Southern "graciousness and understanding" regarding race and politics in Congress
Boggs draws attention to what she calls "a certain graciousness and understanding" that she believed southerners brought to individual relationships, especially between African American and white politicians, in Congress. In citing the warm reception of Andrew Young, a newly elected African American congressman from Georgia, Boggs argues that racial animosity between individual politicians did not hinder the legislative process. Offering several examples of individual relationships between politicans of differing racial backgrounds, Boggs's comments offer one perception of the relationship between politics and race as one of "genuine friendliness" in the 1970s.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Lindy Boggs, January 31, 1974. Interview A-0082. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- LINDY BOGGS:
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At the expense of sounding as though I am bragging, I do think that
southerners bring a certain graciousness and understanding in the
individual relationships that sometimes alter the course of the
legislation or affect it that is unique among the other sections of the
country.
- JACK BASS:
-
Do you think that situation this morning was an example of that?
- LINDY BOGGS:
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I do.
- JACK BASS:
-
Would you consider that to be an unchanging aspect of southern politics
that in the past has been overlooked because of negative factors?
- LINDY BOGGS:
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I really do. I think the relationships between the races is really more
genuine in its friendliness in the South.
- JACK BASS:
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What kind ofrelationships all there between
southern members of the Congress, white southern members of Congress and
black members of Congress who are not from the South?
- LINDY BOGGS:
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I'd really think that you'd have to talk about it on an individual
because I think, for instance, Charlie Diggs has a lot of southern
friends, his portrait was being hung in the committee room yesterday or
the day before . I was in George Mahon's office
and he said, "Sometimes I forget the hanging of portraits, but
I really want to go to Charlie Diggs, because I want him to know that I
like him. Incidentally, this is allbut the same
place that did George's portrait for the committee room did this of Hale
and I was in his office getting it. I think it is an absolutely
remarkable likeness, I can't get over it. I just stuck it here so that's
why it is on the floor. It has got to be recrated and sent home. But I
think you find these individual relationships that are
very warm, very cordial. Ralph Metcalf has a lot of
southern friends. I could probably think of a great many others, but
certainly those two come to my mind right away. Ralph's mother was from
Shreveport, Louisiana. One of the California black members was born in
Louisiana. It is an individual thing. I don't think there is any
animosity because they are black, or any special relationship because
they are black. It is a tough body, that House of Representatives.