
and
in
Kennedy's.
You
know
we
had
three
networks.
B
We
had
you
know
a
few
very
strong
papers,
newspapers
and
news
weeklies,
and
they
really
set
the
the
mood
standard
of
what
kind
of
news
and
media
people
the
diet
of
what
the
population
got
today.
You
know
it's,
as
you
all
know,
it's
just
across
the
board.
It's
it's
every
small
internet
site.
It's
it's
Facebook,
it's
its
Twitter!
It's
it's
still
thank
God.
You
know
the
New
York
Times
in
the
Washington
Post
and
still
the
networks,
but
there
are
more
networks.
B
Know,
I
think
I
think
that's
I!
Think
that's
all,
but
you
say
was
a
very
interesting,
an
interesting
point.
One
thing
I'd
like
to
key
in
on
that
you
were
sort
of
getting
out
with
the
Baldwin.
Buckley
thing
is
the
problem
today,
especially
how
people
don't
want
to
listen
to
each
other,
especially
different
people.
B
They
don't
want
to
listen
to
each
other
and
and
that's
the
way
you
learn
and
understand
and
grow
and
develop
an
compassion
and
understanding
of
where
someone
else
comes
from,
and
that's
part
of
what
this
book
is
all
about
is
is
the
understanding
of
empathy,
both
ways
everybody
has
to
sort
of
like
try
to
understand
where
that
other
person
is
there's
a
I'm.
One
of
my
favorite
parts
of
the
book
is
there's
a
scene
where
Bobby
Kennedy
wants
to
know
more
about
what's
going
on
in
the
civil
rights
movement
he
feels
like
he
doesn't.
B
He
doesn't
get
it
enough
and
he
he
invites
James
Baldwin
to
his
house,
and
they
have
a
very
brief
conversation
because
he
his
plane
was
late.
He
can
you
know
Kennedy
you
had
to
get
into
DC
and
so
that
we
wanted
to
continue
this
conversation
another
day
and
he
asked
Baldwin
to
get
together
a
bunch
of
African
American
luminaries
who
he
could
meet
with
and
they
could
have
a
chat,
and
he
just
wanted
to
hear
what
they're
thinking
so
he
could
start
to
understand.
So
they
had
this.
They
had
this
get-together
a
few
days
later.
B
B
I,
can't
recall
his
name
either,
but
he
wasn't
famous.
He
was
a
civil
rights
guy.
He
had
been
in
the
Army
I
think
and
they
all
gathered
in
this
in
this
room
to
talk.
But
as
soon
as
Bobby
Kennedy
arrived,
he
started
getting
berated
by
all
these
people
for
what
he
hadn't
done
and
you
know
Lorraine
Hansberry
went
after
him.
She
had
some
very
good
pointed
things
to
say,
and
then
the
soldiers
started
talking
to
him
in
really
harsh
terms.
B
At
one
point
he
said
you
know:
I
wouldn't
I
wouldn't
serve
my
serve
in
the
military.
Again
I
don't
want
to
serve
this
country.
I.
Don't
think
that's
right
because
of
the
way
this
country
is
now
and
to
Bobbie.
Who
is
you
know
very
much
of
a
guy
who
believed
in
his
country,
though,
that
really
stabbed
him.
It
really
hurt
him.
So
we
kind
of
like
sat
down.
He
was
kind
of
stunned
and
he
sat
there.
He
couldn't
believe
all
of
these
people
were
attacking
him.
B
The
way
they
were
because
he
felt
he
was
doing
something
good.
He
was
trying
to
help.
He
was
trying
to
improve
the
situation
that
was
horrible
and
the
thing
Harry
Belafonte
was
there
to
I,
remember
too
so
that
this
session
ended
Bobby
went
his
way.
Everybody
else
went
their
way
and
Bobby
was
just
desolate
for
days
afterwards,
but
then
he
realized
that
these
guys,
by
attacking
him
and
giving
their
side
so
fervently
that
he
needed
to
really
stop
and
think
about
this
a
little
bit
more.
B
Maybe
he
felt
you
he
was
doing
something,
but
he
hadn't
been
doing
enough,
so
he
he
spent
the
next
I.
Don't
know
how
long
thinking
hard
about
what
had
been
said
to
him
and
in
some
ways
this
according
to
the
people
who
knew
him
and
were
around
him.
It
was
one
of
the
great
moments
that
drove
him
forward
in
his
own
evolution
in
understanding
the
need
for
empathy
for
understanding
where
that
other
man
that
other
woman
is
in
their
life
in
their
perspective
and
how
they
approach
life.
B
A
B
L
Mr.
Levenstein,
thank
you
for
sharing
your
insights
and
helping
to
remind
us
of
what
we
were
and
could
possibly
be
again
I
very
much
liked.
The
closing
quotes
that
you
shared
with
us
from
dr.
King
about
the
difficulty
of
educating
a
president
and
I'm
wondering
if
dr.
King
took
any
lessons
from
his
relationship
with
JFK
and
applied
them
in
the
subsequent
relationship
with
President
Johnson
that
you
might
be
aware
of.
B
B
M
Thank
you
again,
I
know
we're
ready
to
tie
this
up,
but
a
lot
of
us
mentioned
feeling
this
sense
of
sadness
since
previous
administrations.
In
this
period
of
time
we
lived
through
so
long
ago,
and
we're
looking
for
moral
authority
from
somewhere
and
I
feel
better
each
day,
I
think
being
in
a
group
like
this,
where
we
share
memories,
share
history
and
try
to
look
forward
the
best
we
can
with
research
like
this
as
a
foundation.
I
think
we
have
to
continue
to
look
for
moral
authority
within
ourselves.