Read Parting the Waters Online
Authors: Taylor Branch
“White women can be lures”: J. Raymond Henderson to King, Sept. 17, 1958, BUK4f4.
sent autographed books to: Eisenhower to King, Nov. 13, 1958, Nixon to King, Dec. 5, 1958, Truman to King, Dec. 10, 1958, all BUK11f21; Warren to King, Jan. 27, 1959, BUK9f13. Niebuhr's copy in the possession of Mrs. Reinhold Niebuhr, courtesy of Elisabeth Sifton.
Levison to send complimentary: King to Levison, Aug. 11, 1958, and Levison to King, Aug. 14, 1958, BUK1f10.
Wofford found too tepid: Wofford to King, Sept. 5, 1958, and Wofford to Levison, Sept. 5, 1958, BUK9f13.
plunged deep into his chest: New York
Daily News
, Sept. 21, 1958, pp. 1, 3, 64;
New York Age
, Sept. 27, 1958, p. 3; Reddick,
Crusader
, pp. 229-32; Bennett,
What Manner
, p. 99.
Magistrate Vincent Rao's: Bennett,
What Manner
, p. 99.
slender Japanese penknife: Photo of weapon, BUK5f179.
indefinite commitment: Int. Bellevue spokesman James Walsh, Dec. 7, 1984.
delivered no speeches: As indicated by the absence of records and by John Tilley to King, Dec. 3, 1958, A/SC53f1.
locked twelve thousand: B. Smith,
They Closed
, p. 152.
“need now, Mike”: Wyatt Tee Walker to King, Nov. 6, 1958, cited in Morris,
Origins
, p. 185.
Randolph's Youth March: Int. Bayard Rustin, Nov. 28, 1983, and Michael Harrington, Oct. 27, 1983. Also Morrow,
Black Man
, p. 190.
Harry Belafonte: Int. Harry Belafonte, March 7, 1985.
“If the young people are aroused”: Levison to King, Nov. 3, 1958, BUK1f10.
Davis trial: MA, Nov, 2, 1958, p. 1; BW, Dec. 3, 1958, p. 3; int. Richmond Smiley and Robert Williams.
proving to be a disappointment: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, Nov. 19, 1984.
“the secondary functions”: Tilley to King, Oct. 17, 1958, BUK16f24.
“Well, I don't want to”: Ella Baker, CRDPOH. Also int. Baker, Oct. 27, 1984.
“guilt-ridden man”: C. King,
My Life
, p. 179.
“natural turning point”: Reddick,
Crusader
, p. 232.
nicknamed the Taj Mahal: Evans and Novak,
Johnson
, p. 216.
Rogers told a White House: Int. William P. Rogers, June 11, 1984.
“setting you up”: Ibid., and Ann Whitman diary for Feb. 3, 1959, AWDS Box 10, DDE. Johnson had introduced his own minimal civil rights bill on Jan. 20, 1959, Miller,
Lyndon
, p. 276.
“if Lyndon tries”: Int. William P. Rogers, June 11, 1984.
“haven for socialists”: Manchester,
Glory
, p. 1034.
“erosion of the middle class”: Ambrose,
Eisenhower
, p. 512.
stack of materials about India: “Notes for a Conversation Between King and Nehru,” BUK1f5.
shanti sena
: Lewis,
King
, p. 101.
excess baggage: $88.02, by King's accounting to the AFSC, BUK1f5.
old friend Richard Wright: Int. Rudolph Aggrey, Oct. 8, 1986. (Aggrey was present at the Kings' dinner with Wright.) Also King, “My Trip to India,” BUK1f5.
dense fog: King, “My Trip to India,” BUK1f5.
gathered at the airport: Int. James Bristol, Oct. 22, 1984.
recoiled from the sight: C. King,
My Life
, pp. 181f.
small replica:
With the Kings in India
, p. 8.
With the Kings in India
is a pamphlet containing memories of the King journey by Swami Vishwananda and James Bristol, published in New Delhi by the Gandhi National Memorial Fund. King's copy is located in A/KP12f57. Also Lewis,
King
, p. 99.
nothing less than a miracle:
With the Kings in India
, p. 8.
Prime Minister greeted: C. King,
My Life
, p. 182.
other guests: Countess Mountbatten (Lady Brabourne) to author, Nov. 12, 1984. Also King sermon, March 22, 1959, A/KS2.
Nehru felt obliged: Lady Pamela Hicks to author, Feb. 8, 1985.
Coretta retained: C. King,
My Life
, p. 182.
correlate shades of color: Int. James Bristol, Oct. 25, 1984.
Kings did not complain: Int. S. K. De, June 18, 1985.
Arthur Koestler: Ibid. The Koestler novel was
The Lotus and the Robot
, which contrasted India with imperial Japan.
rendezvous with Vinoba:
With the Kings in India
, p. 22.
impossibly vague: Int. James Bristol, Oct. 25, 1984.
three thirty in the morning: Ibid.
“Americanized” walk: Lewis,
King
, p. 104.
King put to Vinoba: Int. James Bristol, Jan. 11, 1985.
King was careful: Ibid.
“India should declare itself”: Statement March 9, 1959, A/KS2.
Egypt and Greece: Bristol to King, April 16, 1959, BUK3f10b.
“palatial apartment”: King to Belafonte, March 25, 1959, BUK3f11.
private home screening: Int. Harry Belafonte, March 6, 1985.
Belafonte offered: King to Belafonte, March 24, 1959, BUK3f11.
“absolute self-discipline”: Sermon, March 22, 1959, A/KS2.
“call thee Allah”: Ibid.
submarine slipped: Manchester,
Glory
, p. 1001.
Joan Baez: Rolling Stone,
Almanac
, p. 47.
Kennedy conclave: Sorensen,
Kennedy
, p. 119.
Pentagon demonstrated: Manchester,
Glory
, p. 1002.
muttering witticisms: Int. Michael Harrington, Oct. 27, 1983, and Bayard Rustin, Nov. 28, 1983.
“Do you realize”: Speech, April 18, 1959, A/KS2.
“direction of the CP”: Baumgardner to Belmont, April 22, 1959, FL-NR.
“closely associated”: Hoover to NY SAC, April 22, 1959, FL-NR.
Hoover directed: Ibid.
a consummate bureaucrat: Hoover portrait drawn from Powers,
Hoover
; Ungar,
FBI
; Sullivan,
The Bureau
; Garrow,
FBI
; plus Hoover's written comments throughout the FBI files on Levison and King.
mushroomed in size: Powers,
Hoover
, pp. 135, 255.
set foot outside: Sullivan,
The Bureau
, p. 101.
“violently defensive”: Powers,
Hoover
, p. 274.
assigned four hundred: Ibid., p. 335.
buffalo hunters: Ibid., p. 340.
recruit Levison as an informant: Garrow,
FBI
, p. 42; SAC NY to Director, Nov. 27, 1959, Feb. 9, 1960, and March 4, 1960, all FL-NR.
“mob action was invited”: King to Rogers, April 25, 1959, BUK4f40.
sixty agents: Doar and Landsberg, “Performance,” p. 30ff.
“flagrant and calculated”: Ibid.
ten thousand Negroes: Baker to Tilley, Feb. 7, 1959, A/SC32f8.
along well with C. O. Simpkins: Int. Ella Baker, Oct. 27, 1984.
registered only fifteen: Baker report, May 15, 1959, BUK6f151.
he fired someone: King to Tilley, April 2, 1959, and Tilley to King, April 13, 1959, BUK9f10.
“acting” rather than permanent: Int. Ella Baker, Wyatt Tee Walker, and Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy.
leaky roof: Baker to Abernathy and King, July 10, 1959, A/SC32f39.
“even more keyed up”: King to Nelson, April 24, 1959, BUK4f23.
registered attendance: Baker to King, July 7, 1959, BUK1f5. As of that date, Baker reported registration of sixty people, including the speakers.
virtual absence: Smiley to Baker, A/KP33f7.
band of nonviolence leaders: Taken from “Proposed Schedule,” BUK1f15, and related correspondence as cited.
“balanced with practical”: James Lawson evaluation, A/KP33f7.
ice cream parlor: Morris,
Origins
, p. 198.
“break the backbone”: Moore to King, Oct. 24, 1956, BUK8f10, and Maude L. Ballou (for King) to Moore, Dec. 7, 1956, BUK8f10.
make the long lonely drives: Int. Rev. Douglas Moore, Oct. 24, 1984.
one day that summer: June 13, 1959, per Fred Gray's letter to Lewis, June 9, 1959, AAP.
introduced as John Lewis: Lewis material from Archie E. Allen interviews with Lewis, Lewis' parents, and Abernathy, AAP. Also Lewis, CRDPOH, and int. Lewis, May 31, 1984.
Glenn Smiley often filled in: Nashville
Banner
, March 24, 1958.
refused to attend Lawson's workshops: Int. John Lewis, May 31, 1984.
shuttling between a mother: Int. James Bevel, May 16, 1985.
shower after his shower: Int. John Lewis, May 31, 1984.
like Socrates: Morris,
Origins
, p. 147.
“winding around the maypole”: Archie E. Allen interview with Septima Clark, Sept. 21, 1968, AAP.
Septima Clark: Generally from Clark, HOH, 1983. Also Clark, A/OH, and int. Clark, Dec. 17, 1983.
special trip to Highlander: Baker report, Oct. 23, 1959, cited in Morris,
Origins
, pp. 114, 156.
“authorized to explore”: Ibid.
“Honesty impels us”: King recommendations, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 1959, BUK6f151.
“not been publicized”: Ibid.
not mention Rustin's name: Levison to King, Sept. 1, 1959, and Oct. 1, 1959, BUK1f10.
“headlines won't do it”:
Jet
, Oct. 20, 1959, pp. 10-11.
“counteract some false ideas”: King recommendations, Oct. 27, 1959, BUK6f151.
political caravan: King to Levison, Nov. 19, 1959, BUK1f10, and Levison to King, Dec. 21, 1959, BUK7f25.
“I can't wait on you forever”: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, Nov. 19, 1984.
“walk the benches”: Ibid.
King told Nesbitt: Int. R. D. Nesbitt, Dec. 29, 1983.
making the announcement: King to Levison, Nov. 25, 1959, BUK1f10.
November 29: C. King,
My Life
, p. 190. Also Lewis,
King
, p. 109; Evans,
Dexter Avenue
, p. 140;
Dexter Echo
, Dec. 9, 1959, BUK10f13; King's handwritten statement, A/KS2.
expansive declaration: Statement, Dec. 1, 1959, C. King,
My Life
, p. 191.
“not welcome to Georgia”: ADW, Dec. 2, 1959, p. 2.
“medieval walled cities”: Ashmore,
Hearts
, p. 287.
1954 Pontiac: ADW, Feb. 18, 1960, p. 4.
told Negro reporters: ADW, Dec. 29, 1959, pp. 1, 3.
Harvard University: SCLC release, Jan. 6, 1960, BUK4f40.
find a babysitter: Gwendolyn Middlebrook (a King babysitter), A/OH.
Lawson sent a dozen: John Lewis chronology files, AAP.
“appointed you the guardian”: Goulden,
Meany
, pp. 311ff.
“Castro begins to look”: Ambrose,
Eisenhower
, p. 556.
“damn near treason”: Ibid., p. 561.
settled with the IRS: MA, May 28, 1960, p. 7A. Also ADW, May 27, 1960, p. 1.
silver tea service: C. King,
My Life
, p. 191.
“Testimonial of Love”: Program dated Feb. 1, 1960, BUK1f38.
“to escort our children”: Abernathy speech, Feb. 1, 1960, BUK1f38.
official gavel:
Jet
, Feb. 18, 1960, p. 4.
box filled with cash: Ibid.
money be divided: ADW, Feb. 7, 1960, pp. 1, 3.
“every penny of it”: PC, Feb. 13, 1960, p. 3.
“I cannot claim”: Statement, Feb. 1, 1960, BUK1f38.
“might as well go now”: Ottawa
Citizen
, June 13, 1961. This account of the sit-in by Canadian reporter Tim Creery, though written more than a year later, contains some of the most realistic interviews with the first four sit-in students: Ezell Blair, Jr., Franklin McCain, Joe McNeil, and David Richmond.
Seven
THE QUICKENING