Soul City

by Thomas Healy

against the social mixing of whites and Blacks: Craig, Josephus Daniels, 188, 414.

  “than to give up their prejudices”: Charles W. Eagles, “Two ‘Double V’s’: Jonathan Daniels, FDR, and Race Relations During World War II,” North Carolina Historical Review 59, no. 3 (July 1982), 255.

  “secession from civilization”: Roberts and Klibanoff, Race Beat, 23, 118, 172.

  discrimination in the workplace: Gene Roberts interview with Joseph Mosnier, News & Observer, 1945–1995, Oral History Series, February 7, 2008, Southern Oral History Program Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 12–15.

  “so irascible and unreliable”: Madison, “Objections Sustained,” 34.

  Although Carey … taking it out on Soul City: Gordon Carey interview with the author, April 23, 2015.

  “I was an integrationist”: Claude Sitton interview with Joseph Mosnier, News & Observer, 1945–1995, Oral History Series, July 12, 2007, Southern Oral History Program Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 20.

  “without going back to Abe Lincoln?”: Wayne King, “A Long Career in Black and White,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), October 28, 1990, 1J.

  “recognized limits in his virtues”: King, “A Long Career in Black and White.”

  A dogged reporter … suburb outside Raleigh: Pat Stith, “Goodbye Charlotte,” Final Edition (blog), January 28–30, 2019, http://patstith.com/index.php/2019/01; Pat Stith interview with the author, August 26, 2019.

  He outed the state highway commission: Pat Stith, “Stone from Commissioner’s Quarry Purchased by State Highway Unit,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), February 29, 1972, 1.

  phone calls on the state’s dime: Pat Stith, “Cohoon’s Calls Billed to N.C.,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), November 17, 1972, 1.

  more frequently than members of the public: Pat Stith, “Legislators Slip Through Traffic Law Loophole,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), November 4, 1973, 7.

  thirteen Japanese maples: Pat Stith, “Short Trees … Tall Price Tag,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), April 8, 1972, 30.

  cosponsor a professional golf tournament: Pat Stith, “C&D Buys ‘Spot’ in Golf Tourney,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), August 27, 1971, 1.

  Stith’s fixation … help pay the bills: Pat Stith, Final Edition (blog), http://patstith.com/index.php/about/. See “A Taste of Poor,” August 12, 2019; “The Sweat Shop,” July 5, 2019; “Motivating With Money,” December 1, 2017; “How Can I Help You?” October 2, 2017; “Mmmmm, Good Lettuce,” October 13, 2017; and “Payback,” April 10, 2017.

  He thought he was just as good … Pulitzer Prize: Pat Stith interview with the author, August 26, 2019.

  “He wasn’t listening”: Eva Clayton interview with the author, March 6, 2015.

  The bomb went off … “no Soul City”: Pat Stith, “Soul City: A Tangled Web,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 2, 1975, 1.

  “applications for $5 million more”: Stith, “Soul City: A Tangled Web.”

  “still no homes, no shops”: Pat Stith, “Soul City: Empty Fields and a Mass Transit Bid,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 9, 1975.

  “mobile homes standing like sheep”: Charles Craven, “A Beautiful Location to Build a New City,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 3, 1975.

  faulted Soul City for lacking: “Report of the Comptroller General of the United States: Information on the New Community of Soul City, North Carolina,” December 18, 1975, GAO Audit, 1.

  “a single British new town”: Biles, “The Rise and Fall of Soul City,” 65.

  grant to help McKissick’s for-profit company: Stith, “Soul City: A Tangled Web.”

  the one to reap the profits: Pat Stith, “McKissick: U.S. OKd His Interlocking Roles,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 2, 1975, 4.

  the paper printed a diagram: Stith, “McKissick: U.S. OKd His Interlocking Roles.”

  a huge profit on the deal: Stith, “Soul City: A Tangled Web.”

  took a bath on the deal: “Report of the Comptroller General of the United States: Information on the New Community of Soul City, North Carolina,” December 18, 1975, 64.

  failed to recruit any industry: Stith, “Soul City: A Tangled Web.”

  geared strictly toward planning: “Report of the Comptroller General,” December 18, 1975, 68.

  self-perpetuating cash machine: Stith, “Soul City: A Tangled Web.”

  objectives that Stith did not mention: “Report of the Comptroller General,” December 18, 1975, 71–72.

  allegations were all correct: “Report of the Comptroller General,” December 18, 1975, 3–8, 66–69.

  would soon double again: “Report of the Comptroller General,” December 18, 1975, 67–68.

  16: THE BATTLE OF SOUL CITY

  motivated by racism: Rick Nichols, “Delay Defended by McKissick,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 21, 1975, 1; Floyd McKissick Jr. interview with the author, October 12, 2015.

  “this harassment of Soul City”: Pat Stith, “Soul City Articles Attacked,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), Feb. 10, 1976.

  “whites who have castigated him so hard”: J. B. Harren, “Field Day Against Blacks,” Carolinian, March 15, 1975, 7.

  “a black in control and command”: Emsar Bradford Jr. to FM, April 25, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 1806.

  embraced the cause of racial equality: Claude Sitton, “Soul City Issue Stirs Up News Critics,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), February 15, 1976.

  simply as “the way it was”: Pat Stith, “More Growing Up Country,” Final Edition (blog), Aug. 24, 2018, http://patstith.com/index.php/2018/08/page/2/.

  “social mixing” of the races: Pat Stith, “The Racist,” Final Edition (blog), July 30, 2018, http://patstith.com/index.php/2018/07/.

  “fight for it in Viet Nam”: Pat Stith, “The Peacenik Band,” Final Edition (blog), November 26, 2018, http://patstith.com/index.php/2018/11/.

  When I interviewed … “believe right down to my toenails”: Pat Stith interview with the author, August 26, 2019.

  exaggeratedly large lips: Dwane Powell, editorial cartoon, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 7, 1975, 4.

  “I can’t control them”: Pat Stith interview with the author, August 26, 2019; email from Pat Stith to author, August 27, 2019.

  referring all questions to his lawyer: “Soul City Audits Are Welcome, Official Asserts,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 8, 1975, 1.

  nearly a dozen allies: Press conference package, March 20, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 1601b.

  He began … “we are succeeding”: Statement of Floyd McKissick, March 20, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 1601b.

  In addition … articles never appeared: Gordon Carey interview with the author, April 23, 2015.

  “independent audit that can trace all the sources”: “Soul City Needs Thorough Audit,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), editorial, March 5, 1975.

  a full audit of Soul City: Steve Berg, “Fountain, Helms Ask Audit of Soul City,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 6, 1975, 1.

  mismanaged state funds: Daniel C. Hoover, “Aid Cutoff Plan Decried,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), April 9, 1975.

  “A $19 million rip-off”: National Enquirer, August 24, 1975, cited in Madison, “Objections Sustained,” 35.

  until the audit was complete: Associated Press, “Conflict of Interest Investigation Holds Up Funds for Soul City,” New York Times, April 12, 1975, 12.

  “questions being raised”: Charles C. Allen to David C. Robinson, Director of Mass Transit, Department of Transportation and Highway Safety, State of North Carolina, April 15, 1972, McKissick Papers, folder 767.

  “more balanced attitude, investigation, and report”: Melvin Margolies, letter published as “Text of Official’s Letter,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), May 6, 1975, 6.

  the full text of Margolies’s letter: “HUD Official Criticizes N&O’s Soul City Series,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), May 6, 1975, 6.

  “who that ‘somebody’ is
”: 121 Cong. Rec. 25133–25135 (July 26, 1975).

  vanishing liberal wing: Fields, Black Elephants, 49.

  “a nation of laws, not of men”: 121 Cong. Rec. 25135–25136 (July 26, 1975).

  “confidence in your important work”: Edward Brooke to FM, July 31, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 791.

  financing for the project: “Report of the Comptroller General of the United States: Information on the New Community of Soul City, North Carolina,” December 18, 1975, GAO Audit, 1.

  wouldn’t so much as accept a cup of coffee: Gordon Carey interview with the author, July 19, 2016.

  Reynolds would not be expanding its operations: Robert Thompson to FM, April 8, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 5500.

  “clear up some questions in your mind”: FM to Robert Thompson, May 12, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 5500.

  “need not speak defensively”: Devin Fergus, “The Ordeal of Liberalism and Black Nationalism in an American Southern State, 1965–1980,” PhD diss., Columbia University, 2002, 336.

  “had the education and experience”: “Report of the Comptroller General of the United States: Information on the New Community of Soul City, North Carolina,” 6, 11, 60–65.

  “evidenced by more basic amenities”: “Report of the Comptroller General,” 11, 65.

  forty-four dollars per patient: “Report of the Comptroller General,” 45, 66–68.

  “moral obligation” to fund the water system: “Report of the Comptroller General,” 4.

  “unallowable expenditures in the future”: “Report of the Comptroller General,” 8–12, 75–83.

  poor bookkeeping practices: Pat Stith, “McKissick Lauds GAO Report,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), December 18, 1975, 1.

  “welcome Christmas present”: Statement of Floyd McKissick, December 15, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 890.

  buried deep in the article: Pat Stith, “GAO Hits Handling of Soul City Funds,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), December 17, 1975, 1.

  “make their enemies more effective”: “Soul City Blunders Are Costly,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), editorial, December 18, 1975.

  “GAO Audit Clears Soul City Project”: Carolina Times, January 17, 1976, 1.

  “Man Enough to Apologize?”: Carolina Times, editorial, January 17, 1976, 2.

  “greatest single waste of public money”: Gary Pearce, “Review of Audit Urged by Helms,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), Dec. 17, 1975.

  “no further prosecutive consideration”: FBI memorandum, May 3, 1976, received by author in response to Freedom of Information Act request.

  17: GOOD PLACE TO LIVE

  “would justify a health facility”: Pat Stith, “HEW Dries Up Funds for Soul City Clinic,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), December 16, 1975; Pat Stith, “Two Agencies Drop Soul City Funding,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), December 22, 1975.

  “already at minimum levels”: Pat Stith, “Governor Makes Plea for Soul City Clinic,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), January 31, 1976, 19.

  continue to fund HealthCo: “Clinic Stand Is Reversed,” Durham Morning Herald, February 4, 1976.

  McKissick also received … Founders’ Day Banquet: FM to Charles S. Hope, February 6, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 5469.

  Soul Tech I … reenergize a beleaguered workforce: Pat Stith, “Two New Firms Plan to Locate at Soul City,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), April 2, 1976; Ball-Groom, Salad Pickers, 304–5.

  Elsewhere … engraved on both sides: Chet Fuller, “Soul City: Will It Make It?” Atlanta Journal, June 13, 1976, 1.

  city’s first subdivision: “A Paper on Soul City, Prepared for William J. White by The Soul City Company,” January 3, 1978, 4, McKissick Papers, folder 1750; “Home Parade Ready to Roll,” Durham Morning Herald, November 24, 1976.

  “report what actually exists here”: Memorandum from Floyd B. McKissick Jr. to FM, April 5, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 321.

  While the staff … lined with dogwoods: FM to William Hoffman, December 1, 1975, McKissick Papers, folder 738m; FM to Albert F. Trevino, April 3, 1974, McKissick Papers, folder 738m.

  a dream had been fulfilled: Ball-Groom, Salad Pickers, 287, 319–25.

  scene out of Brigadoon: Voyette Perkins-Brown, interview with the author, August 22, 2015.

  The benefits … “whole doggone country”: Minchin, “Brand New Shining City,” 135, 151; Howard Covington, “Soul City Beholds Its Dream Deferred,” Charlotte Observer, June 30, 1979.

  “Good Place to Live”: Soul City Sounder, November 1975.

  While Soul City … given another chance: Alan S. Oser, “U.S. Re-evaluating ‘New Towns’ Program,” New York Times, July 23, 1976; “Soul City Is Proving Out, While Other ‘New Towns’ Hit Skids,” Ledger-Star (Norfolk, VA), November 23, 1976.

  But he had … the project agreement: Fergus, Liberalism, 217; FM to John V. Hunter, April 1, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 1807.

  Ronald Reagan’s announcement … convention that summer: Fergus, Liberalism, 218–25; Rick Perlstein, The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 645–48; Ferrel Guillory interview with the author, April 20, 2020; “Petition to Nominate Senator Ed. Brooke Vice President of the United States,” McKissick Papers, folder 7730.

  “vigorous, adverse reaction”: Fergus, Liberalism, 224.

  HealthCo for another year: Ann Pelham “U.S. Agency Extends Funding for Soul City Health Clinic,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), November 19, 1976.

  “wizard at shaking undeserved money”: “Soul City Hits Taxpayers Again,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), editorial, November 22, 1976.

  HUD received more than two dozen letters: Letters of support for Soul City, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 1808.

  “lies and innuendoes”: Linda Nesbitt to Carla Hills, December 14, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 1808.

  “unwarranted”: Mary Richardson to Carla Hills, December 9, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 1808.

  “rejoice in your decision”: Melvin C. Holmes to Carla Hills, December 6, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 1808.

  18: PRIDE OR PREJUDICE

  The election … benefit Soul City: Timothy J. Minchin and John A. Salmond, After the Dream: Black and White Southerners Since 1965 (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2011), 168–87; B. Drummond Ayres Jr., “1976 Surprise: Carter Is Running Well,” New York Times, December 26, 1975, 1; “Black Campaign Perspectives: Carter Involves Many Blacks,” Afro-American (Baltimore), October 23, 1976; Charles Mohr, “Carter, with a Long List of Campaign Promises, Now Faces the Problem of Making Good on Them,” New York Times, November 15, 1976.

  with Ford posters: Memorandum from Larnie Horton to Members of the Executive Board of the National Black Republican Council, August 24, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 7698a; Martin Dinkins to FM, September 28, 1976, McKissick Papers, folder 7698a.

  influence with a Democratic administration: Minchin, “Brand New Shining City,” 148.

  existing loan programs and interest subsidies: Strain, “Soul City,” 68; Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion, 170.

  first Black woman nominated to a cabinet position: Eric Pianin, “Patricia Harris: A Life of Striving to Be a Champion,” Washington Post, September 7, 1982; Juan Williams, “Patricia R. Harris Dies at 60,” Washington Post, March 24, 1985.

  “problems of the poor”: Hearing Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, January 10, 1977 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1977), 1–4.

  “If you think that I have forgotten that”: “Hearing Before the Committee on Banking,” January 10, 1977, 41.

  While Proxmire … young Joe Biden: “Hearing Before the Committee on Banking,” January 10, 1977, 25–29.

  McKissick was left in limbo: Rhee, “Visions, Illusions, and Perceptions,” 114.

  Then, once the board … in January: “Minutes of Meeting,” October 17, 1977, New Community Development Corporation Records, Meeting and Activity Records, 1971–1982, container 12, 5
-6; Jesse Helms to Patricia Harris, June 20, 1977, and July 14, 1977, New Community Development Corporation Records, Program Records Relating to Soul City, container 1.3.

  When McKissick … naturally into place: “A Paper on Soul City, Prepared for William J. White,” January 3, 1978, McKissick Papers, folder 1750.

  When White submitted … federal bureaucracy: “Soul City, North Carolina, Report to the NCDC Board,” January 1978, New Community Development Corporation Records, Meeting and Activity Records, 1971–1982, container 12.

  At its January meeting … “harder each day to get out”: “Transcript of Proceedings,” Board of Directors Meeting, January 18, 1978, New Community Development Corporation Records, Meeting and Activity Records, 1971–1982, Container 12, 45–48.

  Much of the debate … “not even going to answer it”: “Transcript of Proceedings,” Board of Directors Meeting, January 18, 1978, New Community Development Corporation Records, Meeting and Activity Records, 1971–1982, Container 12, 50–51, 58–59.

  The most logical … “gear up for the cutoff”: “Transcript of Proceedings,” Board of Directors Meeting, January 18, 1978, New Community Development Corporation Records, Meeting and Activity Records, 1971–1982, Container 12, 48, 51, 60; FM to William White, December 14, 1977, New Community Development Corporation Records, Program Records Relating to Soul City, container 1.3.

  and Soul City: “History of New Communities Program,” HUD News, January 18, 1978, Jack Underhill Papers, box 13, folder 8.

  In announcing … “make Soul City viable”: Warren Brown, “HUD Trims Role in ‘New Communities’ Program,” Washington Post, January 19, 1978, C10; Ferrel Guillory, “Soul City’s on HUD’s List of New Towns to ‘Salvage,’” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), January 19, 1978.

  In an editorial … “zip by on I-85”: “Fresh Dollars for Soul City,” News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), editorial, January 22, 1978.

  At fifty-one, Sorg … own consulting firm: Walter Larke Sorg résumé, McKissick Papers, folder 6130.

  “exceptionally well-managed”: Walter Larke Sorg to Walter J. Schularick, January 24, 1978, McKissick Papers, folder 847.