Conversation 109-001

On October 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Spanish-speaking campaign surrogates, including Dr. Henry M. Ramirez, Phillip V. Sanchez, Romana A. Banuelos, Carlos C. Villarreal, Joseph J. Jova, Raymond L. Telles, Jr., Rodolfo Montejano, Antonio F. Rodriguez, Carlos D. Conde, Bert A. Gallegos, Louis Nunez, Jorge L. Cordova, Edward Hidalgo, Alejandro ("Alex") Armendariz, William H. Marumoto, Kenneth W. Clawson, Rayburn D. Hanzlik, Charles W. Colson, Robert J. Dole, the White House photographer, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 3:18 pm and 3:45 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 109-001 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 109-1

Date: October 27, 1972
Time: 3:18 pm - unknown before 3:45 pm
Location: Cabinet Room

The President met with Dr. Henry M. Ramirez, Philip V. Sanchez, Romana A. Banuelos, Carlos
C. Villarreal, Joseph J. Jova, Raymond L. Telles, Jr., Rodolfo Montejano, Antonio F. Rodriquez,
Carlos D. Conde, Bert A. Gallegos, Louis Nunez, Jorge L. Cordova, Edward Hidalgo, Alejandro
(“Alex”) Armendariz, William H. Marumoto, Kenneth W. Clawson, Rayburn D. Hanzlik,
Charles W. Colson, and Robert J. Dole; the White House photographer and members of the press
were present at the beginning of the meeting

     [General conversation/Unintelligible]

     Introductions

     Arrangements for photo

     [General conversation/Unintelligible]

     Hispanics in government
          -The President’s promise in 1968
                -Appointment of Hispanics
          -Qualifications
                -Recruitment
                -John Roosevelt (“Jackie”) Robinson

     Hispanics
          -Cubans
               -Experience in US
                     -Florida
          -Mexicans
               -The President’s high school experiences
          -Blacks
          -Mexicans
          -Economic situation
          -The President’s conversation with James F. A. Cardinal McIntyre
          -Welfare, employment
          -Role in government
               -The President’s role
               -Recruitment

         -1972 campaign
              -Hispanics as part of the New Majority
         -Montebello High School
              -Whittier, California
         -Need to inspire youth
         -Professional baseball players
         -Recruitment for government

    Banuelos
        -Hispanic aspirations

    Unknown man’s experience
        -Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952 meeting with the President

    Villarreal’s experiences at the Department of Urban Mass Transportation
          -The Administration’s budget

    Effect of mass transit on Hispanic community

    Unknown man’s 1972 campaign experience
        -Dole

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 2m 45s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

******************************************************************************

    Whittier High School
         -Program for Hispanics
         -The President’s background

    Presentation of gifts by the President

     The President’s schedule
          -Souvanna Phouma
          -Sanchez’s mother
               -Photo session

The President left at 3:43 pm

     [General conversation/Unintelligible]

Recording was cut off at an unknown time before 3:45 pm

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Teksting av Nicolai Winther
Just so I can see everybody, please.
One shot.
I have the opportunity to speak to all of you in a group for two purposes.
I have to record this in the picture.
Around this table are the most MITs at this level of, shall we say, Spanish speaking background or that we have ever had in this government.
I remember in 1968, I don't know the person I was talking to, but
And, uh, I don't know what's the name of the last one.
I think it was in Dallas.
And, uh, there was some company.
And he said, well, what about this?
Do you need any more appointments?
And I said, well, okay, good.
And I said, well, you've slowly but surely done it.
There are more of you than there have ever been in the history of the government, but they're not enough.
And he said, that's the person who wants you to tell them that they're not enough.
Now,
The reason for it is that I still very recently, very recently, I'm speaking out against those that I know best in Mexico.
have been a group that has not, frankly, let their voices be heard.
They have other, what we call, minority groups, and we're all minority groups, and we're all all of us together.
But basically, they had not raised the death warrant officer yet.
Now, of course, you have to be rather violent, at least in some cases, and so forth, and that disturbs people a lot.
But on the other hand, what I am saying here is that one or another group does, you know,
Try to live in the system, be law-abiding, and rest, rather than that being a penalty that ought to be rewarded.
On the other hand, it's a wheel that squeaks, gets increased.
That's always the way they figure it.
The other way, I would always do delinquent terms for the next four years of recruiting.
I particularly want to recruit young, if we may, young lawyers, actors, but they must be qualified.
I know that Jackie Robinson and I, the other day, I think the best decision that Frank Cherky made when he brought him up, he said when he comes, he must be the best, and he was the best.
So for those of us who followed him when he was in California, we probably should have called him the best athlete of our time, because...
He was not only the best, but he was still a great baseball player.
He was all-conference football player, and all-American.
He was all-conference track, over 25 feet, and all-conference basketball.
But anyway, so much for that.
There are, we want to be sure that we get the best, but unless the
The young people know, young men and women, in school, that there is an opportunity.
We want it.
They aren't going to shoot for it.
They're going to stay.
They're going to do their thing wherever they are.
I noticed, for example, as you look around, you find various groups that have a push for it.
You take, for example, the people in the background.
Why is it they've made such a change?
Enormous impression.
Well, first of all, they came through the hard way.
They went out there to Florida.
And first there were a lot of people in Florida that just raised their hands about saying nothing's going to do with the state.
The state is sick.
You've got doctors and builders and architects down there that are doing work.
They're doing everything.
They're moving up.
They're being recognized.
And it's a wonderful thing for Florida and a wonderful thing for them.
The second is true, let's face it, the second is true, are people of Mexican background, you know, I was in high school with them, they were good athletes, they were smart, they followed us well, but they were sort of feeling, well, I really don't have a chance to go up, and so consequently, they didn't try.
Having said that,
I think that what really distinguishes the group that all of you come from, from some of the other groups, and particularly the group which all of us, of course, feel deserves special attention because of the historical background of the Blackhawks.
What distinguishes them is that
You do not face the problem of the racist, the colored men.
You also have the opportunity to be recognized in all areas because
Because there just hasn't been enough recognition in the past.
To put it another way, too.
What is impressive about it is that while in action we know, speaking about our ex-friends, most of them are poor.
But on the other hand, they are proud.
They just don't want to sit there on their fans and take the welfare.
They will.
I mean, like anybody else that they've got to.
But they would rather not.
And that's it.
It's the character that is here.
They're proud.
They will work.
They have the drive.
They have the ability.
I think it's a well thing I want to do.
I want to get across here.
And, of course, it's too late to affect the election particularly.
We've already done that.
Maybe a little bit more.
But in the next four years, we want to use you as a beginning.
And then we want to build more.
That's what I want to see, is that there is representation in this government on a quota basis.
That's the role.
But on an ability basis, there is representation in this government that is worthy of the groups that you come from.
And we don't have that today.
And part of the reason is that government has not sought you out.
We haven't tried to seek you out.
The other reason, however, on the other side of the coin, is that people who come from the group that you represent have not asked, you know, have not driven for it.
And so inspiring.
Tom under his place, and we did not really want him, and we'll...
They'll have a good chance with their hair, because one thing I can do, anybody sitting in this chair can do, you can't do everything, but you can influence the bureaucrats.
And we're looking for it, but you've got a plan, and so it's just...
That's clearly a part of how we're going to get a bigger percentage of the voters than we've ever gotten before.
But we're going to get a bigger percentage.
But whatever the percentage is, by his building for the future, we believe that this group should be on our side.
I mean, should be witnesses, should be part of the majority.
And
So we're going to continue to work on it, and we need your advice, your assistance, but particularly you're going back and inspiring people.
I would hope that after the election you could go in and speak to high schools.
Like, oh, I imagine out in Monaco High School, and some of those, and they actually have that right, right, very last-handed.
What do you guys want?
Go in there, go in there, and relate to it, and inspire to it.
Here's a chance.
Because unless the youngsters inspire you, that's not going to happen.
Try.
Go into the thing, which is the kind of work
All of us would have done it unless somebody, some teacher, some student or somebody else came around and held that light up there and said, look, go to the higher.
And that's why all of you came up.
We just wanted to make sure that every young boy or girl out there invited people and had the feeling that he wanted it.
It's a question of life.
I'm not going to make it, but I'm sure you're doing what's best for this country.
That's the final point.
Mr. President, yes.
The other point that I make very strongly is this.
Too often in this whole area of having an argument, we say, well, we've got to do this or that, and the other thing.
Because we have to show sympathy for them, so we have to show sympathy for them.
I understand.
But we also have to do it for the country.
I use the example of
ball players pretending to see the World Series.
Well, I'll tell you, you see, you wonder what the major leagues did before.
They had those from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, those great players, you know, or the Blacks, and once there was a line against Moon, they had some of the great stars who were there.
To build a country, and to build a government, which is at its best, you cannot take a substantial portion of your people and say, we're not going to look for talent there.
We're not going to plow that field.
You just want to plow this field.
That means you're denying the government and this country what it could really be.
You've got to go out and plow all the fields, and search the whole country,
and pick out the very best that can be, that grows there, and bring it in.
That's my idea about it.
So we're doing this for you, the people you come from, but we're also doing it for the country.
We want you all to be partners.
That's the kind of philosophy that I have.
We've made a start.
I'm not satisfied with it.
We have to continue.
Since we always recognize ladies first, you can speak first.
Mr. President, I'm so delighted to hear you say just the words that I wanted to hear because our people have high hopes for you.
In fact, I was telling them that just the day before yesterday in Kansas, I had held for a moment
I was a president of the United States without the way they received me.
And I know that because of you, because of my appointment.
And I have found this all over the states that I have visited constantly.
And I'm very happy and very proud to remind you that many times they have cried because they have been recognized for the first time in the history of the United States.
Very grateful.
Very happy here.
I sure do.
Mr. President, I've had the privilege and the honor of serving under five presidents, starting with President Truman, Metro President Eisenhower.
In fact, you might recall the first time I had the honor of meeting him was in El Paso in 1952.
I had just been re-elected county clerk, and you were there campaigning at that time.
I just want you to know that I feel greatly honored
to be part of your administration, and everything that you said is absolutely certainly true.
I think that we are all grateful for the opportunities that you have given our people, and all the opportunities that you have provided for them.
I might just add how you mentioned militancy.
I honestly believe that the militancy in so far as our people is concerned is very small.
I think it's only a small percentage, but as usual they make the most noise.
But I do honestly believe that's what you said, education.
Certainly political action are two very important factors in the development of a people, of a race.
And I know that you should be proud of all these young men here, because they are doing a job not only for their people, but I think they're doing a job for their country and their government.
Thank you, Mr. President.
It's certainly been an honor to be your urban mass transportation administrator, and I have been using the urban mass transportation program as a platform to talk to everyone, not only the Spanish speaking, but certainly going from $150 million a year to a billion dollar a year budget, and being able to, you're spending the money.
Thank you.
This is transportation for the transportation deprived.
There is nothing that makes a greater impact than to have a fleet of 50 random buses coming to the depressed community.
Really?
Oh, absolutely.
And we have so many automobiles, but yet there are 52 million Americans who don't have access to an automobile.
So I wanted you to know, Mr. President, that this program is making a tremendous impact with your philosophy of money going to the federal government, directly to global customers.
Mr. President, we realize we have other partners, but I just briefly wanted to share with you something I shared with Bob Dole, and that is what a pleasure it is to bounce about the country speaking on behalf of the administration campaign, and not be delivering promises of things that are coming, but merely pointing to a record.
It's a good posture to be in, and we're grateful to people giving us that promise.
The lines of something that should have created history in these years.
And it's very much in the lines of what happened here in High School District when I was there some years back.
That district has probably been out of budget.
And they put out local funds, not federal funds, a half billion dollars to provide opportunities for the next part of the area.
And that's a tremendous result that no other districts in that area have now.
That has made Lexmark competitive.
and working hard to get ahead and to compete.
And what you've done with the super greats here, is that you've actually turned the word of exclusion to inclusion, which is a historical first that's run through this country.
And I stand for the whole part of the country now, because I fell in all of this very much.
that our people now are turning around in their mentality and not thinking of giving us, but we're going to go out there and fight with them and shake that apple tree.
When you talk about the activist thing, you say, I don't put it down like that.
I understand activism.
I mean, I put myself in them, so whoever they are, and maybe I have you in too, if you just get frustrated, you don't want somebody that just sits there and says, oh, well, I can't do anything about it.
You want them to fight, but you've got to let them feel that you can fight within the system, and maybe that's what you've got to do, and all you've got to tell them about is you can fight within the system, and maybe, but you must fight.
You must fight.
I would be here if I had my phone in time.
Thank you.
We know you're terribly busy, and we appreciate you taking the time to visit with us, and all of us are most appreciative.
He's got some good points.
Yeah.
Well, I've got to take care of your gifts.
Some of you may have these, and we don't do what you're supposed to.
A relative who has lots of brothers and sisters in the rural region.
And he had a new presidential compliment.
It was a seal in color taken from the flag.
And that was for the man.
And that was for the ladies.
And that was for the men.
And that was for the ladies.
And that was for the men.
Is your mother here?
Yes, she is.
Thank you very much.
Good luck.
We'll be with you.
Goodbye.
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Teksting av Nicolai Winther
Teksting av Nicolai Winther
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