The Election of 1960: MLK and The Kennedys

Obviously, the main event of the 1960 Presidential election was the first televised debate between two presidential candidates. No doubt, that is a milestone achievement and deserves further examination. However, this entry of the 1960 Election will focus on Martin Luther King and his role in the election.

King who always stays neutral, "in order to maintain a nonpartisan posture" and to be to be able to look objectively at both parties at all times", is a man of conviction and stuck to his word despite both John and Robert Kennedy working feverishly to help release King from jail, who was ultimately arrested for driving with a suspended license.

The Kennedy's made phone call after phone call demanding that Martin Luther King not stand trial. They even phoned Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King, to comfort her and let her know that they were handling the situation. A classy move. A political move, but still a respected one. And except for the whole moonshine thing (it's how the Kennedy's got their fortune), and the rumors of adultery (Mattress Jack) and the whole Chappaquiddick thing, the Kennedy's are a class act.

So, was it the Kennedy's idea to make the phone call? Were they really that concerned and that proactive? The story continues...

For some reason Nixon's press secretary didn't want Nixon to get involved and blocked any calls about the situation. Had Nixon and his advisors handled this situation differently the election may have gone his way.

Coretta Scott King, six months pregnant and very scared that her husband would be killed in a southern Atlanta jail, called Harris Wofford, an advisor to Kennedy. She called him because she had heard that he had previously tried to release King from jail.

Wofford then proceeded to call Sargent Shriver, Kennedy's brother-in-law (he married Eunice, for those that know the Kennedy family), to ask him to get Kennedy to call Mrs. King. (Side note: Sargent Shriver is Maria Shriver's father, which makes him Arnold Schwarzenegger's father-in-law.)

Kennedy, who had been waiting for Georgia's Democratic governor Ernest Vandiver to handle the matter, promptly called Mrs. King.

Mrs. King, very pleased with the call, told Martin Luther King, Sr. (MLKs father). MLK Sr. then announced that Kennedy's "concern" was enough to make him leave the Republican party and vote for Kennedy.

This move helped shift the African American vote decisively in Kennedy's favor and just may have won him the election.

MLK Jr. remained bi-partisan, but his father's pull was enough to swing the African-American vote in the Kennedy's favor.

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One Man: The Death of Martin Luther King - April 4, 1968

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

- Pride, U2

April 4, 1968, will be a day that will forever be a day of mourning. A day when one of the bravest men to ever walk the face of the earth, was taken years before his time.

The night before King made his "I've been to the mountain top" speech where his prophetic words came true all too soon...

"I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. "

Six years later on the same day, Hank Aaron helped to reach that promised land. April 4, 1974, on Major League Baseball's opening day, Hank Aaron hit homerun number 714, tying him with Babe Ruth for the all time record.

Hank Aaron was now at the top of the mountain. Hank Aaron now saw the promised land. Like King, he persevered through racism, name calling, eating on the bus as opposed to in the restaurants with the rest of the team. Sleeping in separate hotels. He overcame death threats and threats of harming his family. Hank Aaron overcame and was on top of that mountain. Aaron would eventually reach that promised land. Hank Aaron would go on to hit 41 more homeruns. His 755 homeruns were the most in major league history. His record stood for 34 years, until Barry Bonds broke the record in 2007.

Here is a timeline of Hank Aaron's tumultuous homerun chase: http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/aaron/timeline.html

Martin Luther King would have been proud of Hank Aaron. And Martin Luther King is the epitome of PRIDE.

I present to you a tribute to Dr. King, using U2's "Pride". I encourage you to watch the video and listen to the lyrics. I've included them in their entirety below.

In Memoriam: Dr. Martin Luther King
January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968



U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love) -

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One come he to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach.
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

(nobody like you...)

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

In the name of love
What more in the name of love...

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One Man: Martin Luther King's 'Mountain Top' Speech

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come, he to justify
One man to overthrow

- Pride, U2

It was on this day, April 3, 1968 - when Martin Luther King made his famous Mountain Top speech. It was a speech about determination, perserverence and bravery. It was a speech where King, imagines that he is granted the ability to live in any era in history. He imagines himself with Moses in Eqypt parting the Red Sea and with Roman leaders. He dreams of being in the midst of the reneissance or with Abraham Lincoln at the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. But finally, he concludes, he'd ask "the Almighty" for the ability "to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century". If he's given this, he'd be happy.

King goes on to the conclude his speech with the following prophetic lines:

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

Little did he know, these words would be his last. King was shot and killed the next morning.




Here's a link to the entire transcription of Martin Luther King's "I've Been to the Mountain Top" Speech - http://www.afscme.org/about/1549.cfm

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Quote for Thought

Have been watching Gandhi the 1982, best picture starring Ben Kingsley. With so many similarities between Gandhi and Martin Luther King, it is only fitting that I stumbled upone this quote from MLK:

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

In thinking about both men, the quote is very appropriate.

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Martin Luther King Jr. -- January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

In August of 1963, in front of thousands of supporters at the March on Washington, the great Dr. Martin Luther King proclaimed:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Would Dr. King be proud of the nation we live in today? Would Dr. King settle for the way things are now in 2008? Would things have been different had Dr. King not left us too soon?

What can be written about Dr. King that hasn't been written before? His courage, his bravery, his fight, his passion, and his conviction will continue to inspire expression.

King is respected all over this great diverse nation, but probably non-more than in the city of Atlanta. A city rich in black history and civil rights tradition. The birthplace of Martin Luther King. The city where the great, and equally "brave" Hank Aaron overcame adversity and death threats, to proudly finish his illustrious career. The city where on Stone Mountain, outside of Atlanta's city limits, the second founding of the KKK occurred in 1915. The city that was burned to the ground for spite during the Civil War. Yet still, it is the city where every year on the 3rd Monday in January, the world stops to honor the great Martin Luther King.

King is honored with an all day church service televised for all to see.

When I taught Social Studies in Atlanta, to a group of predominantly African-American students, I couldn't help but get emotional when speaking about King's bravery. The students know of his legacy. They respect his legacy. And most importantly they will carry that legacy on to their children, so that one day they can "live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Martin Luther King Jr. -- January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

King's Legacy can not be limited to mere facts, but here are a few which you may not have known.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

In 1964, King became the first black American to be honored as Time magazine's Man of the Year.

King's efforts were not limited to securing civil rights; he also spoke out against poverty and the Vietnam War.

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