Tuesday, April 4, 1967: 'Beyond Vietnam'

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. makes his most public and comprehensive statement against the Vietnam War. Addressing a crowd of 3,000 people in New York City’s Riverside Church, King delivers a speech entitled “Beyond Vietnam.” King points out that the war effort is “taking the young black men who have been crippled by our society and sending them 13,000 miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.” Although some activists and newspapers supported King’s statement, most responded with criticism. King’s civil rights colleagues began to disassociate themselves from his radical stance, and the NAACP issued a statement against merging the civil rights movement and peace movement. 

     -- From "A Time To Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King Jr. for Students" (The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University): @

* Text and audio (American Rhetoric): @

* Text and audio (King Research and Education Institute): @

* Summary (King Research and Education Institute): @

* "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (et al.) speak on the war in Vietnam" (booklet, 1967): @

* "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" (King speech, April 30, 1967; typed speech from The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Atlanta, Georgia): @

* "King's FBI File -- Riverside Church Speech on Vietnam" (American RadioWorks): @ 
* "When Martin Luther King Came Out Against Vietnam" (The New York Times, 2017): @

* "Martin Luther King's Searing Antiwar Speech, Fifty Years Later" (The New Yorker, 2017): @

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January 1967: 'The Peter Principle'

"The Peter Principle" first appeared as an article in Esquire magazine in January 1967; two years later, Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull turned the material into a best-selling book.

The most memorable tenet -- "in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence" -- was supplemented by Peter's Corollary ("in time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties") and, lastly, "Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence."

* Esquire, January 1967 (online subscription required): @

* "The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong" (1969 book): @

* "How the Peter Principle Works" (money.howstuffworks.com): @

* Peter obituary (New York Times, January 1990): @

* "Laurence Peter" (The Economist, January 2009): @

* "Lawrence J. Peter & Raymond Hull" (Literary Landmarks, Vancouver Public Libary; includes links to short biographies of Peter and Hull): @
* "Overcoming the Peter Principle" (Andrea Ovans, Harvard Business Review, December 2014): @ 

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1966: The beginnings of 'tan, rested and ready'

April 1962: 'Sun tanned and rested'

     * "What Republicans Must Do To Regain The Negro Vote" (Ebony): @

October 1966: 'Tanned, fit, relaxed' 

     * "Nixon on the Stump -- An Old Timer at 53" (pictured above; New York Times, October 3, 1966): @

     * Excerpt from "Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America" (Rick Perlstein, 2008): @

October 1968: 'Rested and ready'
     "A chief of staff, Robert Haldeman, hoards the time and energy of the candidate so that Nixon always looks rested and ready." (Life): @

January 1970: 'Tanned, rested and ready' 

     "Now, on the eve of his 57th birthday, Richard Nixon was tanned, rested and ready to leave California's sun for the snow and subfreezing temperature of Washington." (Newsweek): @ 

July 1987: 'Tan, rested and ready' 

     * "Nixon, North Hot Sellers" (Spokane Spokesman-Review, July 11, 1987): @ 

     * "After Nixon and Reagan, Young Republicans Face '88 with Uncertainty" (New York Times, July 11): @ 

     * Other uses of "tanned, rested and ready" (from http://listserv.linguistlist.org/): @

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September 1966: 'Turn on, tune in, drop out'

     Though he had used the phrase earlier, Timothy Leary's mantra of enlightenment through psychedelic drugs (especially LSD) and unconventional lifestyles starts to become a well-known phrase in September.

      Above is Leary's definition of the phrase, from the September 20, 1966 edition of The New York Times: @

     Note: "The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs" also lists a usage from the April 15-May 1 edition of The East Village Other newspaper: @

June
* "Turn On/Tune In/Drop Out" (Berkeley Barb, June 24): @ 

September

* Leary interview with Playboy magazine: @
* Cover of Datebook magazine: @

* "Leary Seeks LSD Faith, Needs Court Authorization" (Associated Press, September 20): @

* "Dr. Leary's Formula: Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" (The Village Voice, September 29): @

Also
* "The Politics, Ethics and Meaning of Marijuana" (Leary in The Marijuana Papers," 1966): @

* "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" (spoken-word album by Leary, 1966): @

* Listen to album: @

* Listen to 1967 version of album: @
* "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" (1967 film by Jerry Abrams): @

* "Legend of a Mind: Timothy Leary & LSD" (Pop History Dig): @ 

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Tuesday, June 7, 1966: 'The people have spoken ... the bastards.'

Dick Tuck -- longtime Democratic Party strategist and legendary political prankster -- finishes third in the Democratic primary for a seat in the California State Senate. After his defeat, he says, memorably:

The people have spoken ... the bastards.

Note: The quotation has since been reprinted with slight variations. The wording and punctuation are taken from Tuck's website.

* www.dicktuck.com: @

* Entry from The Museum of Hoaxes: @

* "Three 'Names' Win in California" (Associated Press, June 1966): @

* "Nixon May Not Have Tuck To Kick Around Anymore" (Associated Press, October 1973): @

* "Nixon, Tuck: Somebody's Not Leveling" (New York magazine, June 1977): @
* 1996 C-SPAN interview: @

* 2016 segment from Arizona Public Media: @

* "Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist" (Hunter S. Thompson, 2000; Tuck is mentioned several times): @
* "Presidential Campaign Activities of 1972" (U.S. Senate hearings; Tuck is mentioned several times): @
* "The Nixon Tapes: 1973" (Douglas Brinkley & Luke A. Nichter, 2015): @

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Monday, June 6, 1966: Robert Kennedy's 'Ripple of Hope' speech

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy branded apartheid as one of the evils of the world Monday night in a speech certain to anger the South African Government. The 40-year-old New York Democrat, brother of the late President John F. Kennedy, was speaking to the multi-racial National Union of South African Students, which invited him to South Africa, at Cape Town University. Many observers believed this to be the most important speech made by an visitor to South Africa, where race separation is official policy, since a former British prime minister, Harold Macmillan, was here in 1960.

The speech's most famous passage: 

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Note: The quotation is inscribed at Kennedy's gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery. Photo: @

-- Story by Reuters: @; photo taken June 8 in Soweto by Alf Kumalo

* Text and audio (JFK Library): @

* Summary (RFK Legacy Education Project): @

* Summary from "American Voices: An Encyclopedia of American Orators" (Bernard K. Duffy and Richard W. Leeman, 2005): @
* "Kennedy hits at apartheid" (The Glasgow Herald): @
* "50th anniversary of Robert Kennedy's 'Ripple of Hope' speech (University of Cape Town): @
* "50 Years Later, South Africa Still Feels RFK's Message of Hope" (Voice of America): @ 
* "RFK in the Land of Apartheid: A Ripple of Hope" (film by Larry Shore and Tami Gold, 2009; site includes several links to other resources): @

* Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights: @

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Sunday, June 5 - Sunday, June 26, 1966: March Against Fear

Thursday, June 1: New York

     James Meredith, whose admittance to the University of Mississippi touched off riots in 1962, will set out on a 220-mile "voter registration march" into Jackson, Miss., Sunday as an example to fear-ridden fellow Negroes. -- United Press International: @

▲ Sunday, June 5: Memphis, Tennessee

     Declaring war on fear, James Meredith strolled boldly toward Mississippi on a civil rights march Sunday and placed his faith with "a million Negroes." Meredith, the man who cracked segregation barriers at the University of Mississippi, left downtown Memphis with two hiking companions and plans to reach the Mississippi state capitol in Jackson in about two weeks. "There are two purposes for this," Meredith said, "first, we want to tear down the fear that grips Negroes in Mississippi, and we want to encourage the 450,000 Negroes remaining unregistered (as voters) in Mississippi." -- Associated Press: @. Photo by Bill Hudson.
* "James Meredith Starts His March to Jackson" (AP): @

* "Meredith Begins Mississippi Walk to Combat Fear" (New York Times): @

▲ Monday, June 6: South of Hernando, Mississippi

     Negro James Meredith was shot and wounded by a forest sniper Monday as he trudged down a lonely highway on the second day of his march through Mississippi. Doctors said Meredith would survive the shotgun ambush. Authorities said James Norvell, a short, pudgy white man from Memphis, admitted bushwhacking Meredith and was charged with assault and battery with intent to murder. -- United Press International: @. Photos by Jack Thornell.

* "Meredith Is Shot In Back On Walk Into Mississippi" (New York Times): @

* Life magazine (June 17): @

* Jet magazine (June 23): @
* "Capturing history: Shooting of James Meredith" (Chuck Cook, 2016): @

* "Jack Thornell: 'I was thinking my career is over. I will resign. Or be fired' " (The Independent, 2013): @

Note: The Associated Press initially reported that Meredith was killed. "The Meredith Story, June 6, 1966" (UPI): @

Note: Aubrey James Norvell later pleaded guilty and would serve a year and a half in prison.

Tuesday, June 7: Hernando

      Three major civil rights figures, shoved into single file by Mississippi highway patrolmen, resumed James H. Meredith's "march against fear" Tuesday. The march, picking up new members as it straggled along U.S. 51, started at the spot where shotgun blasts felled Meredith, 33, who cracked the racial barrier at the University of Mississippi in 1962. The leaders were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Floyd McKissick, director of the Congress of Racial Equality; and Stokely Carmichael, new chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. -- Associated Press: @.

* "Negroes Pledge Massive March" (AP): @
* "Leaders Join for Miss. March" (The Southern Courier, June 11-12): @

▲ Thursday, June 9: Near Como

     A little boy tootles "Dixie" on a clarinet and a girl beside him waves a Confederate flag as marchers led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. approach along the shoulder of U.S. 51 near Como, Mississippi. -- Photo and caption by Associated Press.

▲ Saturday, June 11: Batesville

     El Fondren, resident of Batesville, Miss., who claims to be 106 years old, is hoisted to the shoulders of a crowd of Negroes and whites in Batesville today after he registered to vote for the first time. He registered as about 300 marchers in the Memphis-to-Jackson trek stopped for a brief demonstration before going on. -- Photo by Bob Fitch. Caption by Associated Press.

* "Marchers 'Against Fear' Stage Registration Rally" (AP): @

* "Picturing Freedom" (Aram Goudsouzian, 2016): @

* News footage: @

▲ Tuesday, June 14-Wednesday, June 15: Grenada

     The Mississippi marchers jubilantly moved toward the lush cotton country Wednesday, leaving hundreds of newly registered Negro voters behind and courthouse restrooms that no longer differentiate between white and Negro. They also may have picked up some poison ivy. -- Associated Press: @. Photo of the Rev. Martin Luther King speaking at Grenada's Jefferson Davis memorial by Charmian Reading.

* "Rain Falls to Dampen Ardor of Civil Righters" (AP): @

* "Marchers Spend Night At Grenada" (AP): @

* "March Doubles Voter Registration Along Route Through Mississippi" (The Southern Courier, June 18-19): @ 
Note: The march led to a months-long civil rights campaign in Grenada that eventually included the desegregation of city schools.

* "Grenada Mississippi, 1966: Chronology of a Movement" (Bruce Hartford, Civil Rights Movement Veterans): @

* "The Civil Rights Documentation Project: The Grenada Movement" (University of Southern Mississippi): @

* "Making a stand in Grenada" (Alan Bean, Friends of Justice): @

* "Return to Grenada" (Pete Eikenberry, Federal Bar Council Quarterly): @

▲  Thursday, June 16: Greenwood

     "We want black power! We want black power!" the 1,000 Negroes chanted it again and again. On the back of a truck, facing them on a lighted baseball field Thursday night, stood Stokely Carmichael, head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He and two others in the Mississippi march had just come from seven hours in jail. "Everybody owns our neighborhood except us," Carmichael roared. "We outnumber the whites in this county; we want black power. That's what we want. Black power!" Carmichael's speech climaxed the most troubled day of the march since James H. Meredith, the first Negro known to have graduated from the University of Mississippi, was shot and wounded June 6. -- Associated Press: @. Photos of Carmichael's arrest (his back is to camera) and speech by Bob Fitch.

* Carmichael on CBS' "Face the Nation" (June 19, 1966): @

* " 'Guns, Bullets Can't Stop Us,' King Tells Miss. Negroes" (Jet magazine, June 30): @ 

* "March's Leaders Argue, Non-Violence or Arms?" (The Southern Courier, June 25-26): @

* "Black Power - White Backlash" (CBS, September 27, 1966): @
* "The First 'Black Power' flyer?" (Eric Etheridge, Breach of Peace): @

* Interview with David Dawley (Washington University, 1989): @
* "The Basis of Black Power" (SNCC, 1966): @ 
* Carmichael's October 29 speech at U.C. Berkeley (American Rhetoric): @

* "Stokely Carmichael, 'Black Power' " (Kalen M.A. Churcher, Niagara University): @

* "Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)": (Stokely Carmichael and Michael Thelwell, 2003): @

* "Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America" (Peniel E. Joseph, 2007): @
* "Stokely Carmichael, Black Power and the Age of Political Repression: Why Did America's Ruling Elites Declare War on the Black Movement?" (Abayomi Azikiwe, Centre for Research on Globalization, 2016): @ 

▲  Tuesday, June 21: Philadelphia

     A civil rights leader said Tuesday night his group traded a volley of bullets with unknown assailants outside their headquarters in a gun battle he called a "siege." Earlier, a memorial march led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of three slain civil rights workers erupted in a stone throwing, fist swinging battle. -- Milwaukee Sentinel: @. 

-- Photo by Associated Press. Caption reads: Dr. Martin Luther King, left, confronts Neshoba County Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price at the County Jail in Philadelphia, Mississippi on June 21, 1966 as Dr. King and other African American leaders arrived to post bond for jailed Rev. Clint Collier, who was arrested on trafic charges. The encounter came after a violence-marked memorial march in Philadelphia which Dr. King led in memory of three slain civil rights workers.

* "Neighborhood Sealed Off in Mississippi" (AP): @

Note: In October 1967, Price would be convicted for his role in the 1964 deaths of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. He would serve four years in federal prison.

▲ Thursday, June 23: Canton

     Guns at the ready, Mississippi state troopers move in Thursday on freedom marchers, already scrambling away from tear gas fumes in a schoolyard in Canton, Miss. The troopers tossed the tear gas canisters among the 2,000 marchers as they set up a sleeping tent in the schoolyard in defiance of an order by town authorities forbidding them to use the grounds. -- Photo by Charles Kelly. Caption by United Press International.

* "Marchers Gassed" (AP): @
* "Tear Gas Routs Dixie Marchers" (Milwaukee Journal): @

Friday-Saturday, June 24-25: Tougaloo and Canton

     Chilled by dissension and James H. Meredith's coolness, the Mississippi march to promote Negro voter registration stood at the last lap today. Meredith arrived in Tougaloo on Friday night after ignoring a rally in Canton, 16 miles to the north, where he was to receive a hero's ovation. ... Disappointed when he found that the march had proceeded from Canton to Tougaloo before his arrival, Meredith said he tentatively planned to march the 16 miles on his own today. -- Associated Press: @

▲ Sunday, June 26: Jackson

     The long and turbulent Mississippi march has ended with James H. Meredith -- who started it as a "journey against fear" -- saying the "governor and every other person is going to pay attention to the Negro. The system of white supremacy will reign no longer," Meredith told a heavily guarded rally behind the imposing State Capitol Building Sunday. Some 16,000 persons, most of them Negroes, flowed through Jackson streets to jam into a portion of the Capitol grounds and adjacent areas. -- Associated Press: @. Photos of James Meredith and crowd by Bob Fitch.

* "Mississippi March Ends With Massive Rally in Jackson" (St. Petersburg Times): @

* News footage of Meredith speaking: @

* "Civil Rights Groups to Push Work in Areas March Passed Through" (The Southern Courier, July 2-3): @

* "Divided On Tactics, Leaders Agree March A Success" (Jet magazine, July 14): @

* jamesmeredith1962.blogspot.com: @

Resources

-- Summaries

* PBS: @

* University of North Carolina: @

* Jo Freeman: @

* Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (see "March Against Fear" section): @

-- Books
* "Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference" (David J. Garrow, 1986): @ 
* "Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi" (John Dittmer, 1994): @
* "Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI" (1998): @

* "Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt" (Hasan Kwame Jeffries, 2010): @
* "James Meredith: Warrior and the America That Created Him" (Meredith Coleman McGee, 2013): @
* "Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear" (Aram Goudsouzian, 2014): @

* "At the Crossroads of Fear and Freedom: The Fight for Social and Educational Justice" (Robert L. Green, 2015): @

-- Photos

* Bob Fitch: @

* Jim Lucas: @

* Jim Peppler: @

* John F. Phillips: @

* Flip Schulke: @

* Getty Images: @

* Walter P. Reuther Library: @

-- Other

* March map (Facts on File): @

* The Southern Courier archives: @ 

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