Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the GOP and Democrats in 1964
May 10, 1964 interview on CBS’s Face The Nation
On May 10, 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. appeared on CBS’s Face The Nation, where Paul Niven, Ben Bradlee, and a young Dan Rather interviewed the prominent civil rights leader.
Watch the entire interview to understand Dr. King’s attitude toward the expected aftermath from the imminent passing of the Civil Rights Act, and the third question regarding “white backlash” voting (King was over-optimistic that it was temporary). But in this particular post, in observance of King’s 94th birthday, I will highlight the question from Dan Rather because of his prediction of what the Republican Party would soon become (video links are at the end of this post).
Rather: “Dr. King, in light of recent statements of Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) and Richard Nixon (R-Calif. and at that time, a former Senator and Vice President under President Eisenhower), do you think there is a real danger of the Republican Party becoming the white man’s party in this country?”
King: “I think this is a real danger. I have talked to some Negro Republicans who are very concerned about this. I see trends and developments which reveal that unless the liberals of the Republican Party play a much more decisive role in leadership positions, this will become a white man’s party. I think this would be tragic for the Republican Party, and the nation.”
In 1960, the South was solidly Democratic, as it had been for over 100 years since before the Civil War. The “solid South” combined with northeastern and primarily urban liberals to defeat the Republican candidate, Richard Nixon. After this stinging defeat to John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the GOP saw the need to urgently gain political strength in the Deep South to remain competitive in future Presidential elections.
In 1964, the “Southern Strategy” of Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon revealed the key to the white Southern voter. Using white Southern resentment to the recent Civil Rights Act, the Republicans cracked the Solid Democratic South. Despite a landslide loss to incumbent Democrat Lyndon Johnson, the GOP discovered their national strategy for the next 60+ years, up to and including now, in 2023.
Why did the Republicans of the 1960s choose to abandon Black Americans, who were loyal since the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln? That is a complex question that is beyond the scope of this post, but rest assured I will explore it in depth, as it is an area of 20th century politics I am most interested in.
Today, the Republican Party is at a similar crossroads to the 1960s. The party will likely face extinction by the end of the 2020s if they do not change course. If that be our fate, it would “be tragic for the Republican Party, and the nation.”
This time, let us hope they honor the dream and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Full interview:
Today’s feature on Face The Nation (January 15, 2023):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
https://www.cbsnews.com/face-the-nation/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_United_States_presidential_election
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_United_States_presidential_election
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Goldwater
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon