Nixon, Congressional Black Caucus & Diggs on Civil Rights and Employment

4:57:54I just want to say that I appreciate the opportunity to have you all here, and also to have the experience that you sent down, and I don't know, I'm not familiar with the general things, but there's nothing like having a sense of reckoning, so I just want to say thank you.
4:58:22Do you want to take any questions you want to ask?
4:58:35Do you have any questions?
4:58:38I'm working with the Chairman of the Congress of Black Lives, Congressman Charles D. Smith, in connection with the desire of Congressman D. Smith
4:58:55Thank you.
4:58:56Thank you.
4:59:25Thank you, Mr. President.
4:59:28On May 9th, it's actually the formal copy of our state numbers on the treasury, the signs on each old box.
4:59:38This is the address.
4:59:40And I also want to say this to the President and all the other people.
4:59:53His self-disbelief is a very, very deep condition in large numbers of citizens.
5:00:02Those being subjected to intense hardship and denial of basic rights and suffering for such a long time as a result of certain current policies.
5:00:17And although we call ourselves
5:00:25In this light we use the Latin expression to mean mutually regarded.
5:00:41I was in confrontation with some other presidents, black congressmen, not to the confrontation between a Republican state and a presidential college, between the executive branch and the legislative branch.
5:01:01Our attitude is that this is a moment of opportunity for us to personally and candidly debate on deep understanding, intimate knowledge, about the legitimate grievance of this barred section of the American States in the United States of America, and the basic rights of the people who live around it.
5:01:24It should indicate that even though it's disgusting to me,
5:01:29substantial majority, but which all of us are elected to.
5:01:33We are a predominantly black population, but our constituency is also pretty white.
5:01:39We have all nationality backgrounds, Indian, Spanish, American, citizens of Asia, and steps here.
5:01:47Located in our border areas are suburbanites and inner-city dwellers and families and individuals as well.
5:01:55There's a collection of four main places as well.
5:02:00The gentleman in front of the telephone is the Colossal that represents this area.
5:02:06So from this picture, it should be easily understood why our concerns and allegations
5:02:18As members of Congress do not stop at the boundaries of our districts, our attention also must be national and international in scope as well.
5:02:31We think also it is a singular significance that the leaders of national and local civil rights and human rights organizations and hundreds of private citizens from all walks of life
5:02:44that ask us to express their general and specific concerns, and they share our hope that this is not a pro-form, a one-time, a constant change.
5:02:56In the light of a stable behavior, this must be only the beginning
5:03:00are continuing to change, and permanently changing through persistent and far-reaching action.
5:03:04The harsh conditions under which also the poor life of our U.S. Americans are forced to live.
5:03:10So we recommend that at the end of this meeting, we agree on some measures before we go and continue to interrupt the meeting.
5:03:29of this Congress?
5:03:31Was it the black, poor, oppressed era?
5:03:34And in fact, was it the inequality of this country that the government must have, through its way, the attainment of certain accomplishments?
5:03:45We cite these categorically as communication policies, dealing with nations which reflect racial overtimes,
5:03:56We want to make a decent living for all employable persons or agencies.
5:04:01We want to provide dignity to those who are not available.
5:04:07Decent housing for our families, equal access to the total housing, fair and impartial justice, adequate protection against drug abuse and crime, enforcement of civil rights and other constitutional guarantees.
5:04:23through a vigorous affirmative action, a fair distribution of public funds to support business and community development, and democratically representative participation in determining how tax dollars will fit in our schools.
5:04:40Of course, the guarantee of ample health care for all citizens of the federal government.
5:04:47structural bias to federal standards and guarantees and programs financed by federal funds, and anticipation at all levels by members of our communities in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of our government.
5:05:05And finally, Mr. President, these current needs have a significant value.
5:05:11On the distance map of the platform you are getting over, already fall on the middle track.
5:05:16And it is our demand, this is our, the United States military forces are relating something to the forces that are being withdrawn properly from all regions of that area.
5:05:28We are not here, Mr. President, primarily to cite what might be considered disappointments from the past.
5:05:37We're here to try to present the first of a series of constructive proposals for the need of our communities for making
5:05:47America in the 70s was a whole and a healthy nation.
5:05:52We were fully aware of the power of the presidency and the progressive change.
5:05:58Every sector of our society tends to look to the White House for change, the direction that our national society is taking.
5:06:08When those views seem negative or contradictory or half-hearted to the public, that takes them to the evidence of disinterest or disagreement on the part of the public policy makers.
5:06:23The equality of all Americans is to be a reality as we must have it in order for the world to express its convictions one way or the other.
5:06:31Every official in each federal department in Washington, in the regional offices of the states, and other governors, and other county officials, and local school boards must understand clearly the direction in which any administration is headed.
5:06:49So the recommendations which follow, or purpose in our study, which is based on opinions volunteered by organizations and individuals involved in the country,
5:07:01We do not claim that these recommendations represent a comprehensive agenda of needs for legal actions.
5:07:19We do believe that they represent more than
5:07:30narrowing a good beginning.
5:07:32In the days, weeks, and months that lie ahead, we hope to remain in touch with you in terms of your administration on this.
5:07:44In discussing these recommendations, we believe that you will be focused
5:07:52on accreditation that can be taken immediately as well as on legislative programs that can be used to assess these trends upon the nature and the intensities of the support they receive from our partners.
5:08:10We're going to back them up, Mr. President.
5:08:14We're going to deal with the California State Department offices.
5:08:20The vice-chairman for our office, Mr. President, will verbalize this.
5:08:26Thank you.
5:08:36Mr. President, I'm supposed to cover three topics, manpower and one, rights and equality.
5:08:46The caucus has strongly considered these three topics and returned the biggest recommendations.
5:08:56Within the framework of the Comprehensive Manpower Planning Program, we're very disillustrated to provide
5:09:04permanent job creation program.
5:09:08And in particular, they just included a federal job creation program in the public service fields, which would provide a minimum of 500,000 reported jobs during the next six months of operations, and 600,000 during the second six months.
5:09:31Specifically, we also directed
5:09:34The tension we've had is that the teenage unemployment that's on the road is a very critical problem in the communities we represent.
5:09:45The black teenage unemployment today is in excess of 40%.
5:09:50It's very urgent.
5:09:53It means it's doubling.
5:09:55the number of such jobs that will be made available on a basis of a continuing opportunity.
5:10:00We hope that these jobs will not be essentially a means of cooling things off for a few months, but that they will be part of a long-range manpower program.
5:10:12I take on the question of the jobs that we are discussing, that it should be made very clear that we reject the concept of transitional jobs
5:10:26with low quality, period of time, and without built into them self-improvement and supportive services such as education, child care, transportation, or health.
5:10:39On the question of poverty, we urge the administration to abandon any plan now or two years hence which would weaken
5:10:53programs that are now operating, many of them we've released very successfully, under the autism of opportunity.
5:11:02We do not approve of the idea of fragmenting these programs and selecting them in ten or more different agencies and departments under a broader planned government reorganization.
5:11:17The Office of Economic Opportunity was originally conceived in 1964 as a coordinating agency.
5:11:25The Executive Office, one which was very close to the President, the one which would speak to the poor.
5:11:33In regards to their total needs, we believe that this agency should continue to target in these total efforts the needs of poor people
5:11:46involved him in planning operations and in decisions.
5:11:49He believed that his need now was even greater than last year.
5:11:56Indeed, it again raises the recent reports who believe that poverty has increased rather dramatically in the past year, secondly in the areas which we represent.
5:12:08These briefly are the three topics that I was supposed to cover.
5:12:13I think that a concise one gives the opinions of our colleagues.
5:12:21I now present to you, gentlemen, your assistant.
5:12:31Mr. President, my special area is centered around the problems of the black veterans in this country.
5:12:38The accumulation of voluminous complaints on the part of these veterans in the military, both abroad and at home, now intensifies, I believe at this point, the establishment of a
5:12:55Civil Rights Division and the Department of Defense to make sure that black soldiers do get equitable justice both in the military, abroad, and at home.
5:13:07The co-question about is that many of us have been receiving
5:13:12So many complained and they said, any case indicates that this is a problem that cannot be smacked onto the road.
5:13:19You must be very concerned about what is really going to happen to these people and protect them to their land and in front of them.
5:13:28This is a question of justice.
5:13:30Some have not been affected.
5:13:32Secondly, I feel that it's very important that in some way the Department of Justice and State Department and the Defense Department have some kind of coordinated effort in handling the complaints of the black folks, of all my darlings, of Mr. President.
5:13:49I cannot express to you my deep concern about this because of the fact that being a member of the
5:13:57Veterans Affairs Committee in the United States House of Representatives, I am constantly in contact with this current problem which is escalated day by day and those are the two points that I wanted to address myself to communicate with you.
5:14:13Thank you.
5:14:16I'm just going to ask one question.
5:14:21You presented that to the department in terms of Johnson's recommendation.
5:14:31We don't have anybody on the fence here.
5:14:34I should have had somebody on the fence here.
5:14:37I'll take that.
5:14:37And also, I know you've got a recommendation to stay here, and I'll take those myself.
5:14:45I didn't have time to get to that.
5:14:46I have all, most of my domestic people here, but I'll take the defense against myself and the state of Franklin.
5:14:54And God, you can follow through on those two, because they're well-known.
5:15:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
5:15:02Mr. President, on the last point that we met with Mr. Laird some eight or nine months ago,
5:15:17We're in the process of working on it.
5:15:22We had one meeting for about 15 times on this subject because it includes more than just the black members of Congress.
5:15:32Many other members have camps and bases that are highly volatile.
5:15:39John, can I ask, was Assistant Secretary Roger Kelly in that session?
5:15:46I can't remember if it was like working backwards on that.
5:15:50If you would permit, Mr. Chairman, the recommendations that we spelled out in terms of our objections to LEAA, to the lack of black judiciary appointments, particularly in the south.
5:16:16crime bill, the crime control bill, the no-knock and the preventive detention features that we deplore, I don't think I need to elaborate on the implementation of the Civil Rights Commission reports and problems particularly in Mississippi.
5:16:37I'd like to let Leonard Witten speak for himself, and if I could use
5:16:42My minute and a half or whatever's left to just make a couple of points that seem to me very necessary to be said here.
5:16:54First of all, our document is not meant to be comprehensive.
5:16:58It is not a laundry list.
5:17:02There are many other things that could have been added.
5:17:05I want to re-emphasize the point that the chairman has made, that for this meeting to have any success whatsoever, it is positive upon us.
5:17:14The notion that we would re-meet is impossible, and 60 minutes giving 30 minutes to the president and 30 minutes to 13 members of Congress, that we could do anything but
5:17:30It's more the basis for beginning to work together in some kind of real depth on these questions.
5:17:38So all I can say to you is that there is an atmosphere of oppression and racism in this country that it seems to me with all respect is not deeply felt enough by the administration and the White House.
5:17:53And it seems that it's our responsibility
5:17:57to try to bring to you as clearly and as accurately as we can our impressions on this very important subject.
5:18:07And the question of our foreign relations
5:18:10We mentioned South Africa, specifically with Mozambique and those related areas which are, there's a great struggle for freedom going on in Africa.
5:18:19Worth mentioning, it isn't because we're not interested in bringing those countries in which there's fighting going on between Portugal and France.
5:18:28There's the Xenia situation in which Portugal's invasion has changed.
5:18:34was prevented from the kind of censorship the U.S. should have done because the United States, which as we told you, is a very serious and critical matter with three of us, four of us, just having returned from Africa in the last 30 days.
5:18:50Now, Mr. President, many have suggested to me and I've been in continual arguments with people who have said to us we shouldn't even be at this meeting.
5:19:03I think we'd be less than candid not to present an alternate point of view.
5:19:08Many in the black community view this as a kind of a meeting in which we're kind of gas rhetoric between each other, and that we're some one or both groups are going for the political mileage, and we would best
5:19:25have served our true and genuine interests of the black community and the nation by declining the meeting I've had on three occasions to publicly have to argue in defense of us meeting after a year's attempt.
5:19:39And so I want to say that our credibility is on the line in this meeting as well as everyone else here in this room.
5:19:52Now the question, some immediate questions of the system of justice in this country is deplorable.
5:20:00Jesse Jackson said to me the last thing when he called me, tell the president about blacks in jail.
5:20:05He doesn't mean just the black people that have gotten put in jail through miscarriages of justice, but the entire legal system.
5:20:16from the way it starts in the courts, to the prosecutors, to the police, to the penal system.
5:20:22It's really one complex in our society that all of us have to begin to look to in a very real way.
5:20:31Finally, I got a call from Richard Hatcher, the mayor of Cary, going out of the office today about the terrible pressure that they're under.
5:20:41And it's not bipartisan.
5:20:46It's not a Republican versus Democrat system in which they are being systematically prevented from registering black voters in the number of ways that you documented in the past that the Justice Department involved themselves in it prior to the election.
5:21:05There are ways, of course, we know that that can be done.
5:21:10And finally, the last item was the question of
5:21:14that to me sums up the dilemma that black people in this country are up against.
5:21:20Because a fellow that decided a black man in Detroit, Richard Henry, our brother Henry, formerly Richard Henry, lived in my district, worked for the federal government,
5:21:34who is now the head of the Republic of New Africa, who moved to Mississippi to set up a community that had the intention of removing itself from the American scene.
5:21:49Jess called in twice in my office today, and then another girl from Mississippi called in.
5:21:55about the fact that the Mississippi State Police, 30 miles offside of Jackson, Mississippi, are preventing them from having a two-day celebration in which they promote the land that they bought for Mississippi and the activity going on in their community.
5:22:15And that the police, there's violence going on there now.
5:22:19They're calling us desperately for help.
5:22:23And it seems to me, Mr. President, to symbolize the dilemma of black people in America.
5:22:30They can't agree, they can't separate.
5:22:32They're caught in a tremendous vice in which they're trying in their own ways to do whatever they think is rational.
5:22:43And we've got these kind of pressures here, a group that's going out there with the intention of having nothing more to do with us.
5:22:51And on the other hand, frustrated black youth that are telling us, don't meet.
5:22:58There isn't any point in meeting.
5:23:00And so we have pressures coming at us in a variety of directions that we hope this meeting will be the first of a series
5:23:10of coming together where we can sincerely lay aside partisan considerations and deal with the problems that have been put to you on this agenda.
5:23:21Thank you.
5:23:28Mr. President, I'm glad that your representative from the State Department is not here so that perhaps you can get the full impact of the concerns of what at one time was considered to be a conspiracy of genocide.
5:23:45Since the explosion of the drug addict population has now overflown to the white majority,
5:23:52It's no question that we can no longer deal with problems of crime, injustice, military, health, education, job opportunity, or job training, unless we concern ourselves with what is happening with the inflow of drugs into the United States.
5:24:09I'm a former Assistant United States Attorney at nine committees in the House of Representatives that are concerning themselves with the brothel drug addiction.
5:24:18And one of them is the Select Committee of Crime, which I serve as a member.
5:24:23And all the intendants point to the fact that 80% of the drugs that can be identified as coming into the United States
5:24:31of being grown in Turkey and processed in southern France.
5:24:34And yet, those of us who recognize the history of this country see your representatives going there and dealing with the mayors of these small towns.
5:24:44And yet, hundreds of thousands of people, black and white, brown and yellow, are dying because they don't have the opportunity to fully enjoy the American dream and attempt to take the drug as a method of escaping from the problems that we have to face.
5:25:00It is our general opinion, and I haven't heard anything to the contrary, that Hickman was a strong commitment
5:25:08where this thinking was convenient to use as economic strength and secondly as military strength in the past, that we could bring a halt to this condition which is killing off American youth and many of our adults.
5:25:21And what has happened in the thinking of so many people is that in an attempt for America to resolve the problem, our scientists have gone to the methadone program.
5:25:32And this methadone program has, in my district, Central Harlem, and certainly in other inner cities, have created now a new type of addict, a methadone addict.
5:25:44Methadone is being sold by addicts who have some unique feeling that they're not on hardcore drug.
5:25:51And it seems to me that more and more white America is saying, let's legalize the drug because we can't deal with the problem.
5:25:59Mr. President, our people have fought on the cotton fields and on the tattered fields.
5:26:04We think that this problem is important enough as a health problem, as a national security problem, to be dealt with in international crises and not one that just powerless people are up against.
5:26:15And in that connection, I'll be only too happy to find out the names of your persons that are working toward a solution of this problem so that I can turn over all of the evidence that has been collected by the various committees and even your Department of Justice.
5:26:33to substantiate that a crime is being committed against this country and serving against the largest segment of this country that can't fight back.
5:26:41And while we don't put confidence in the rumors of genocide, I think your statistics records might indicate that when you go to your jails, when you go to your courts, you'll find that 70 to 80 percent of the defendants are in charge of violating state and federal law.
5:26:59in the sense of possession and sale of hard drugs, of black and non-white.
5:27:04And I think you acknowledge that 70 to 80 percent, which can be substantiated, and I say this as a former prosecutor, and I think you will agree with me that black and Puerto Ricans are not the ones that import drugs into the United States.
5:27:19They are the ones that the overwhelming majority of addicts themselves are pushing in order to further their addiction.
5:27:28So, it is our plea, and we sincerely believe that within the State Department, within the power of your office, that there's no need for the multi-amount of bills that are in the legislature now that you do have the power, and we just implore your good graces to use it as you would if it was an actual crisis, and I think it's reaching that.
5:27:47You know we've been working on it.
5:27:56We have
5:28:15I hope so, Mr. President.
5:28:17I can't hear you back.
5:28:18I don't know if it gets back or not.
5:28:19It doesn't make enough money for it.
5:28:21It was our students I wanted to work with.
5:28:45But we've had no problem with our southern farmers in the area of subsidy.
5:28:50And I don't think this nation has a problem exercising powers with nations that are unfriendly to us.
5:28:58And I think that this is the height of unfriendliness when they allow this thing to happen.
5:29:02So I just don't believe that the Secretary of State should have to sit down with the mayor who wants to say, I have too much confidence in my country.
5:29:17Mr. President, as you should well know, I believe that it is more impactful in the area of housing as far as black folks are concerned than in any other area.
5:29:35Every man around this table
5:29:38one of the very good citizens in my district and in their district, and he's what is called a black tax, a black tax in housing.
5:29:47That's the extra margin of profit that goes to people in real estate when they sell or rent the blocks.
5:29:54And I think those who espouse this point of view are racism in housing.
5:30:02are emboldened and encouraged when we hear statements coming from the administration.
5:30:09Statements that are ambiguous on occasion or statements relating to fear by forced integration.
5:30:15I think those statements are often interpreted to me
5:30:21that it's right, just, and proper to go right ahead and close any black taxes in real estate when black people will seek to rent or seek to buy.
5:30:34So in the area of housing, we have a whole host of recommendations.
5:30:38I call yours specific attention to the beauty.
5:30:43Not because they are more impactful than the others, but because immediate action by me can be something to reduce the problems associated with these two recommendation areas.
5:30:57The first is, we call for the immediate release of all this supplemental fiscal year 1971 funds of $150 million for housing for public housing.
5:31:08As you well know, this money was appropriated and it's been embargoed and these funds have frozen and been presumed by your office.
5:31:15And in light of the situation that lets black folks be exploited at every level in the field of housing, it's only fair and decent and honorable to release these funds so that we can go into the area of public housing.
5:31:31Second recommendation is the implementation of the Immigrant Relocation Act to ensure that an adequate stock of low and moderate income housing for displaced persons has been available.
5:31:43You're offered by immediate action to move in this area.
5:31:47All too often the problem is men and black folks are moved.
5:31:51There is no place for them to go because of the racism that's extant in this country.
5:31:57The know-how for them to move into this result is that they're forced into other black areas of density increases and we find instant slums being created because of what was presumed to be desirable efforts initially.
5:32:11Those two, Mr. President, with one question that I would like to put to you and I would hope that you would respond to it later on at some of this juncture.
5:32:20We understand your request for a legal opinion on the authority of the federal government to intervene in situations where subverting or other jurisdictions receives permitting of low and moderate income housing.
5:32:33We have this situation in Maryland and in multiple counties around the city of Baltimore.
5:32:39Before we leave, if you would please share with us and with the public the legal opinion you've received on this particular matter.
5:32:45I think it would be very helpful to us.
5:32:53Mr. President, this document which we've given to you this afternoon, we treat one section as being federally used to state and local government.
5:33:10In this particular section, we urge you, Mr. President, to have a much broader concept of revenue sharing other than
5:33:19revenue-sharing bill being proposed by you.
5:33:25As Congressman, many of us during the past session in Congress have sponsored and supported and voted for bills in the area of additional aid to education, housing, urban renewal, sewage facilities, health and education.
5:33:40Past bills, which of course you sought them to be during the past term.
5:33:48We're not here to rehash past instances, but there's a myriad of problems which confront large urban areas, which we represent.
5:33:57We're unable to think in terms only of revenue charity as being operational expenses, money for operational expenses to be given to these large cities.
5:34:09We'd like to use, for instance, Mr. President, the fact that there's something that you can do today, that in our total concept of revenue sharing, general revenue sharing, something that could be done by executive order today.
5:34:24That's the release of the $800 million that's now been frozen in already appropriated funds.
5:34:31This includes some $200 million for mass transit, $200 million for water and sewer grants, $200 million for urban renewal.
5:34:39In addition to this, we think that the revenue sharing also takes in the concept of treating the present unemployment situation in this country.
5:34:50We strongly urge you
5:34:53emergency public service employment bill.
5:34:57If I were to just cite to you two of the large urban communities which represent this table this afternoon, say Detroit has just recently had to lay off 600 employees and now has 2,600 vacancies in their city hall.
5:35:11Cleveland, the mayor there has had to lay off 1,500 employees within the last three months.
5:35:20And additionally, Mr. President, oftentimes when you refer to the unemployment situation in America today, you make reference to the national average of 60%.
5:35:31We would call your attention to the fact that the Department of Labor Statistics from 1970 showed that in large urban poverty areas, the young black man ages 16 to 19, that average nationally was 35%.
5:35:49The last quarter of 1970, it was 42.2%.
5:35:52These are figures that we have to deal with, regardless of the average of 60%.
5:36:01We urge you in this section on the question of welfare, nationalization, and reform.
5:36:08We say to you that we do not see welfare nationalization, welfare reform as being a substitute or an alternate for a relative sharing deal.
5:36:19We see these as being necessary in addition to some form of financial aid to citizens.
5:36:27We propose to you a change in the formula which you have in your bill.
5:36:34You deal, of course, with 1.3% of the taxable personal income.
5:36:41We take the figure 1.5%, which is 0.2% above your figure, taking the general revenue sharing presidency.
5:36:51We recommend that you take 1% of this taxable personal income and let it be distributed to all welfare dispersing units on a basis reflecting the proportion of national welfare costs paid by that unit.
5:37:09I think then we're treating the needs of our large urban centers where they have a large welfare cost.
5:37:17Then we take the 0.5% of the taxable personal income
5:37:22and have it distributed to all local humans who did not share in the above distribution.
5:37:29with reference to a cut-off figure of some 50,000.
5:37:32Cities with a population of under 50,000 would not participate.
5:37:38We do this because under the population formula which you used in your bill, let us cite four examples here.
5:37:46We see many areas of the country where they don't have the need or the problems that we're in front of them, benefit from
5:37:56from the kind of a formula which you have.
5:37:57I take Rose Point Woods, Michigan.
5:38:01Under your formula, they receive $129,000.
5:38:03Under our formula, such a community would not receive any benefits.
5:38:10Palm Beach, Florida receives $333,000.
5:38:13Wellesley, Massachusetts receives $439,000.
5:38:17Beverly Hills, California receives $811,000, almost a million dollars.
5:38:25We think that under the formula which we have and the computation we've made, if I had to cite just four cities, it would benefit much Korea from the utilization of the formula which we have.
5:38:38Baltimore would go from $14 million to $30 million.
5:38:42Chicago from $47 to $113 million.
5:38:46Los Angeles from $34 million under your formula to $94 million under ours.
5:38:52St. Louis from $15 million under your formula to $20 million under ours.
5:38:58The last point we make in the section document is that you have already taken recognition of the fact that Title VI is going to be applied to these funds that go into the states and cities without any strings attached.
5:39:15But we feel, additionally, that since Title VI is, in essence, a declaration of national policy, does not many times get to the pragmatic situation of discriminatory action in many localities around the country.
5:39:31And Title VII, which also has NFP or employment opportunity provisions, ought to be made applicable to any such financial assistance given to cities or states.
5:39:44I have one question.
5:39:46What is the position of the caucus opposed to this program?
5:39:54I suppose it's a mixture of what I've heard.
5:39:58That's going to change the rest of the business.
5:40:01Well, if you're going to be covering somebody else's line, I can go to welfare, and the balance is welfare.
5:40:08They don't want to go to the other side.
5:40:10Yes, sir.
5:40:11I couldn't.
5:40:11I know you mentioned the national switchboard.
5:40:15I didn't go into the other side.
5:40:16I know someone in Alberta had something else.
5:40:18I understand.
5:40:18Yes, sir.
5:40:19You're correct.
5:40:20Thank you.
5:40:23Mr. Chairman, could you make it clear that the caucus position paper is a general compendium of these victory recommendations?
5:40:40I understand on many of these issues, you're not going to all come up with these things.
5:40:45They might come back to this.
5:40:47I don't think they're going to.
5:41:01So I don't like this provision.
5:41:03I don't like this provision.
5:41:04I understand.
5:41:05I mean, but I just wanted to, before we got through to see what it was, I just kind of don't feel it completely one way or another.
5:41:12Because that's something we're going to be finding a bullet on within another couple of months.
5:41:18More so than we presently hope.
5:41:19Is that right?
5:41:20So HR1?
5:41:21Yes, sir.
5:41:24Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. President.
5:41:29In the document, we will do some rather specific recommendations with respect to foreign policy in the Congress of the Chinese.
5:41:42You're a foreign affairs attorney?
5:41:46Yes, sir.
5:41:47Congressman Connors mentioned a few others that we haven't included in the report.
5:41:52But I'd like to come to the critical issue that I'm sure you're just as much aware of as we are.
5:41:57And that is the question of America's involvement in China.
5:42:03The point that I'd like to make here is that blacks in America are extremely concerned about America's involvement in Indochina.
5:42:11But we have submitted the same reasons that other Americans are concerned about Indochina people who wish to have peace in Indochina, who wish to have peace in the world.
5:42:22We're concerned about our involvement in Indochina as blacks, certainly because the war is being waged.
5:42:28on the basis of what should be on the backs of blacks, other racial minorities, poor and working class blacks.
5:42:36These blacks believe that our government in China is an extraordinary human and economic dream, perhaps one of the greatest in the world of China.
5:42:48And the third is
5:42:53We consider it at this point a major tragedy that a great deal of our funds are being directed into.
5:42:59Guilt, risks, wars, death and destruction.
5:43:03While the private concerns of 25 million blacks, millions of other racial minorities, and millions of other poor and destitute people were screaming for help in the country, that's when you need programs that are, at this point, 100 funded or not even addressed as yet.
5:43:17And the same is black that we want, we swear we will try to end the war in China.
5:43:25Black very much had this country to succeed actively on the course of peace.
5:43:29In fact, this country moved away from the extraordinary amount of revenue going into war and militarism, and turned those funds, redirected those funds into desperately needed programs that affect the lives of substantial numbers of human beings, and still affects the black community in a very dramatic way, trying to deal with problems.
5:43:5015 million hungry Americans, 50 million impoverished Americans, millions of unemployed Americans.
5:43:57And we've been preoccupied for a long time with staying technologically with other major powers.
5:44:07We, in fact, have dropped behind educationally in many, many other areas of the country.
5:44:14is concerned about being competitive with respect to human questions, human rights, human resources, and dealing with critical property.
5:44:22The awarding of times and villages is very, very key to that, because as long as we continue to spend extraordinary amounts of revenue on war and death,
5:44:31And people in this country, blacks in this country, are certainly going to continue to be in these situations of pain and sorrow that often affect American things.
5:44:41So we're asking you as the Chief Executive Officer of the country, a set of times, we're saying here in this document,
5:44:49Some of us would like to see the media withdraw.
5:44:53Some, a little more graphic, withdraw this year.
5:44:55We'll make a statement as a joint group that we'd like to see an end to the war, hopefully by the end of this year, certainly by the end of the 92nd Congress.
5:45:02We'd like to see us start to use millions of dollars that new programs, militarism, to start dealing with critical and vital domestic programs.
5:45:13Let me say that, in fact, I should say a word on this subject, because at least once in this event, all of what I've heard today has actually been over.
5:45:28but I think it is important to note, I know this is the outset of my conversation, but this is a Republican question.
5:45:38There are all kinds of things in Congress.
5:45:43The problem of war, peace, whatever, it's not never going to be nothing.
5:45:48We all know that.
5:45:49We're all confused as to how we get it and how we can best preserve it.
5:45:58I need to point out that I'm being an all-partisan, but as the Republican Vice President, I went to Washington on the 16th of January.
5:46:02There was no Americans in Vietnam in combat.
5:46:04And no Americans were killed in Vietnam.
5:46:05None.
5:46:05When I came back as President, eight years later, there were 550,000 Americans in Vietnam.
5:46:0830,000 were killed.
5:46:08We were spending approximately $26 billion a year.
5:46:27There was no plan whatever, after eight years of democratic administration, no plan whatever to reduce the number.
5:46:37As a matter of fact, quite quickly, Senator Montgomery, last year, said that there would be no withdrawal until the beginning of the withdrawal, which was dropped sometime in the year 1969 or early 1970.
5:46:52I did not say that clearly.
5:46:55My predecessors in office, they, I know, are certain that it's too old.
5:47:00It's a hard thing because it does sign a letter to somebody whose child is killed or is next to a chemist.
5:47:08But I think you should know that while we haven't gone as fast as some of you would want to make some corrections, the amount of money has been cut in half.
5:47:22The number of men has been cut in half.
5:47:24The number of cash increases is five times as great per month as we came in, as it is now.
5:47:32And in April, I will be making another announcement, which will, I think, be no different than perhaps your typical approval by all of you British.
5:47:45I can simply say this, I know what's happening.
5:47:48Everything that I have done,
5:47:54The program to train the South Vietnamese, the operation in Canberra, and one objective, not to expand the war, not to prolong, not to increase American captains, but to reduce our captains to make it possible for us to withdraw.
5:48:10Pray the Lord for that.
5:48:13Concentrate the great energies, the money, and the lives of these people for peace and purposes.
5:48:19I know Congressman Ruffin spoke very eloquently on this in your campaign.
5:48:23I know everybody else who does that.
5:48:26I want you to know we all feel the same way.
5:48:30But I assure you, we're going to meet the goal.
5:48:33And we hope you still listen to your campaign.
5:48:37I would say, while we may not have done as well as we thought, we've made some progress.
5:48:43It's a lot better to have half as many that are spending half as much.
5:48:48And we're just as close as we can.
5:48:52We're doing better.
5:48:54We're doing better.
5:48:55I told you that.
5:48:57Mr. Chairman, I have one question for the mayor.
5:49:01If we were to turn it over into his time, I didn't want to interrupt you.
5:49:10in reference to the African section of the foreign policy statement about Africa that we had some time back today.
5:49:22Can I get my statement about Africa, Mr. President?
5:49:29We feel very strongly that after this turn, more assistance is needed from the United States.
5:49:36The same kind of assistance is meant to be enjoyed by every other person in the world who is able to do it.
5:49:44Follow World War II with me.
5:49:50The city is a massive aid to the market plan, and it will be built in the 60s.
5:49:52In the 60s, the lines of progress received and funded for the benefit of Latin America and the Middle East, and continues to receive a significant significant amount of resources in the U.S. from the people, and it's now at its turn.
5:50:16There is a name for this solar establishment which, knowing the old person, he experienced.
5:50:24We decided to emphasize this as we go back.
5:50:28I read your section on this because I didn't hear of the concern, but she added to the precedent leading out to the Portuguese.
5:50:49I find in my conversation with the African leaders in the state yesterday, they preferred to have U.S. on the other hand, the European leaders and other involved countries have been playing their role.
5:51:10Do they think it's a good view of having countries that haven't farmed in all the other races that now, as they're participating in the evening, are good heads, I guess?
5:51:21No, I don't think so.
5:51:22I think one of the things that I admire is the variety.
5:51:30I don't really care where the money still comes from.
5:51:32And without, without, without, without, without, without, without, without, without, without, without,
5:51:58I know you're on there.
5:52:01We've got a session going on.
5:52:04Go ahead.
5:52:05It's about an hour.
5:52:06Mr. President, if you have some players here, put them all in.
5:52:08Yes, Mr. President.
5:52:10Do what you can.
5:52:11Mr. President.
5:52:31There are two members of the committee .
5:52:48The Wells version is covered in gold.
5:52:50It's covered already.
5:52:51It's out in the book.
5:52:52I mean, I just don't understand.
5:52:53The recommendation is on it.
5:52:55It goes to your attention.
5:52:56I don't understand.
5:53:02Well, let me go ahead.
5:53:03Well, perhaps at this point, Mr. President, I want to make some general comments, and then we can follow up your comments.
5:53:08Well, first, let me say that I would commend all of the other
5:53:38I agree, I understand it's not a law in the U.S. and it's not necessarily in the census.
5:53:52And that lets us express the sense that we have, that we should have to do a sacrifice as any of you who have taken a class at all have.
5:53:57I mean, any of you in the administration, I will note, since it covers a great number of beings, it requires
5:54:20In order to get responses, it requires action from various fields.
5:54:24For example, Secretary Brown is here, but we've got State of Defense that are not represented by OC.
5:54:27Those particular sections of legal State of Defense are there.
5:54:29We do not have judiciary representatives here.
5:54:30We do not, but I will count on you as a lawyer.
5:54:50I'm sorry, I got you.
5:54:53I'm sorry, I got you.
5:55:08Mr. President, I'd be pleased to make that my responsibility.
5:55:12Congressman Connors and I have had many years of your own association together.
5:55:18I have some ideas on what to do with this.
5:55:20And then, of course, Mr. President.
5:55:27So I will say that these people here that I have, of course, George Schultz, I have a number, I have to do with money.
5:55:40He's the man that has the money.
5:55:57representing specific departments have asked, one, to attend, and two, having heard the oral presentations, now to follow up on each of the specific areas.
5:56:14You all are aware of the fact that there are places that we can
5:56:26and make some progress and other things.
5:56:30There are others where it may not be possible to
5:56:35That's all there is to the problems that we've had.
5:56:42The main point I want to get across to our members is that, somebody said at the outset, that we should not have a more confident democracy.
5:56:54And that is my vision of that.
5:56:56On the other hand, I also appreciate that Canada, which I spoke to,
5:57:06I want you to know that if you want your concerns to be expressed,
5:57:24I would like to see my personal reaction to the recommendations that come up from each of the cabinet people.
5:57:38I'd like to ask a couple of them to say a word if they would like, because the Department has suggested that we target
5:57:46But I would like to say that before we go to that point, as members of the Congress are interested in, and I think Charlie suggested this at the outset, is how do you follow through?
5:58:01Now, there's two ways.
5:58:04One, if we have here the people and they follow through and then they make a decision.
5:58:08In terms of our congressional relationships, we've got the Raiders office.
5:58:15You also want to come to the White House, because the White House, of course, has to know what we have here.
5:58:23Bob Hinch now runs the White House.
5:58:27I do want you to know that he is that good.
5:58:44I, I will be very happy to be in Clark with you and with Charlie, you see, as, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a, as a,
5:59:15that we were able to make some releases.
5:59:19You can't always go into that instance.
5:59:26And George Schultz, having heard some of these concerns expressed here, where we have a situation where our funds are appropriated, our spending levels are placed, and where we have funds tied up, that's what you're talking about here.
5:59:46You need to know where you go, who you talk to.
5:59:48We go to the streets sometimes, but the streets, there isn't any purpose in responding to that.
5:59:55So if I could take a moment, could I ask George, would you like to say a word in a personal way as to how your office would like you to work on appropriating these matters with the students that you've got?
6:00:09Well, let me say, first of all, he's a nerd man in life.
6:00:11He knows state government.
6:00:14He knows federal government.
6:00:15And he's a budgeteer.
6:00:17He has to be a budgeteer.
6:00:18He's a man also who knows these problems.
6:00:22He comes from the San Francisco area.
6:00:24Knows the problems of the city.
6:00:26He's concerned about the problems of the city.
6:00:30George Schultz, of course, is the overall head of the office.
6:00:33But he's half the man that he was.
6:00:35Over 500,000 subsidized housing units.
6:00:39This is an area where we don't get much credit because the tremendous housing shortage nationally.
6:00:48But again, we welcome your...
6:00:52health in a number of areas where we really didn't need it, also in terms of managing these housing units and some of the others.
6:01:00I guess, maybe I'll let you finish, because I don't know, I mean, a little bit of discipline, which you say is a critical area of achievement.
6:01:09Of course, more housing is being produced in many ways.
6:01:14They're preaching this.
6:01:15On the other hand, to the best of my knowledge, we have not penetrated that ring around black cities, which remains as a sort of solid wall.
6:01:25I don't know of any other in which the public has moved
6:01:30No modern income housing in those counties continues to change.
6:01:36Well, you may ask me before the office, and I'll show you, a housing has achieved, in the last two years, a degree of distribution of that low and moderate income housing that was not true before.
6:01:46And if I'm correct, and I think that I am, then it means that additional production seems to mean additional locking into the ghetto that it may be.
6:01:59likely forward if any administration so desires.
6:02:04You know my concern on this area.
6:02:07But within the limits of what we've been able to do, we have been able to get a great distribution in the metropolitan areas.
6:02:16I don't think it's as great as
6:02:20hopefully going to be achieved.
6:02:22But in any event, it's much greater than what's occurring.
6:02:26And so now, going to the question of intervention.
6:02:33As I think you know, this whole area is under very carefully reviewed by the Department of Justice and our Department of Review to make the right decisions about the policy character with respect to this question.
6:02:53than the normal practice of the Department of Justice with respect to various areas, not to intervene before cases reach the appeal level.
6:03:06And what policy will be developed here is not determined at this point, but should be resolved hopefully in the early days.
6:03:15Mr. President, I wanted to remind everyone, President, if you'll forgive me, Congressman,
6:03:21The President and the First Lady do have a 615 obligation, and it is now about 627.
6:03:26And I appreciate that there have been a number of very blunt points raised.
6:03:31And it may be that the members of Congress here, the President, feel the time limitation is not committed as to making a responsive answer on our thing at home.
6:03:40But we will do so today, let me say it first.
6:04:07As we've got, I should mention too, in addition to the conference, people at the table are a bunch of Bob's men.
6:04:16We've got Bob Brown here, behind us, Glenn Garland.
6:04:21I'll let you know who's this man here.
6:04:24Several of our, Jackson and Jackson.
6:04:29But I'm speaking here in the White House, so we've got Bob Brown, Glenn Garland.
6:04:36Bob Fitch, Don Rumsfeld, and of course, George Shultz, quite awesome.
6:04:42And in addition to Clark, whose responsibility is the liaison thing and arranging second meetings like this, I think what you're concerned about is the following, and you should be.
6:04:55So let's see what happens.
6:04:57Some of these things we can do, some of these things we may do partially, other things we may not be able to do, but we might be quite happy to do it.
6:05:05Honestly, the main thing is like the whole legislative process.
6:05:08I appreciate to get this question through effectively, because it's just .
6:05:35Sometimes it's a tendency for any of us.
6:06:05A very few may have given up on the system, and you have not given up.
6:06:10This is a later audience, but I think the thing about this kind of meeting and this important assistance, while we're not in the same party, we are all active.
6:06:24You all want it.
6:06:25And that shows you.
6:06:26And you can come in.
6:06:29You can be heard.
6:06:30I want that all to be understood.
6:06:33You can be heard, but where we can't, we want to know.
6:06:36But I, as I said, again, want to be honest about it.
6:06:40You wouldn't want people coming in here.
6:06:42But you would do everything.
6:06:45I think there's been one great sin in many relations of whites and blacks in America.
6:06:53But the greatest is that demagoguery means promising.
6:06:55Promising, promising, promising, and then producing less and less and less.
6:06:58And the era that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that
6:07:49in the offices, where the action is, and you can be sure that you bring it up in those offices.
6:07:55And if you know what I want, I'm going to answer it.
6:08:01I can't always promise you get gas, but at least you get a proper consideration in the sales as well, and all the other things they ask for.
6:08:07And that's why I think this meeting is very worthwhile to me.
6:08:10You should always get the money.
6:08:11I usually, you know, I get the question, how does this make sense?
6:08:31I see the rest of your sentence
6:08:46They, uh, they've got a sign that says they've been called back in the good old days.
6:08:49I think Marty wouldn't even run a gold ticket since 1948 on a gold ticket, so I'm having them around too.
6:08:53That is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is,
6:09:17Thank you very much.
6:09:19Thank you.
6:10:05consumption of good citizens.
6:10:05I know that.
6:10:06I mean, I know that given, of course, the frustration, you know, sometimes there's a tendency for many of the white community to think of a very few
6:10:25We may have given up on the system and you have not given up.
6:10:28This is a later audience, but I think the thing about this kind of meeting that is important is just that while we're not in the same party, we are all active.
6:10:41You all want it.
6:10:43And Joseph chose you.
6:10:44And you can come in.
6:10:48You can be heard.
6:10:48I want that always to be understood.
6:10:51You know we can be heard, but where we can't, we want to be heard.
6:10:56But I, as I said, we can't want to be honest about it.
6:10:59You wouldn't want people to come in here and tell you to do everything.
6:11:04I think there's been one great sin in many relations and fights and fights and murders.
6:11:10But the greatest has been demagoguery and diplomacy.
6:11:12Promising, promising, promising, and then producing less, and less, and less, and that.
6:11:14The era that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that
6:11:39I would like to be able to turn things to a pure turn.
6:11:40I haven't done that in years.
6:11:41It doesn't matter.
6:11:42It doesn't matter what you like to get.
6:11:43You can bring it down to the top.
6:11:44You can sometimes be more effective and say,
6:12:06in the offices, where the action is, but you can be sure that you bring it up in those offices, and they will know what I want.
6:12:15I'm going to answer it.
6:12:16I want you to be quiet.
6:12:17I want you to be heard.
6:12:18It's not my present decision that you get.
6:12:21I can't always promise you yes, but at least you get proper consideration as to what all the others may ask for.
6:12:28And that's why I think this meeting is important.
6:12:36I see the rest of your sentence.
6:13:03They, uh, got a sign that you made a call back in the good old days.
6:13:06I think Marty wanted you to run a gold ticket in 1948 on a gold ticket, so I'm having them around, too.
6:13:09That is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is
6:13:34Thank you very much.
6:13:35Thank you.

Nixon, Congressional Black Caucus & Diggs on Civil Rights and Employment

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