Soul City

by Thomas Healy

  Things were even worse … a ghost town: Timothy B. Tyson, Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story (New York: Broadway Books, 2005).

  “no crank calls, or letters”: “A Proposal Under Title IV,” February 1, 1971, folder 6604, 25.

  shrugged and played dumb: Ball-Groom, Salad Pickers, 177–78.

  Writing a check for $8.70: Letter from FM to Mammoth Mart, November 24, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 5593.

  Despite the difficulties … camp run by the Quakers: Ball-Groom, Salad Pickers, 110–78.

  The adults had joys … to reach by foot: Ball-Groom, Salad Pickers, 110–78; Gordon Carey interview with the author, July 19, 2016; Harvey Gantt interview with the author, October 14, 2015.

  “about hay and chickens”: Harvard University Study, 1969, McKissick Papers, folder 6573, 3.

  One reason for the delay … not existing ones: “Table 4.1—Basic Data on Selected New Community Proposals Which Were Never Approved (Alphabetized), Key Dates and Final Disposition,” Jack Underhill Papers, George Mason University, box 10, folder 12.

  McKissick had hired … by Lyndon Johnson: J. Y. Smith, “Philip Gibbon Hammer, 85, Dies,” Washington Post, January 23, 2000.

  Hammer’s report on Soul City … “pre-condition will be met”: “Economic Base Study,” Hammer, Green, Siler, December 1969, McKissick Papers, folder 1701.

  hopeful it would allay doubts … more than a month: F. S. Tolbert to T. T. Clayton, December 10, 1969, McKissick Papers, folder 5792; FM to Raymond T. O’Keefe, January 6, 1970, McKissick Papers, folder 6394; FM to Sam Jackson, January 22, 1970, McKissick Papers, folder 5562; FM to Sam Jackson, February 11, 1970, McKissick Papers, folder 5562.

  But he reserved … “move things right away”: FM to Sam Jackson, February 11, 1970.

  Elected in 1968 … disproportionate to the danger posed: Rob Christensen, The Rise and Fall of the Branchhead Boys (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019), 118, 197–201; Sanders, “North Carolina Justice,” 670–72.

  state was endorsing the project: Campbell, New Towns, 123; Jim Lewis, “State Preparing Standards for ‘Soul City’ Project,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), October 29, 1970, 2.

  lend McKissick another $200,000: FM to Sam Jackson, April 15, 1970, McKissick Papers, folder 5561.

  earmarked for the Warren Regional Planning Corporation: Lewis, “State Preparing Standards for ‘Soul City’ Project.”

  10: NAMING RIGHTS

  more than twenty-five firms: Memorandum from Gordon Carey to William Nicoson, October 11, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 5601.

  ownership or profit sharing: Untitled clipping, Boston After Dark, April 25, 1972, McKissick Papers, folders 2929–3066.

  “too poetic and fancy”: Philip Sporn to FM, March 2, 1970, McKissick Papers, Folder 6593.

  “gimmicry and cultural segregation”: Harvard University Study, 1969, McKissick Papers, folder 6573.

  sounded “hard edged”: David Godschalk interview with the author, August 19, 2015.

  “leading to a true multi-racial program”: As quoted in Rhee, “Visions, Illusions, and Perceptions,” 53.

  “New City”: Lewis, “State Preparing Standards for ‘Soul City’ Project,” 2.

  In a word, it needed “soul”: Rhee, “Visions, Illusions, and Perceptions,” 40.

  “essence of cityhood”: Toynbee, Cities of Destiny, 13.

  “it was a unilateral decision”: Gordon Carey interview with the author, June 23, 2018.

  referred to Harlem as “Soul City”: Junius Griffith, “The Last Word from Soul City,” New York Times, August 23, 1964, SM 62.

  “recommend that we get the city built first”: Memorandum from Harold Brown to FM, December 31, 1968, McKissick Papers, folder 5527.

  a letter to the Rockefeller Foundation: FM to George Harrar, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, January 8, 1969, McKissick Papers, folder 5554.

  “my life for nothing”: Gail Miller, “Floyd McKissick Is Planning a New City with Soul; Now All He Needs Is the Bread,” CITY, October 1969, 38.

  “no one thinks of it as all white”: T. T. Clayton interview with the author, March 6, 2015.

  Alex Haley’s African ancestor in Roots: Alex Haley, Roots: The Saga of an American Family (Boston: Da Capo Press, 2014), 275–76.

  perhaps even himself?: FM to Philip Hammer, April 24, 1970, McKissick Papers, folder 5866.

  The answer came … “play it for all it’s worth”: Philip Hammer to FM, McKissick Papers, folder 5866.

  told his client what he wanted to hear: Gordon Carey interview with the author, June 23, 2018.

  In the summer … children in the house: “Odell Kearney Dies of Self-Inflicted Wound,” Warren Record, June 18, 1970; Charmaine McKissick-Melton interview with the author, July 18, 2016.

  “utmost importance to me”: FM to Irving Fain, December 22, 1969, McKissick Papers, folder 6412.

  when he planned to repay: Norman Fain to FM, October 7, 1970, McKissick Papers, folder 6408b.

  By late 1970 … Radiant City: Campbell, New Towns, 245.

  enthusiasm for new towns … remake the urban landscape: National Committee on Urban Growth, The New City, 19, 115; Wakeman, Practicing Utopia, 241–42; John Fischer, “Planning for the Second America,” Harper’s, November 1969, 21.

  ten new towns each year: Forsyth, Reforming Suburbia, 168.

  Congress wasn’t prepared … legislative calendar: Forsyth, Reforming Suburbia, 168; Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970, PL91-609, 84 Stat. 1770 (1970).

  With both HUD … until two o’clock: D. L. Waller to Carolyn Wakefield, February 22, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6145; “Preliminary Dry Run Presentation,” February 23, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6145; D. L. Waller to Joyce Monroe, February 19, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6337.

  The preparation … provide for the entire area: Campbell, New Towns, 124; “Questions Asked by HUD Officials,” February 24, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6145.

  “announcement of the offer of commitment”: FM to William Nicoson, April 27, 1971, quoted in Rhee, “Visions, Illusions, and Perceptions,” 61–62.

  “no closer to the guarantee”: FM to Sam Jackson, April 13, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6145.

  “we are broke again”: FM to Sam Jackson, April 30, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 5588.

  to meet this final condition: Notes of conversation between Mr. F. B. McKissick and Mr. Samuel Jackson, June 10, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 7291a; Sam Jackson to FM, July 13, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6147.

  summer feeding program for impoverished children: “Soul City Foundation to Sponsor Summer Feeding Program,” Warren Record, June 24, 1971.

  students as summer counselors: “Students Enjoy Soul City Project,” New York Amsterdam News, July 24, 1971, A12.

  He and Evelyn moved down … left behind in New York: Charmaine McKissick-Melton interviews with the author, March 14, 2015, August 22, 2015, July 18, 2016, and April 1, 2019.

  Also arriving … “‘Warren County, North Cackalacky’”: Lewis Myers interviews with the author, May 14, 2015, August 20, 2015, and March 29, 2019.

  But Myers … kicked out of Spelman College: Charmaine McKissick-Melton interview with the author, April 1, 2019.

  “come to a meeting and just cuss”: Jane Ball-Groom interview with the author, March 5, 2015.

  Myers was more affable … from Mars: Lewis Myers interviews with the author, August 20, 2015, and March 29, 2019.

  “want to live with my people”: Walter R. Gordon, “Soul City: Try at Black Power,” Baltimore Sun, August 11, 1971, A1.

  “not qualify for Title VII assistance”: Sam Jackson to FM, August 27, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6152.

  “The record speaks for itself”: FM to Sam Jackson, September 7, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6151.

  the promise of five hundred thousand dollars: FM to Sam Jackson, September 14, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6147; FM to Harold Greenberg, March 14, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 5638.
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br />   a revised list of industrial prospects: Sam Jackson to FM, September 28, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6147.

  “reason to lose faith”: Draft letter from FM to Sam Jackson, October 1, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6151.

  hoped to have better news: Handwritten note on draft letter from FM to Sam Jackson, October 1, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6151.

  before the money was actually released: George Romney to FM, October 15, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6147.

  11: “THEORY OF THE SUGAR TIT”

  Bob Brown at the White House: FM to Sam Jackson, November 8, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 5592. This letter was sent to both Sam Jackson and Bob Brown, but only the copy sent to Jackson has been located.

  “special thrust”: FM to Robert Brown, October 14, 1971, McKissick Papers, folder 6201.

  centerpiece of their pitch: Agenda for Washington, DC, Meeting, January 18, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6201; FM to Robert Brown, January 20, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6201.

  “large white corporations”: Floyd McKissick, “Nixon and Tax Incentives,” New York Amsterdam News, December 28, 1968, 7.

  surveillance of radical groups: Floyd McKissick, “Nixon’s Law Enforcement,” New York Amsterdam News, May 2, 1970, 17.

  “law and order—racist style”: Floyd McKissick, “‘Law and Order’ Candidates,” New York Amsterdam News, July 18, 1969, 17.

  during the development phase: Rhee, “Visions, Illusions, and Perceptions,” 68.

  “He was being expedient”: Eva Clayton interview with the author, March 6, 2015.

  crafted a plan to reach Black voters: Agenda for Washington, DC, Meeting, January 18, 1972; FM to Robert Brown, January 20, 1972; FM to Robert Brown, February 8, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6201; Telegram from Robert Brown, March 2, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6201.

  “power, action and economics”: FM to Robert Brown, March 3, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6201; FM to Robert Brown, May 30, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6201.

  wouldn’t say anything more about it: “‘Organize Around Economics’ McKissick Tells Pittsburgh,” New Pittsburgh Courier, March 25, 1972, 28.

  “civil rights workhorse”: Joshua D. Farrington, Black Republicans and the Transformation of the GOP (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), 59.

  “cannot long endure or merit support”: Farrington, Black Republicans, 59–60.

  “highest mandates of moral law”: Farrington, Black Republicans, 71.

  NAACP named him an honorary member: Joseph, Waiting ’Til the Midnight Hour, 239.

  Nixon continued to court … close to matching since: Branch, Parting the Waters, 356–78.

  support the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Stephen E. Ambrose, Nixon, vol. 2, The Triumph of a Politician, 1962–1972 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989), 89.

  to woo those voters himself: Ambrose, Nixon, 89–90.

  tacit appeals to white racism: Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America (New York: Scribner, 2009), 341–42, 464–67; Corey D. Fields, Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American Republicans (Oakland: University of California Press, 2016), 47–48.

  “burn-America-down type of leaders”: Ambrose, Nixon, 163.

  “we as Negroes are in serious trouble”: Weems, Business in Black and White, 125.

  percent of the Black vote: Farrington, “Build, Baby, Build,” 68.

  Once in the White House … his funeral: Ambrose, Nixon, 474; Perlstein, Nixonland, 359–60, 515–16; Leah Wright Rigueur, The Loneliness of the Black Republican (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015), 136–76; Farrington, “Build, Baby, Build,” 69–70.

  Minority Business Enterprise was severely underfunded: Rogers, “Acquiring ‘A Piece of the Action,’” 177–79.

  “benign neglect” on racial matters: Perlstein, Nixonland, 459–60.

  At times, Nixon went beyond … busing as a means of integration: Ambrose, Nixon, 523; Perlstein, Nixonland, 421–22, 459–62, 474–75.

  resigned less than two years into the job: Meier and Rudwick, CORE, xii.

  the first “anti-Negro” administration: Martin Arnold, “NAACP Decides It Has a New Enemy,” New York Times, July 5, 1970, 91.

  “silent black majority”: Michael Javen Fortner, Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015), 133.

  “will be key politically”: Final Report of the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, “Section III: The Responsiveness Program” (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1974), 375; Testimony of Robert Brown to United States Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities, February 25, 1974, 35.

  “utilized as a source of contributions and volunteers”: Final Report of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, “Section III: The Responsiveness Program,” 377.

  dependent on his support for the president: Final Report of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, “Section V: Results of the Responsiveness Program and Other Related Activities,” 405–9.

  never actually delivered on his promise: Final Report of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, “Section III: The Responsiveness Program,” 405.

  HealthCo, a comprehensive health-care center: “Report of the Comptroller General of the United States: Information on the New Community of Soul City, North Carolina,” December 18, 1975, GAO Audit, 21–25, available online at https://www.gao.gov/assets/120/113011.pdf.

  “Don’t worry, Floyd”: T. T. Clayton interviews with the author, March 6, 2015, and March 22, 2019.

  no record of McKissick and Clayton meeting: McKissick did meet with Nixon later in the year, but Clayton was not present. Presidential Daily Diary, October 6, 1972, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/virtuallibrary/documents/PDD/1972/085%20October%201-15%201972.pdf.

  mimicking Nixon’s throaty growl: Eva Clayton interviews with the author, March 6, 2015, and March 22, 2019.

  Charmaine also recalls her father: Charmaine McKissick-Melton interview with the author, April 1, 2019.

  “no quid pro quo kind of deals made”: Testimony of Robert Brown to United States Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities, February 25, 1974, 36–37.

  an offer of commitment: “Meeting Minutes,” December 14, 1971, New Community Development Corporation Records, Meeting and Activity Records, 1971–1982; Memorandum from Sam Jackson to Board of Directors, May 19, 1972, New Community Development Corporation Records, Meeting and Activity Records, 1971–1982.

  “a desire to give a black developer a chance”: “Allegations Regarding Soul City Project in News and Observer Series,” Memorandum from D. Lee Rudd to Otto Stolz, March 12, 1975, New Community Development Corporation Records, Program Records Relating to Soul City, container 1.10.

  a fundraising gala for Black Nixon supporters: FM to Willie C. Mason, May 17, 1972, McKissick Papers, Folder 7550.

  boisterous and star-studded affair … “America for all Americans”: Rigueur, Loneliness, 187; Ronald Taylor, “2,500 Blacks Meet to Plan Ways to Re-Elect President,” Washington Post, June 11, 1972, A2; Ethel L Payne, “From Hair to Zaire and President Mobutu Too,” Chicago Daily Defender, June 17, 1972, 10; Allen Howard, “Good Bye Sugar Tit,” Call and Post (Cleveland), June 17, 1972, 2B.

  McKissick spoke last … “goodbye old sugar tit!”: McKissick, “The Theory of the Sugar Tit,” June 10, 1972, personal papers of Charmaine McKissick-Melton, copy on file with author.

  couldn’t repress a smile: Payne, “From Hair to Zaire and President Mobutu Too.”

  “because he’s earned it”: “Black Leaders Hear McKissick at Washington D.C. Dinner,” Atlanta Daily World, June 22, 1972.

  he received letters of appreciation: Maurice Stans to FM, June 19, 1972; Paul Jones to FM, July 10, 1972; Robert Brown to FM, July 20, 1972, McKissick Pap
ers, folder 7550.

  “up to $14,000,000”: Sam Jackson to FM, June 28, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6155.

  12: BLACK ELEPHANTS

  “systematically executing that commitment”: FM to Robert Brown, May 30, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 6201.

  couldn’t spoil the positive vibes inside: Perlstein, Nixonland, 686–99.

  on stage during the nominating concert: “Minority Representation up at ’72 GOP Convention,” Twin Cities Courier, August 17, 1972; “Republican Convention: Blacks Will Have Role,” New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA), August 19, 1972, 1.

  McKissick played a prominent … and a wigmaker: “Minority Representation up at ’72 GOP Convention,” August 17, 1972; Leslie Wayne, “Soul City Exhibit Thrives,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), August 24, 1972; Ned Cline, “Soul City Founder Is Mixing His Politics,” Greensboro Daily News, August 24, 1972; “McKissick, Innis Bid Nonwhites to Join GOP,” Afro-American (Baltimore), August 26, 1972, 9.

  A few weeks later … reelection efforts: Farrington, Black Republicans, 213; “Floyd B. McKissick Forms Committee for National 2 Party System Politics,” Atlanta Daily World, September 22, 1972, 1; Rudy Johnson, “McKissick Forms New Group to Help the Republican Party,” New York Times, October 15, 1972, 52.

  But if McKissick was enjoying … riddled with bullets: Paul Delaney, “Black Supporters of President Under Fire,” New York Times, October 17, 1972, 29; “Stars for Nixon Camp Assailed,” Chicago Daily Defender, October 23, 1972, 6.

  “they have sold out”: Paul Delaney, “Black Supporters of President Under Fire,” New York Times, October 17, 1972, 29.

  “political prostitutes”: “Blacks for Nixon Sharply Rebuked,” New York Times, August 3, 1972, 18.

  “their pieces of silver”: “Calls Soul City 30 pieces of silver,” letter to the editor, New York Amsterdam News, September 9, 1972, A4.