At Canaan's Edge

by Taylor Branch

  “Negro G.I.’s Burial”: NYT, May 28, 1966, p. 28; “Military Burial for PFC Williams/ 145 Miles from His Home,” SC, June 4–5, 1966, p. 1; “Negro G.I. Is Buried at Andersonville,” NYT, May 31, 1966, p. 24.

  defeated a bill to disperse: Chicago Tribune, May 31, 1966, p. 11.

  Mildred and Richard Loving: WP, March 8, 1966, p. 1; 206 Va. 924, 147 S.E. 2d 78 (1966).

  subtler “family purity” laws: “Race, Sex, and Forbidden Unions,” NYT, Dec. 14, 2003, p. WK-4; “Bans on Interracial Unions Offer Perspective on Gay Ones,” NYT, March 17, 2004, p. 16; Loving v. Virginia 388 U.S. 1 (1967), at 7, 11.

  Outside the Sheraton-Park: “Militants Fail to Sway Delegates,” WP, June 2, 1966, p. 1; “Picketers, Conferees Swap Jests,” WP, June 2, 1966, p. 4; SC, June 4–5, 1966, p. 1.

  “Black Jesus!”: NYT, June 2, 1966, p. 21.

  “the conference might be demoralized”: Harry McPherson memo of June 2, 1966, attached to PDD, June 2, 1966, LBJ; Robert E. Kintner, “Appearance at the Civil Rights Conference, Sheraton Park Hotel,” 3:00 P.M., June 1, 1966, White House Conference, Box 56, LBJ.

  a motorcade ventured from the White House: PDD, June 1, 1966, LBJ; int. Harry McPherson, Oct. 10, 1991.

  “does not require that righteous anger be silenced”: NYT, June 2, 1966, p. 1.

  seventeen ovations: Jet, June 16, 1966, pp. 16–20.

  “In the light of his car”: McPherson, Political, pp. 347–48.

  Johnson had engineered a wondrous truce: Rainwater and Yancey, Moynihan Report, pp. 271–91; Anderson and Pickering, Confronting, pp. 194–95; Garrow, Bearing, p. 473.

  attractive female college students: Int. Harry McPherson, Oct. 10, 1991; Jet, June 16, 1966, p. 31.

  “a silent, unnoticed delegate”: NYT, June 4, 1966, p. 12.

  “Rights Session Rejects”: WP, June 3, 1966, p. 1.

  “conspicuously missing”: Ibid.

  “I submit that the history”: WP, June 2, 1966, p. 4.

  “a boy on a man’s errand”: Williams, Thurgood Marshall, pp. 252, 341.

  “his wife came nearer”: Lewis, King, p. 312.

  “to heal the broken-hearted”: MLK sermon, “Guidelines for a Constructive Church,” Ebenezer Baptist Church, June 5, 1966, Tape 59, A/KS; Carson and Holloran, eds., Knock, pp. 101–15.

  staff to be dismantled by Tuesday: “SCLC Moves Out of Ala.,” SC, June 4–5, 1966, p. 1.

  Lucius Amerson of Tuskegee: Jack Nelson, “Negro Wins Ala. Sheriff Nomination,” WP, June 1, 1966, p. 4; Jet, June 16, 1966, pp. 8–11.

  “if I can find qualified white people”: Jet, June 16, 1966, p. 30.

  Negro candidates fell to fear and inexperience: “Kirksey Is Only Negro to Win Outside Macon [County],” SC, June 4–5, 1966, p. 1.

  King and Coretta visited: AC, Sept. 12, 1966; ESCRU newsletter, Sept. 29, 1966, courtesy of John B. Morris.

  Robert Kennedy landed: Schlesinger, Robert Kennedy, pp. 800–808; Thomas, Robert Kennedy, pp. 321–23.

  “those of Dutch descent”: Arriving statement, Johannesburg, South Africa, June 4, 1966, 11:40 P.M., Adam Walinsky Papers, Box 14, JFK.

  a battery-operated tape recorder: Frank Taylor, “In South Africa,” National Observer, June 13, 1966, pp. 1, 17.

  suggested by Allard Lowenstein: Chafe, Never, pp. 282–84; Allard K. Lowenstein, oral history by Larry J. Hackman, April 23, 1969, and Dec. 2, 1969, JFK.

  had sought out Bob Moses: Branch, Pillar, pp. 118–23.

  largely on an impulsive dare: Thomas, Robert Kennedy, p. 321.

  “What if God is black?”: Senator Robert Kennedy, “Suppose God Is Black,” Look, Aug. 23, 1966, p. 44ff.

  “the one who was beaten in 1888”: Frank Taylor, “In South Africa,” National Observer, June 13, 1966, p. 1.

  “We stand here in the name of freedom”: Schlesinger, Robert Kennedy, pp. 803–4; address of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, June 6, 1966, RFK Senate Papers, Box 17, JFK.

  The Cape Town speech stirred imagination: “Kennedy Denounces Apartheid as Evil,” NYT, June 7, 1966, p. 1.

  “enthusiastic appreciation”: Edwin Espy, General Secretary, National Council of Churches, to RFK (“Reinhold Niebuhr joins me…”), June 7, 1966, RFK Senate Papers, Box 13, JFK.

  “political safari”: WP, June 5, 1966, p. 1.

  “attempting to shake hands”: “With Robert Kennedy in White Africa,” U.S. News & World Report, June 20, 1966, p. 46.

  wag hung a sign: Jet, June 23, 1966, pp. 26–27.

  negligible response to his published memoir: Williams, King God Didn’t Save, pp. 92–94.

  he resented gossip about poor spring grades: NYT, June 5, 1966, p. 78.

  reports noted eccentricities: Ibid.; NYT, June 6, 1966, pp. 1, 27.

  “I only want James Meredith”: NYT, June 7, 1966, p. 1; James H. Meredith, “Big Changes Are Coming,” Saturday Evening Post, Aug. 13, 1966, in Library of America Anthology, Reporting Civil Rights, pp. 520–24; Jet, June 23, 1966, pp. 14–21; U.S. News & World Report, June 20, 1966, pp. 36–38; Dittmer, Local People, p. 392.

  flashed news of Meredith’s death: “Meredith Death Reported on TV in Error,” NYT, June 7, 1966, p. 29.

  “He was furious with me”: Young, Burden, pp. 393–94.

  Twenty-one marchers: Garrow, Bearing, pp. 475–76; int. James Lawson, Nov. 14, 1983.

  Troopers knocked Cleveland Sellers to the ground: Sellers, River, p. 161.

  highlight the next day’s front pages: “Troopers Shove Group Resuming Meredith March,” NYT, June 8, 1966, p. 1.

  closing prayers in a pasture: SC, June 10–11, 1966, pp. 1, 6; Garrow, Bearing, p. 476.

  Carmichael apologized: Carmichael, Ready, p. 503.

  rally of a thousand people: NYT, June 8, 1966, p. 1; Jet, June 23, 1966, pp. 16–20; Lewis, King, pp. 319–20.

  “He was an expert in that”: King speech at Meredith rally, June 7, 1966, A/KS.

  debate shifted to the Lorraine Motel: Dittmer, Local People, pp. 392–93; Viorst, Fire, pp. 371–73; Stokely Carmichael and James Forman conversation, Tape 229, A/JF.

  Roy Wilkins lost any small inclination: Wilkins, Standing, pp. 315–16; Carson, Struggle, pp. 207–8.

  “Dr. King, I’m really sorry for you”: Int. Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Jan. 31, 1984.

  old-fashioned strap undershirt: Morgan, One Man, pp. 71–74.

  feisty enough to reject: Garrow, Bearing, p. 478; James H. Meredith, “Big Changes Are Coming,” Saturday Evening Post, Aug. 13, 1966, in Library of America Anthology, Reporting Civil Rights, pp. 525–32; Williams, King God Didn’t Save, p. 95.

  Roles crazily reversed: “Meredith Regrets He Was Not Armed,” NYT, June 8, 1966, p. 1; “March’s Leaders Demand Action,” NYT, June 9, 1966, p. 1.

  “three friends rolled him away”: “Meredith Flies Home After Fainting in Hospital,” NYT, June 9, 1966, p. 32.

  “It’ll build up”: Wiretap transcript of telephone conversation between Stanley Levison and Joe Filner, 1:48 P.M., June 8, 1966, FLNY-9-964a.

  “junior Selma”: Wiretap transcript of telephone conversation between Stanley Levison and Joe Filner, 11:54 A.M., June 8, 1966, FLNY-9-964; wiretap transcript of telephone conversation between Stanley Levison and Adele Kantor, 1:27 P.M., June 9, 1966, FLNY-9-965a.

  The lines grew to 208 people: “Mississippi March Gains Momentum,” NYT, June 10, 1966, p. 1.

  funeral of Armistead Phipps: Ibid., p. 35; Garrow, Bearing, p. 479.

  “proper ministerial attire”: MLK funeral speech marked “Eighth Day Meredith March,” June 12, 1966, A/KS.

  enjoyed their first prolonged company: Sellers, River, pp. 163–65; int. Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Jan. 31, 1984.

  celebrated a 104-year-old farmer: Dittmer, Local People, p. 395.

  “If you really believed”: Wiretap transcript of telephone conference call among MLK, Stanley Levison, Bayard Rustin, and Walter Fauntroy, 9:00 A.M., June 12, 1966, FLNY-9-968.

  Ben Chester White: “3 Whites Arrested in Dea
th of Negro Outside of Natchez,” NYT, June 15, 1966, p. 27; “’66 Killing Goes to Trial Monday,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Feb. 23, 2003.

  The plan was to lure King: Jet, April 27, 1967, p. 6; Jerry Mitchell, “The Last Days of Ben Chester White,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Feb. 23, 2003.

  “Oh, Lord,” pleaded White: Jerry Mitchell, “Avants Found Guilty in ’66 Klan Killing,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, March 1, 2003.

  29: MEREDITH MARCH

  “would result in ’66 and ’68”: Frederick G. Dutton to Bill Moyers, June 10, 1966, Name File, Ronald Reagan, WHCF, LBJ.

  “I resent the implication”: Edwards, Reagan, pp. 116–17; Dallek, Right Moment, pp. 199–202.

  “you can’t have it both ways”: Boyarsky, Rise, pp. 148–50.

  “I resent that”: “Angry Reagan Fires Back at Negro Questioner,” WP, June 2, 1966, p. 6.

  hired operatives to smear: Cannon, President Reagan, p. 44.

  “The Republicans, against all counsels of common sense”: NYT, June 9, 1966, p. 46, cited in Dallek, Right Moment, p. 210. “He is innocent of experience in government, and his speeches suggest he is equally innocent of knowledge.”

  “thousands of American boys”: Carter, Politics, pp. 327–29.

  “Strom is no racist”: Bass, Strom, pp. 223–24.

  “There is no future in the race issue”: WLBT news film of Nixon appearance in Jackson, May 6, 1966, Tape 0176/D42, MDAH.

  organize a Republican primary: “GOP’s Mississippi Primary Is a First,” WP, June 5, 1966, p. 2; NYT, June 5, 1966, p. 78.

  “you practically had to hold a gun”: Black and Black, Rise, p. 90.

  “We’re not ever going to beat Sonny”: Ibid., p. 353.

  realignment of Southern white voters: Ibid., pp. 1–5, 211–21, 395.

  one of three Klansmen arrested in Natchez: “3 Men Held in Mississippi on Charge of Killing Negro,” NYT, July 8, 1966, p. 13; Jet, July 7, 1966, p. 14.

  haunted confession of driver James Jones: “His brains, his brains,” Jones blurted to Highway Patrolman Donald Butler, after failing a lie-detector test. “When we shot him his brains went all over.” Jones said, “Fuller shot him with a machine gun, and Avants blowed his head off.” Jerry Mitchell, “The Last Days of Ben Chester White,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Feb. 23, 2003, p. 1.

  Buckley won acquittal: Bullard, Free, p. 92.

  evaded conviction for their lifetimes: “Confession Never Used in ’66 Slaying,” AC, Jan. 19, 2000, p. 14.

  guilty almost thirty-seven years after his crime: Jerry Mitchell, “Avants Found Guilty in ’66 Klan Killing,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, March 1, 2003, p. 1.

  Only a quarter of registered Negroes: Dittmer, Local People, p. 394.

  had raised the total fivefold since 1964: Lawson, Pursuit, p. 297.

  thirteen major laws to dilute: Parker, Black Votes, pp. 34–37.

  “We get so concerned”: Ibid., p. 59. Parker argues that the Mississippi Constitution helped the legislature conceal its purpose by forbidding the use of specific county names in state statutes. A provision to change from an elected school superintendent to an appointed one in the heavily Negro area of Belzoni, for instance, applied formally in the law to “any county created after 1916 through which the Yazoo River flows.”

  The Meredith marchers approached Grenada: “Marchers Upset by Negro Apathy,” NYT, June 14, 1966, p. 19; Lawson, Pursuit, p. 56; Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, pp. 2–5; “Grenada, Mississippi, 1966/Chronology of a Movement,” www.ctmvet.org/info/grenada.html.

  Rev. Edwin King: Int. Edwin King, June 26, 1992.

  “Walk for your children”: Gene Roberts, “Negroes Win Voting Gains on Stop in Grenada, Miss.”, NYT, June 15, 1966, p. 1.

  “about a mile of niggers”: Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, p. 6.

  “We’re tired of Confederate flags”: NYT, June 15, 1966, p. 26.

  Andrew Young recorded: Young, Burden, p. 396.

  “You’ve never had this town before”: “March Doubles Vote Registration Along Route Through Mississippi,” SC, June 18–19, p. 1.

  “This, my friends, is our great opportunity”: MLK remarks, Grenada, Mississippi, misdated June 16, 1966, A/KS.

  Negro registration doubled from 697: Dittmer, Local People, p. 395.

  “four straight days”: Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, p. 7.

  broke away on June 15: Garrow, Bearing, p. 481.

  soured official Mississippi on the experiment: “Mississippi Shuns March Incidents,” NYT, June 16, 1966, p. 35. On June 7, Governor Johnson had pledged to provide “sufficient policemen and any other state forces to see that these demonstrators get all the marching they want provided they behave themselves, commit no acts of violence nor take a position of provocative defiance.” NYT, June 8, 1966, p. 1.

  “turning into a voter registration campaign”: “Mississippi Reduces Police Protection for archers,” NYT, June 17, 1966, p. 1.

  Grenada police arrested: Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, p. 7.

  repulsed Negro voters illegally: NYT, June 17, 1966, p. 33.

  “They’re going wild for it”: Int. Willie (Ricks) Mukasa, May 14, 1992.

  “people relating to the concept of Black Power”: Minutes, central committee meeting, June 10–12, 1966, A/SN6.

  June 10 emergency session: Ibid.; Sellers, River, pp. 161–62.

  cross-examined colleagues nightly: Carson, Struggle, p. 209; int. Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Jan. 31, 1984.

  familiar cotton fields and churches: Ibid.; Carmichael, Ready, pp. 505–6.

  since Bob Moses dared to enter: Branch, Parting, pp. 633–34, 712–25; Branch, Pillar, pp. 66–74, 111–18; Dittmer, Local People, pp. 128–35.

  lived and gone to jail there: Dittmer, Local People, pp. 276–79; Branch, Pillar, pp. 450–55.

  “We’ll put them up anyway”: NYT, June 17, 1966, pp. 1, 33.

  “just did not feel like Mississippi”: Wiretap transcript of telephone conversation between Stanley Levison and “Bill LNU [probably Stein],” 7:20 P.M., June 16, 1966, FLNY-9-972a.

  “who can be compared to”: Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, p. 5.

  They reversed themselves to allow: Dittmer, Local People, p. 396.

  Willie Ricks guided Carmichael: Ibid.; int. Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Jan. 31, 1984; int. Willie (Ricks) Mukasa, May 14, 1992; Carson, Struggle, pp. 209–10; Carmichael, Ready, pp. 506–7.

  “This is the 27th time”: Ibid.; NYT, June 17, 1966, p. 33; Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, p. 8.

  “We want black power!”: Ibid.; CBS News Special Report, The March in Mississippi, June 26, 1966, MOB; Citizen King, a Roja Production for The American Experience, PBS, 2004.

  Willie Ricks dueled Hosea Williams: NYT, June 18, p. 28.

  tiny hamlet of Itta Bena: Branch, Pillar, pp. 111–17.

  “What do you mean”: Citizen King, a Roja Production for The American Experience, PBS, 2004.

  “parts of it all over my new car”: “Klansmen Linked to Negro’s Death,” NYT, June 18, 1966, p. 28.

  Detroit’s Cobo Hall: NYT, June 29, 1966, p. 17; Detroit LHM dated June 20, 1966, FSC-NR.

  “Supremacy by Either Race”: June 21, 1966, p. 30.

  King and Ralph Abernathy detoured: Dittmer, Local People, p. 398; Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, p. 11.

  “Yes, it’s me”: Mars, Witness, p. 207.

  “I wouldn’t dirty”: NYT, June 22, 1966, p. 25.

  “King appeared to be shaken”: Garrow, Bearing, p. 483.

  King knew Deputy Price: Frank, American Death, pp. 68–69.

  “Some 25 white men surged”: NYT, June 22, 1966, p. 25.

  “Whites and Negroes Trade Shots”: “Philadelphia, Miss., Whites and Negroes Trade Shots,” ibid., p. 1.

  telegram to President Johnson: NYT, June 23, 1966, p. 23;
Oates, Trumpet, p. 327.

  “If I must die”: CBS News Special Report, The March in Mississippi, June 26, 1966, MOB.

  “Somebody said tonight”: Ibid.; MLK rally speech in Yazoo City, Mississippi, June 21, 1966, A/KS.

  “I’m sick and tired of violence”: Ibid.; “Dr. King Scores Deacons,” NYT, June 22, 1966, p. 25.

  The leaders compromised on a pledge: Garrow, Bearing, pp. 484–85; Powers, War, p. 153.

  Johnson’s reply telegram: LBJ telegram to MLK, 10:46 A.M. CST, June 23, 1966, A/KP13f9.

  through rainstorms into Canton: “Mississippi Police Use Gas to Rout Rights Campers,” NYT, June 24, 1966, p. 1; Jet, July 7, 1966, pp. 14–20; Garrow, Bearing, pp. 485–86; Dittmer, Local People, pp. 399–400; int. James L. Moore, June 25, 1992; int. Edwin King, June 26, 1992.

  Carmichael chopped the air: Ibid.; Citizen King, a Roja Production for The American Experience, PBS, 2004; WLBT news film, The Meredith March, Tape 0180/D46, MDAH.

  “worse than Selma”: Lewis, King, p. 328.

  “They’re gonna shoot again!”: Paul Good, “The Meredith March,” New South, Summer 1966, pp. 11–13.

  leapt from the speakers’ truck: Young, Burden, pp. 402–3.

  “In light of this, Dr. King”: CBS News Special Report, The March in Mississippi, June 26, 1966, MOB.

  “And the very same men”: MLK speech in Canton, Mississippi, June 1966, Hosea Williams Tape 133, King Library and Archives.

  seeing faces in desperation so closely: Abernathy, Walls, pp. 412–13.

  marchers regrouped in Canton: “Accord by Dr. King Angers Marchers,” NYT, June 25, 1966, p. 1.

  converged on Philadelphia: “Marchers Defy Crowd of Whites, Hold Rally in Philadelphia, Miss.,” NYT, June 25, 1966, p. 15; Mars, Witness, pp. 211–12.

  “We were brutalized here”: WLBT news film, The Meredith March, Tape 0180/D46, MDAH.

  federal lawsuit against Neshoba County: NYT, June 28, 1966, p. 22.

  more fraternal than supposed: Carson, Struggle, p. 208; Sellers, River, pp. 168–69; Carmichael, Ready, pp. 509–14.

  “terrible mistake”: Wiretap transcript of telephone conference call among MLK, Stanley Levison, Clarence Jones, and Harry Wachtel, 9:10 P.M., June 22, 1966, FLNY-9-978a.

  “Listen, Andy”: Young, Burden, p. 398.

  take freely from his closet in Atlanta: Int. Bernard Lee, June 19, 1985; int. Willie (Ricks) Mukasa, May 14, 1992. (“Willie Ricks loved Dr. King,” recalled Lee. “Willie and I were good friends, and are good friends…. He was always saying, ‘Well, I knew I was ready when I got me some of them Dr. King shoes.’…They never saw what they were doing as hurting Dr. King. They thought they were enhancing the movement, they were enhancing the cause of black people. Stokely never had any problem with Martin King. It was that he thought it was time for black power. He thought that the nonviolent posture had just about run its course.”)