Republicans and Race: The Gop's Frayed Relationship With African Americans, 1945-1974 by Timothy N. Thurber

Author:Timothy N. Thurber [Thurber, Timothy N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ethnic Studies, History & Theory, American, United States, Political Ideologies, Social Science, 20th Century, Political Parties, Political Science, Political Process, African American & Black Studies, History, General
ISBN: 9780700619382
Google: bKeMjwEACAAJ
Goodreads: 17867298
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 2013-01-15T13:20:15+00:00

The Republican Convention

Republicans gathered in sunny Miami that August. This time, there were twenty-six African American delegates. Roy Wilkins of the NAACP complained to Bliss that several southern states had no African American delegates or alternates, and there were only three black delegates from the South overall. The Civil Rights Commission, Wilkins pointed out, had recently issued a stern report charging that both parties in the South had excluded African Americans or done little to encourage their participation. Bliss replied that the GOP was open to all and that blacks simply had not responded to standing invitations to participate in party affairs. Technically, Bliss was correct. With the exception of Mississippi, southern parties had removed formal language prohibiting black participation; however, as the commission noted, directives from state officials regarding black outreach were often ignored at the local level.70

The head of the NAACP and other black leaders remained deeply concerned about economic issues. Wilkins asked a platform subcommittee to support cease-and-desist powers for the EEOC, as well as an economic bill of rights that included guaranteed employment at an adequate wage and access to good education and health care. Ralph Abernathy, who had become president of the SCLC after King’s death, organized a direct action effort by approximately fifty veterans from the Poor People’s Campaign. The group, which Abernathy described as delegates “from the 51st state of hunger,” demanded that the GOP address the economic problems facing poor blacks. Abernathy claimed that 1968 was one of the “last chances for the Republican Party to win the black vote.”71

The protests were irrelevant. The Platform Committee was stocked with conservatives who sat silently when Lindsay connected race riots to poverty but cheered when Reagan urged getting tough on crime. The committee essentially ignored nearly all the civil rights leaders’ wishes; it did, however, favor more federal aid for job training and economic aid for blighted areas.72

The South stood at the center of the important battles in Miami. Facing an unexpected challenge from Reagan, who had announced his candidacy on August 5, Nixon went all out to shore up his southern flank. He enlisted help from Tower and Thurmond, both of whom worked diligently to keep the southern delegations in line.73

Nixon made a direct appeal when he met with delegates from seven southern states and the District of Columbia on August 6. He vowed not to concede the South to Wallace or run a northern-based campaign. Nor would he, as president, “ram anything down your throats” or shift his views to “satisfy some civil rights group.” Judges should interpret the law rather than make it, Nixon asserted, and local school boards should determine educational policy. Nixon repeated his opposition to busing as well as his promise to appoint conservatives to the Supreme Court. When someone inquired about his support for open housing legislation, Nixon replied that although he preferred the issue be handled at the local level, Congress had done the right thing (and helped Republicans avoid a convention fight) by passing the 1968 Civil Rights Act.

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