Excerpt from WSB-TV newsfilm of news conference by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ebenezer Baptist church, 413 Auburn Ave., Atlanta, Ga., April 26, 1967, beginning at 9:30 a. m.
NOTE: The playing quality of this excerpt is poor. The entire video could be seen on the Web site of the Civil Rights Digital Library of the University of Georgia Libraries here:
http://crdl.usg.edu/cgi/crdl?query=id:ugabma_wsbn_51565
STATEMENT
Amidst growing rumors that he would make a run for the presidency the following year, perhaps leading a ticket with pediatrician and peace advocate Dr. Benjamin Spock, Dr. King felt compelled to call a news briefing to clarify his position. He read a short prepared statement, which began as follows:
"On Saturday of last week there appeared an article in several prominent newspapers which reported on several groups and individuals urging that I become a candidate for the presidency of the United States in the 1968 elections. I must confess that I was quite surprised by these sentiments and I find it very hard to take them seriously. I understand the stirrings across the country for a candidate who will take a firm, principled stand on the question of the war in Viet Nam and the problem of the poor in urban ghettos, but I must also add that I have no interest in being that candidate. I have come to think of my role as one which operates outside of the realm of partisan politics. Raising the issues and through action creating the situation which forces whatever party is in power to act creatively and constructively in response to the dramatic presentation of these issues on the public scene" ("Statement refuting candidacy for 1968 presidential elections," in FBI letterhead memorandum, pp. 1-3 at 2, enclosed in Special Agent in Charge [SAC], Atlanta, airmail telegram to Director, "Martin Luther King, Jr.; SM-C[Security Matter-Communist], April 25, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr., FBI headquarters file, 100-106670, serial or document no. 29).
WATCHED
According to an FBI memo on this news conference, this statement was "furnished" to an Atlanta FBI special agent. His name has been exempted from release under the personal-privacy provision of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but it was almost certainly Alan G. Sentinella. The memo does not indicate who gave him the statement, but it might have been a reporter.
Three copies were sent to FBI headquarters at Washington, D. C., and two were sent to the New York field division later that day.
POSSIBILITY
In this video excerpt, Dr. King answers a reporter's question about the possibility of electing a "Negro" president. In a comment that is not on this video, he added that a "Negro" could be elected president "in the not-too-distant future, in this generation" ("'Me President? .... Nope,'" The Chicago Daily Defender, April 26, 1967, p. 3).
THIRD FORCE
In response to another question, Dr. King declared that it might be necessary to form a "third force" in U. S. politics composed of African Americans and "white" liberals who opposed the Vietnam war.
"I don't throw out the idea of a possible third party," he said, but added, "I wouldn't advocate the idea of a separate all-black party."
OLD IDEA
In reporting Dr. King's comments, "The Christian Monitor noted, "The idea of Dr. King's seeking the presidency is not new. Southern Negroes have long discussed the prospect of having the well-known civil-rights leader as the nation's chief executive" (George Moneyhun, "Dr. King denies aiming at presidential candidacy," The Christian Science Monitor, April 27, 1967, p. 3).
(WSB-TV Video Courtesy Civil Rights Digital Library, University of Georgia Libraries)
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2:49
Martin Luther King Jr Speaks 1967by historycomestolife3,485 views
And so it came to past.
jamboostable 3 months ago 2
We need a real black president!
shaicapone 4 months ago