Parting the Waters

by Taylor Branch

  fifty-fourth annual convention: The Crisis, August—September 1963, pp. 389-400; Chicago Sun-Times, July 5, 1963, p. 4; CD, July 6, 1963, p. 1; NYT, July 5, p. 1, and July 6, 1963, p. 1; BW, July 10, 1963, p. 1; Newsweek, July 15, 1963, p. 20; Jet, July 25, 1963, pp. 50—51; Meredith, Three Years, pp. 310-19.

  Wilkins told viewers: “For Freedom Now,” NET interview aired July 22, 1963, A/KS4. By King’s log, the show was taped in New York on July 12, A/SC29.

  “a few human hearts”: Farmer, Lay Bare, p. 216.

  battered stucco building: Gentile, March, pp. 47-56.

  Organizing Manual No. 1: Gentile, March, p. 56; NYT, July 25, 1963, p. 11.

  sent word to O’Dell: Int. Jack O’Dell, July 1, 1986.

  “Pays O’Dell Despite”: BN, June 30, 1963, p. 1.

  learned from Burke Marshall: Garrow, FBI, p. 63.

  Kennedy’s most favored reporters: Int. Edwin Guthman, June 25, 1984. Free was Washington correspondent for BN.

  letter of dismissal: King to O’Dell, July 3, 1963, A/KP18f38, with a copy to Marshall: Dora McDonald to Marshall with enclosure, July 3, 1963, A/KP24f20; O’Dell to King, July 12, 1963, A/KP18f39.

  join the staff of Freedomways: Int. Jack O’Dell, July 1, 1986. His first article, “The Negro People in the Southern Economy,” appeared in the Fall 1963 issue, pp. 526-48.

  still down in Ecuador: The Levisons discussed the vacation on the telephone, as picked up regularly by the FBI wiretaps, e.g., FLNY-9-236a, from July 22, 1963.

  President Carlos Arosemena: NYT, July 12, 1963, p. 1.

  or so it was told: John Rothchild, Latin America: Yesterday and Today (Bantam Books, 1978), p. 283.

  Courthouse in New Orleans: Garrow, FBI, p. 62; int. Roger Wilkins, Dec. 7, 1983.

  deeply planted KGB agent: NYT, Feb. 10, 1962, p. 1.

  If Stalin had invented: Int. Harry Wachtel, Oct. 27, 1983, and Harry Belafonte, March 6-7, 1985.

  tactical compromise: Int. Clarence Jones, Aug. 18, 1986.

  King sent Clarence: Evans to Belmont, July 16, 1963, FBI #100-3-116-41; U.S. Senate (Church Committee), Report No. 94-755, Book III, pp. 100—1; Garrow, FBI, p. 63; int. Clarence Jones, Oct. 25-26, 1983, and Burke Marshall, June 27, 1984.

  “Barnett Charges”: NYT, July 13, 1963, p. 1; also WS, July 12, 1963, p. 1; WP, July 13, 1963, p. 1.

  Wallace introduced: NYT, July 16, 1963, p. 1; Baumgardner to Sullivan, July 16, 1963, FK-NR.

  Just that morning: Evans to Belmont, July 16, 1963, FK-166.

  Bureau had met the deadline: Jones to DeLoach, July 16, 1963, FK-164, based partly on Bland to Sullivan, July 13, 1963, FK-160.

  suspicious character: Robert Kennedy, JFKOH; Bland to Sullivan, July 17, 1963, FJ-18.

  did he tell Marshall: Int. Burke Marshall, June 27, 1984.

  “I told the AG”: Evans to Belmont, July 16, 1963, FBI #100-3-116, serial 41.

  Hoover’s formal requests: Hoover to RFK, July 22, 1963, FJ-NR (on Jones); Hoover to RFK, July 23, 1963, FK-165 (on King). The key backup documents for the wiretap requests are two memos from Baumgardner to Sullivan, July 22, 1963, FJ-21 and FK-168.

  only preliminary assurance: Director to SAC Atlanta, July 26, 1963, FK-169, notes that Atlanta’s final feasibility report was sent on July 24.

  “few remaining Communists”: NYT, July 18, 1963, pp. 1, 8.

  “The Negro in America”: Newsweek, July 29, 1963, which reached newsstands on July 22, just as the wiretap requests were making their way to RFK.

  Kennedy released a letter: NYT, July 26, 1963, p. 1.

  returned from Ecuador: Wiretap, July 22, 1963, FLNY-9-236a.

  Mayor Ivan Allen: AJ, July 26, 1963, p. 1; Allen, Mayor, pp. 104—15.

  chuckling over the irony: Wiretap, July 24, 1963, FLNY-9-238a.

  “Onetime Communist”: AC, July 25, 1963, p. 1.

  issued a public statement: Statement of July 25, 1963, A/KS4.

  held a press conference: AC, July 26, 1963, p. 1; AJ, July 26, 1963, p. 4; NYT, July 27, 1963, p. 8.

  attack by Eugene Cook: Cook telegram to King, Aug. 1, 1963, A/KP11f34.

  “to my certain knowledge”: Cook to Walker, Aug. 15, 1963, answered by Walker Aug. 16, 1963, A/KP18f39; AC, Aug. 16, 1963, p. 3.

  “the treaty”: Wiretap, July 28, 1963, FLNY-9-242a.

  “All staff members”: King memo, July 26, 1963, A/KP34f4.

  “Oh, now I see”: Wiretap, July 28, 1963, FLNY-9-242a.

  Levison resolved to withdraw: Schlesinger Jr., Robert Kennedy, p. 385; int. Harry Belafonte, March 6-7, 1985, and Clarence Jones, Oct. 25, 1983.

  only one short-term project: Wiretap, Sept. 21, 1963, FLNY-9-297a, and Oct. 8, 1963, FLNY-7-610a.

  “upset if you did”: Garrow, FBI, p. 70.

  first fruits: SAC New York to Hoover, Aug. 5, 1963, FJNY-84.

  “well-appointed home”: C. King, My Life, p. 240; Garrow, Bearing, pp. 280-81.

  writer named Al Duckett: An FBI log of King’s August meetings with Duckett was prepared Sept. 24, 1963, FJ-104. References to Duckett are scattered thinly in King’s papers, generally in connection with the promotion of celebrity fund-raising events.

  lowered his personal barriers: Int. Clarence Jones, Nov. 22 and 25, 1983, and Aug. 18, 1986.

  “If the rumors are true”: Ibid.

  King’s talk of sex: Garrow, FBI, p. 67.

  Katzenbach on August 13: Hoover to Katzenbach, Aug. 13, 1963, FK-180.

  “thought you would be interested”: RFK to JFK, Aug. 20, 1963, Box 2, Marshall Papers, JFK.

  “your boy Burke”: SAC New York to Director, Aug. 11, 1963, FK189.

  “one little brother”: Ibid.

  confidential memorandum: Hoover to RFK, Aug. 12, 1963, FK-178.

  more than a dozen: Garrow, FBI, p. 250 (note 101).

  Thurmond rose: Congressional Record, Aug. 13, 1963, pp. S14836ff. Thurmond had made previous speeches against Rustin and the march, but none so personal: Congressional Record, Aug. 2, 1963, pp. 13968ff, and Aug. 7, 1963, pp. S14455ff.

  “taking the active part”: SAC Los Angeles to Director, Aug. 15, 1963, FR-NR.

  into November: E.g., [deleted] to SAC Los Angeles, Nov. 20, 1963, FR-NR.

  “this is inconclusive”: Marshall to RFK, Aug. 7, 1963, Box 3, Marshall Papers, JFK.

  “Your former choir boy”: Niebuhr to Scarlett, Nov. 11, 1963, Box 33, RN.

  “Going Lily White?”: CD, Aug. 10, 1963.

  “the Goldwater surge”: Letterhead Memorandum of Oct. 30, 1963, FJ-NR.

  Niebuhr and King never became friends: There is no available record that Niebuhr and King ever met. King’s friend Thomas Kilgore, who was a student of Niebuhr’s during the 1950s, says that he often heard King speak of Niebuhr’s ideas but never of Niebuhr personally. (Int. Rev. Thomas Kilgore, Feb. 11, 1988.) One possible explanation for the lack of initiative on King’s part is that Niebuhr had refused King’s written request, just after the Montgomery bus boycott, to sign a statement urging President Eisenhower to meet with a delegation of preachers from King’s newly formed organization. In a private letter, Niebuhr explained his refusal to Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, saying, “I was advised that such a pressure would do more harm than good.” (Niebuhr to Frankfurter, Feb. 8, 1957, Box 86, Felix Frankfurter Papers, Library of Congress.)

  “I called up Albert Thomas”: White House meeting of July 9, 1963, Audiotape 96.6, JFK.

  Johnson’s enthusiasm: E.g., NYT, Nov. 1, 1963, p. 1.

  tour of Scandinavia: NYT, Aug. 5, 1963.

  announced on August 1: NYT, Aug. 2, 1963, pp. 1, 10.

  Chicago police arrested: Gentile, March, pp. 103—7.

  authorities in Gadsden: NYT, Aug. 4, 1963, p. 1.

  abolish the resolutions: NYT, July 23, 1963, p. 1; also two antecedent stories, July 15, 1963, p. 1.

  In Americus: Whitehead, Attack, p. 136; Forman, The Making, pp. 338-44; Abram, Day, pp. 139—40; NYT, Aug. 14, p. 21, Sept. 28, p. 22, Sept. 29, p. 80, Sept. 30, p. 28, Oct. 18, p. 64, Oct. 22
, p. 31, Oct. 31, p. 23, Nov. 1, p. 19, Nov. 2, p. 1, Nov. 27, p. 27, and Dec. 8, 1963, p. 54.

  “Albany Nine”: Generally from case files in possession of C. B. King. Also int. Burke Marshall, Sept. 26, 1984, S. B. Wells, July 9, 1985, C. B. King, July 10, 1985, Marion Cheek, July 11, 1985, and Charles Sherrod, Jan. 23, 1986; Upside-Down Justice: The Albany Cases, a pamphlet published by the National Committee for the Albany Defendants, M. L. King, Jr., chairman; Navasky, Justice, pp. 121-23; Gentile, March, pp. 117-18; FBI #157-6-2, serials 1100-1350.

  Elizabeth Holtzman: WP, Oct. 27, 1987, p. D1.

  Katzenbach told reporters: NYT, Aug. 10, 1963, p. 1.

  Star congratulated: WS, Aug. 14, 1963.

  hospital from Loveman’s: NYT, Aug. 16, 1963, p. 8.

  demolished the entrance: BW, Aug. 24, 1963, p. 1; Jet, Sept. 5, 1963, pp. 6-7.

  he eventually escaped: Meier and Rudwick, CORE, pp. 221-22; Farmer, Lay Bare, pp. 244-54.

  closest friend in SNCC: Int. John Lewis, May 31, 1984.

  into a tanning chair: Allen interviews of Rachelle Horowitz, Nov. 8, 1968, and John Lewis, Sept. 23, 1969, AAP.

  “‘which side is the Federal”: Schlesinger Jr., Robert Kennedy, p. 377; Garrow, Bearing, pp. 281-82.

  “I’m hounding you”: Wiretap, Aug. 21, 1963, FLNY-9-266.

  speech in Chicago: CD, Aug. 24-30, 1963, p. 1; Tape 9, SHSW/SP.

  Lawrence Spivak spoke: “Meet the Press” transcript for program of Aug. 25, 1963.

  possibility that marauding Negroes: Gentile, March, pp. 127, 148-49.

  impounded for fifty years: WP, Feb. 1, 1977, p. 5; Opinion of the Court in U.S. District Court (D.C.), Civil Action #76-1185 and #76-1186.

  peace was fragile: Viorst, Fire, p. 225.

  temporary drinking fountains: Life, Sept. 6, 1963, pp. 20-29.

  80,000 cheese-sandwich: NYT, Aug. 28, 1963, p. 1.

  “absolutely stupid”: Viorst, Fire, p. 224.

  exceeded seven minutes: Gentile, March, p. 163.

  Huddling with John Lewis: Allen interviews of Lewis, Sept. 23, 1969, and Rachelle Horowitz, Nov. 8, 1968, AAP; Gentile, March, pp. 171—75; Forman, The Making, pp. 333—34.

  “Robber Band Enlarged”: Gentile, March, p. 160.

  in his suite at the Willard: King interviewed by Donald H. Smith, Nov. 29, 1963, Tape 9, SHSW/SP; C. King, My Life, pp. 240-41

  “Five score years ago”: Draft of King’s speech appeared in several black newspapers, e.g., CD, Aug. 24-30, 1963, p. 4.

  Also that morning: Gentile, March, pp. 176, 212; Jet, Sept. 12, 1963, pp. 14-29.

  boarded in Savannah: Gentile, March, p. 191.

  “Woke up this morning”: AJ, Aug. 21, 1983, pp. D1, 4, 5.

  historian Thomas Gentile: Gentile, March, pp. 135ff.

  “celebrity plane”: There is a good deal of correspondence on the effort to recruit celebrities for the march, e.g., Jones to MLK, Aug. 2, 1963, A/KP11f27.

  SNCC Freedom Singers: Int. Joan Baez, Jan. 7, 1984, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Dec. 15, 1985, and Rutha Harris, Jan. 23, 1986.

  “Du Bois chose another path”: Tape of march speeches, BUK16f34; Wilkins, Standing Fast, p. 293.

  Christianborg Castle: BW, Sept. 7, 1963, p. 1.

  sidecar of a police motorcycle: Garrow, Bearing, p. 283.

  shaking fingers: Allen interview of John Lewis, Sept. 23, 1969, AAP.

  “We come late”: Gentile, March, pp. 175, 226.

  “John, I know you”: John Lewis, CRDPOH; Lewis interview by Allen, AAP; King interview by Donald H. Smith, Nov. 29, 1963, SHSW/SP.

  vapid emotions of the march: Forman, The Making, pp. 333-37; Mary King, Freedom, pp. 183-85.

  “Where is our party?”: Tape of march speeches, BUK16f34.

  role of women: Gentile, March, pp. 140-42, 225; C. King, My Life, pp. 241—42.

  “spread upon the Journal”: Gentile, March, p. 199.

  delivered his address: “The Great March on Washington,” Motown recording #908.

  “Tell ’em about the dream”: Int. Cleveland Robinson, Oct. 28, 1983.

  “came to me”: King interviewed by Donald H. Smith, Nov. 29, 1963, Tape 9, SHSW/SP.

  Jackson was happy: MC, Sept. 7, 1963, p. 2.

  “damn good”: Int. Lee White, Dec. 13, 1983.

  greeted King: Ibid. Also Gentile, March, p. 253; NYT, Aug. 29, 1963, pp. 1, 16.

  “soar in the wild blue yonder” to “Walter in the background”: Audiotape 108.2, JFK.

  At 6:12 P.M.: Appointment log, JFK.

  relaxed its rules: ADW, Sept. 1, 1963, p. 1.

  bootleg recordings: Complaints and legal proceedings, A/KP13f15, A/KP16f37.

  “marvelous in Martin’s speech”: Wiretap, 4:30 P.M., Aug. 28, 1963, FLNY-9-273a.

  Twenty-three

  CROSSING OVER: NIGHTMARES AND DREAMS

  Boutwell maneuvered: Memos and phone notes, Sept. 3-7, 1963, BIR/AB20f40.

  King sent another: MLK to JFK, Sept. 5, 1963, A/SC1f9.

  “Huntley-Brinkley Report”: Manchester, Glory, p. 1228; Newsweek, Sept. 23, 1963, pp. 62-65.

  Sonnie W. Hereford IV: BN, Sept. 9, 1963, p. 1.

  Kennedy had federalized: NYT, Sept. 10 and 11, 1963; memos of Birmingham police contact with Justice Department, Sept. 10, 1963, BIR/AB20f38.

  declared his intention: BN, Sept. 13, 1963, p. 1.

  Mamie H. Grier: Mamie Grier oral history, Nov. 19, 1975, UAB.

  noise of the blast: Church bombing generally from NYT, Sept. 16, 1963, pp. 1, 26; BN, Sept. 16, 1963, p. 1; Newsweek, Sept. 30, 1963, pp. 20-25; Jet, Oct. 3, 1963, pp. 8-26.

  attorney Charles Morgan: Raines, My Soul, pp. 196-202.

  risk taking Marshall: Int. Burke Marshall, Sept. 26, 1984.

  “What murdered these four”: MLK statement of Sept. 16, 1963, A/KS5. (King had sent a telegram to JFK on the day of the church bombing, saying “you must call for legislation” and promising to “plead with my people to remain nonviolent”: MLK to JFK, Sept. 15, 1963, Box 1478, Name File, JFK. The next day King sought an “emergency audience” with Kennedy: King et al. to JFK, telegram, Sept. 16, 1963, A/KP14f4.)

  “Well, Martin, I did”: John Cross, A/OH.

  “her loss was personal”: Jet, Oct. 3, 1963, p. 26.

  allowed Shuttlesworth: BW, Sept. 21, 1963, p. 1.

  “hard as crucible steel”: MLK eulogy, A/KS5; funeral program, BIR/AB5f57.

  Nash presented: Diane Bevel report, Sept. 17-20, 1963, A/SC41f8; Garrow, Bearing, p. 294.

  one of two things: Int. Diane Nash Bevel, Feb. 20, 1985.

  “This is an army”: Proposal for Action in Montgomery, A/SC41f8.

  foreclosed such hopes: NYT, Sept. 20, 1963, p. 1; Jet, Oct. 3, pp. 10—11, and Oct. 10, 1963, pp. 8—10.

  “great deal of frustration” to “men I’ve ever met”: White House meeting of Sept. 19, 1963, Audiotape 112.1, JFK.

  protested the Albany Nine: NYT, Sept. 21, 1963, p. 18.

  intellectuals were furious: Letterhead Memorandum, Sept. 20, 1963, FJ-NR and FL-NR.

  Christmas shopping boycott: NYT, Sept. 22, 1963, p. 1.

  “missing face of Christ”: Transcript of discussion, Sept. 22, 1963, moderated by Rev. Thomas Kilgore, supplied by Kilgore to Mrs. Reinhold Niebuhr and to author by Elisabeth (Niebuhr) Sifton.

  “big chips on our shoulder” to “anything that gives a hook”: White house meeting of Sept. 23, 1963, Audiotapes 112.6 and 113.1, JFK.

  followed the briefing agenda: Civil rights briefing of Sept. 23, 1963, Audiotape 112.5, JFK.

  “Birmingham Can Solve”: NYT, Sept. 24, 1963, p. 1.

  seventh annual convention: Official program, Sept. 24—27, 1963, FSC-NR (Section 2); NYT, Sept. 25, 1963, p. 33.

  Walker demanded: Wyatt Walker, CRDPOH; int. Walker, Aug. 20, 1984.

  inebriated elevator scuffle: Int. Septima Clark, Jan. 18, 1984.

  “perfectly free inside”: Clark to King, Nov. 4, 1963, A/SC3f24.

  Powell renewed: NYT, Sept. 28, p. 22, and Sept. 29, 1963, p. 77.


  board meeting stretched: Minutes, A/KP29f2.

  all-white airport ceremony: NYT, Sept. 26, 1963, pp. 1, 29.

  caution on three counts: MLK confidential memorandum, undated, c. September 1963, A/KP32f6.

  Lewis’ arrest in Selma: NYT, Sept. 25, p. 32, and Sept. 27, 1963, p. 30; Allen interview of John Lewis, Sept 23, 1969, AAP.

  SNCC leaders planned: Jet, Oct. 17, 1963, pp. 14—17, 20—22; NYT, Jan. 8, p. 37, and Oct. 13, 1963, p. 77.

  Boyte’s crash campaign: Boyte interview by Donald H. Smith, Dec. 3, 1963, SHSW/SP; Boyte staff memos, Sept. 20 and Dec. 11, 1963, A/KP29f7.

  dismissing four top: Walker to MLK re “Staff Discipline,” undated, A/KP36f4.

  Walker exploded: Int. Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, Aug. 20, 1984; Walker to MLK, Oct. 3, 1963, A/KP36f1.

  cathartic of fraternal preaching: Int. Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, Dec. 21, 1984, Marian Logan, April 24, 1984, Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, Nov. 19, 1984, and Bernard Lee, June 19, 1984.

  “I have kept silence”: MLK speech, Sept. 27, 1963, A/KS5.

  immediately denounced King: MC, Sept. 28, 1963, p. 1; NYT, Sept. 29, 1963, p. 79; BN, Sept. 29, 1963, pp. 1, 11; BW, Oct. 5, 1963, p. 1.

  trove of Vernon Johns stories: Int. Chauncey Eskridge, Feb. 20, 1985. Eskridge had gained an acquaintance with the Johns legend from King and also from personal experience. Recommended by King, Eskridge had represented—and later married—one of Dr. Pettus’ daughters from Montgomery. Her sister still complained about how Vernon Johns had ruined her life by announcing a watermelon sale during her wedding.

  “give me all your notebooks”: Ibid.

  “The Romance of Death”: Gandy, Johns Reader, pp. 115-23. Johns died June 11, 1964, according to a biography supplied by Jeanne Johns Adkins.

  “when Castro took over”: Garrow, FBI, p. 68; Powers, Hoover, p. 376.

  “The Director is correct”: Sullivan to Belmont, Aug. 30, 1963, FK-NR.

  “make up your minds”: Powers, Hoover, p. 377.

  Levison’s teenaged son: Director to SAC New York, Aug. 30, 1963, FL-NR.

  also on King’s home: Bland to Sullivan, Sept. 6, 1963, FK-207; Garrow, FBI, p. 69.

  confidential draft: Marshall to RFK, Sept. 12, 1963, Box 3, Marshall Papers, JFK.

  tacitly asked Hoover: Marshall to Hoover, Sept. 20, 1963, FK-3656.

  “feel free, of course”: Evans to Belmont, Sept. 20, 1963, FL-NR.