Summary

Dr. Martin Luther King 16:02 I think so. I think he should, I think he should give fireside chats on it. And then I think more than one would be necessary. I think the president should also have conferences with congressmen and get them try to persuade them to see the necessity of passing this bill. And I think he would need to talk with certain groups across the country. So that it will create a climate of civil rights concern will be created. And people all over the country will be writing their senators and their representatives in Congress on this issue. I think these things are absolutely necessary. And I think the the devotees or civil rights will have to do something. I mean, I think the civil rights leaders and all of the the Negroes in the country, as well as allies in the white community will have to do something and I don't throw out the idea of the necessity of a march on Washington. Even sit ins and Congress to get this issue dramatize so much that it cannot be ignored. David Susskind 17:22 March on Washington by negros and whites. Dr. Martin Luther King 17:26 Yes, all citizens. Yes, I'm thinking now of, of all people of goodwill, who are concerned about the American dream and the implementation of the basic principles of our democracy. And this would include negros and whites, and I think it would have more power, if it is an interracial March, calling upon our nation to bring into being these just laws which will take us on a long, long way toward the American dream. David Susskind 18:00 In the recent meeting between James Baldwin, you know, on Harry Belafonte and other prominent negros with the Attorney General, the suggestion was made that the President could make a very dramatic contribution to the issue. By taking the University of Alabama Negro applicants to the school himself, the Attorney General was reported to recoil at this idea to been stung or horrified or taken aback. Do you think the President United States should go to that dramatic degree by way of using moral power of his office? Dr. Martin Luther King 18:35 Yes, I think so. I, I have said on several occasions in recent days, that this would be the kind of meaningful Act and the kind of dramatic thrust that would make it clear all over the world that we mean business when we talk about basic human rights and democracy and guaranteeing these basic rights to all citizens. And I think we have come to the point in our nation that we need this kind of moral witness on the part of the highest official and the most respected citizen in our nation. It would, it would give a sense of hope to the Negro, it would give a sense of support to the many, many white people of goodwill north and south who had been working in this area. And it would do a great deal to lift the image of the United States, in the eyes of the world, people of all countries who are looking and they are seeing all of these bad things, but to see this as a great Moral Act would do a great deal, I think to give us a better image all over the world. David Susskind 19:56 Dr. King, we must pause for just a brief moment. We'll be right back. David Susskind 20:01 Is the President United States to date wanting in the way in which he has used the moral power of his office moral suasion. And if you do find him wanting in your remarks up to this time seem to suggest that you do. What has been his motive? Do you think in holding back? Dr. Martin Luther King 20:21 Well, I must honestly confess that the President hasn't done all that he could do. And we would like to see him do in the area of civil rights. I don't want to be unfair. In my criticism, I want to say on one hand that the President has done some significant things in civil rights. And I think he is basically a man of genuine goodwill. Who wants to do the right thing. And I could point to some of the things that he's done that have been helpful. On the other hand, the president Kennedy has not yet given the leadership that the enormity of the problem demands, he has failed to live up to his campaign promises. He has not gone on record calling for any meaningful civil rights legislation up to now. And if he does, in the coming days, we would welcome this, but he has not done it in the past. And, of course, that is still the need to use the power of moral persuasion to a greater degree than he has in the past. This is one area where the President has has not moved with, with a great sense of urgency.