Well . . . we were in an impasse. Our polls would show that people didn't
like the position we were in [on race] of being one against the country.
You know, this sort of thing. They wanted a way out. But, you know,
people still had to have their pride and what not. Regardless of
motives, they saw education suffering and, you know, education is next
to God in the average middle class person anyway, lower middle class.
That's their hope, educate a child to get ahead. They may be extreme
racists, but still they saw that as a threat to the kids' education. But anyway, they fought it, fought it, fought it.
And when Nixon was elected I, in my own mind, the courts, the judges
being politicians, being human, were afraid . . . they thought there was
a conservative revolution coming on which I hope so not just a way
station victory. Other side to it has all the power, in my opinion. So I
think they quickly, "All right, you're going to deseg now." [unclear] "No, do it this fall, zap."
Well, that's the way to take a dose of medicine. Get it done. So, we sent
around here work it out under a friendly hand. The courts removed the
issue from guidelines, but in the past guidelines had been written by
secretary of HEW or some of his—that was it, those were the laws. They
were removed. When the president wrote and signed the guidelines, which
gave us time, you know, or tried to work things out, keep neighborhoods
cool and all that. Courts threw that out and said, "No, you're going to
do it zap, now." It got done, it worked. You know, the schools are still
in existence. And it was done with a friendly hand rather than with a
stick. So it made a hell of a difference.
And Nixon, he's the first president that hasn't been hated down here in
twenty some years, I guess. So that in itself is a big change. More
deseg happened under him than anybody and of course prior to that some
other changes had helped bring that about. Like public accommodations
bill. I would vote against then and today, but it's probably the best
thing that's happened down here in that it got people out of the impasse
if they owned the Holiday Inn or grill and served a black guy, the
whites would be very unhappy. It was a constant affrontage to blacks. He
couldn't get a room or coffee where he wanted and that sort of thing.
Now he doesn't have the affrontery and when blacks do go in and get
served nobody turns their heads. So that one thing, I think, removed . .
. it was more significant than anything I can think of.