 Commemorate on this great day is some of the work which has helped in some of the areas to make never now. And I do not speak falsely. Most of that never would have been done without men of Burke Marshall and Roy Wilkins putting a young Chief Justice Warren, Judy and Bonn, all of those that are here today, Vernon and Jordan, just never would have been done. Now here's what I want to say that what I have said is precisely the work which we must continue. And this is a whole important part of this meeting, not what we have done, what we can do. So much, so little have we done. It oughtn't take much place. What we must do. So I think it's time to leave aside the legalisms and euphemisms and eloquent evasions. It's time we get down to business of trying to stand black and white on level ground. For myself, I believe it's time for all of us in government and out to face up to the challenge. We must review and reevaluate what we've done and what we've done. In specific areas, we must set new goals and new objectives and new standards. Not merely what we can do to try to keep things quiet, but what we must do to make things better. Now how much time are we given to that in this meeting? How much time are we going to give in the day's head? How are we going to employ that time? Who's going to bring our groups together? And who's going to select that leadership? And what's that leadership going to do? Specifically, I believe that we must direct our thought and our effort to many, many fields. And I don't have a great staff and a little I can contribute in the way of leadership. But if I can leave the thought with those of you who do make up a great staff and who served as my staff, I want to suggest a few little relatively unimportant thoughts as just some of the things to be put on your agenda. Are the federal government and the state government and the foundation and the churches, the universities doing what they can and all that they should to assure enough black scholarships for young blacks in every field? The answers, no. Very little. And it gets back to the same thing. Herman Swett can come to this university now, but as someone said on the panel this morning, Henry Gonzalez, I think, if he doesn't, what good is he doing, sit at the counter and get a cup of coffee if he doesn't have 50 cents to get it? And most of them just don't have it. That's why they're not here. It's not their mother or their father doesn't want them here. It's not that they don't have an ambition to be here. They just can't do it. And we've got to level out that ground, son. Our professions such as law and medicine and accounting and engineering and dentistry and architecture taking the initiative, sounding the call to make certain that their educational programs are so planned and so conducted that blacks are being prepared for the leadership courses and are being given the support that they must have if they are to complete the courses and to have genuine opportunities to establish themselves in positions of leadership, professional careers and things of that matter after their college days. Are our trade unions and all those concerned with vocational occupation doing the same to open up apprenticeships and training programs so that the blacks, the group I spoke of, have a fair chance at entering and a fair chance of succeeding in these fields that are so vital to the future of our nation and to our country at this very moment? Are our employers who have already made a start toward opening jobs to the blacks doing what they can and should in order to make certain that blacks qualify for advancement on the promotion ladder and that the promotion ladder itself reaches out for the blacks as it does for the others in our society? What I'm saying is that we cannot take care of the goals to which we've committed ourselves simply by adopting a black star system. It is good in his heartening and it's satisfying to see individual blacks succeeding as stars in the field of politics and athletics and entertainment and other activities where they have high visibility, such as Clarence Mitchell referred to in his family. I felt almost as good in my own election, not quite as good when Barbara and Yvonne were elected this year because I thought that we were moving forward and I enjoyed knowing those elections about as much as I did in my own. But we must not allow the visibility of a few to diminish the efforts to satisfy what is our real responsibility to the still unseen millions who are faced with that basic problem of being black in a white society. So our objective must be to assure that all Americans play by the same rules and all Americans play against the same odds. Who among us would claim that that is true today? I feel this is the first work of any society which aspires to greatness. So let's be on with it. We know there's injustice, we know there's intolerance, we know there's discrimination and hate and suspicion, and we know there's division among us. But there is a larger truth. We have proved that great progress is possible. We know how much still remains to be done. And if our efforts continue and if our will is strong and if our hearts are right and if courage remains our constant companion, then my fellow Americans, I am confident we shall overcome. The president has given permission to this gentleman to read a telegram and a prayer. Brothers and sisters, Roy Ennis, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality and myself, the Council of Churches, City of New York Task Force on Racism, has sent the following message to the former president of the United States of America this morning. It reads as follows. This symposium is interesting and the opportunity to honor you and to recall the great strides of the 1960s is worthy and justifiable. However, the hour is late. The needs of the black nation overdue and urgent racism under the administration of Richard Nixon has increased. This gathering of great Americans must not leave Austin without an organized ongoing structure dedicated to reconvening and to combating injustice in America was done by your administration. Black people still honor your record and commitment to civil rights. To adjourn today makes this symposium no more than an empty ritual honoring one man while the soul and conscience of America must be healed the cancer of racism. For this symposium not to expand and deal with a new definition of equality is to refuse the son of a new day and prevents a rendezvous with the future. We demand the extension of today's agenda. Respectfully, the Reverend A. Kendall Smith, Council of Churches, City of New York, Task Force on Racism, Roy Ennis, national chairman, Congress of Racial Equality and since the president has allowed me to read this telegram, I would ask that Roy Ennis join me here now. Mr. Ennis, Mr. Middleton, as we agreed earlier behind closed doors, we noted that this symposium did not open with prayer. We noted that it did it has not been scheduled to close with prayer. With your permission, Mr. Middleton, I request permission if this symposium must close now, we demand that it not close. We demand that the agenda be expanded and we demand that the citizens of the United States of America who have come today, the distinguished leaders, Ramsey Clark and so many, Julian Bond, we demand that we have an opportunity, Mr. Middleton, to remain here for a few more hours and with your permission I would like to continue but I do not want to disrespect the chair. I think by all means anybody who would like to stay should feel perfectly free to stay. Many of these people have planes that are scheduled to leave and the symposium was scheduled to adjourn at noon. I would certainly leave it up to the individual members in the audience who ever wanted to stay by all means please do. Well, I'll make a follow-up. Well, Mr. Middleton, in view of the time that we're supposed to expand at 12 o'clock, if the chairman can preside or whoever the body wishes to preside, our Roy Ennis and myself offer the following recommendation that our this symposium on civil rights reconvene 30 to 60 days from now in New York City at Columbia University and number two that this symposium go on record for supporting Vernon Jordan's the National Urban League's call for a black summit with President Richard Nixon. We have a recording secretary I will say it is so recorded. I suggest that you present. Just make a brief statement I had made to others last evening and I did not think that it would concern all those who attended here. I have served with many presidents and I think I have a viewpoint that no other person in this room has about the presidency. Out in my little town one time where court week is very exciting all the boys would leave town to avoid the grand jury and all the citizens would go to court to hear the proceedings. The town drunk came up to the hotel one morning as the old judge was leaving and said would you give a poor man a dime for a cup of coffee and the judge said hell no get out of the way. I wouldn't give a tramp anything and the poor fellow with a hangover some of you wouldn't understand that walked off the porch dejectedly and just he got to end the porch the judge said come back if you'd like to have a quarter for a picnic I'd be glad to help you and he handed the old fellow a quarter and he looked up at him startled but with great appreciation his eyes and said judge you've been there haven't you. So when Mr. Ennis asked that he speak to this group or there would be disruption I told the group to be not that we feared disruption because I've had it all my life but I believe that people ought to be free to speak their peace as they see it under circumstances even if we had not planned it that way you can't plan for everyone a great many people were invited here to participate that couldn't come and no one really knows how thorough we tried to make this and how we tried to include everyone that has a spark of interest whether it's something I agree with or not but I said I think you should speak and when the reverend told me he wanted to deliver a prayer we had our own plans but I said let's do that because the great thing about being an American is that you are unabid inhibited by chains and most of the time by baseball bats and by suppression uh and I think we ought to allow other people the freedom that we reserve for ourselves but so we've done that and that explains what's happened but and I'm proud that we have done it I just won't say this to you which I said to some leaders last night it's mighty easy for any group that has suffered as cruelly as most of you have and as long as you have to feel an insecurity and a sense of injustice that's so compelling at times that you may overlook some other things but I went to Washington Mr. Hoover's day and I felt it then because I'd worked for a dollar a day from sun up to sundown I saw the bonus marches driven down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Anacosta flats and it troubled me to see the man on the white horse treating them like we handled our own goats and sheep I saw the days of the depression when little children had to eat go to garbage cans and pull grapefruit out and hull it with their teeth because they didn't have food and I lived through the Roosevelt era and era and the Truman era and the Eisenhower era and the Kennedy era and I knew all of those men and I knew them reasonably well and all of them left office wiser than they entered it but I believe all of them were honorable and I see this from the perspective of a former president I believe every man elevated to that high office where he can go no father wants to do what he thinks is right and it's a lot easier to want to do what's right than to know what's right that's the big problem and some some presidents and I speak of myself particularly had a learning process and we knew more when we left Washington than when we went there and some of you men were patient and an understanding and tolerant of me as you feel people have not been tolerant of you and when I stumbled you helped me and when I aired you strengthened me and I'm not speaking of any political thought in mind I'm speaking of our future in this country and I hope that President Nixon and his cabinet and Speaker Albert and Senator Mansfield and Scott and Congressman Ford and the leadership of the House and the Senate I don't think it's appropriate for the court except as Clarence suggested this morning in their selection but it's certainly appropriate with the Congress and with the cabinet and with the presidency for you leaders and God knows some of the best ones in this room I speak from all experience no one in this room has said more ugly things about me than Clarence Mitchell and there's no man in this room that I revere and respect his name more because either he has learned a lot in 40 years or I have learned a lot in any event we finally saw some things that we could do together and we did them now what I want you to do is go back all of you counsel together like Burke Marshall used to in the Kennedy days and later in the Johnson days that's soft kind way just cool push off wrath and dudge and tolerate and finally come out with a program with objectives with an organization the civil rights congress or civil rights group whatever you I used to meet with 35 of them and they know knew more about me when they left and they did when they came and I knew a lot more about the problems of the world and I would hope that the outstanding people that you have here and other places of leadership at some foundation or some group would bring you together that those with experience could lend some wisdom that you could have a specific small group selected not only to look at what we've done I've heard all the programs how we're going to wipe out our poverty program how we're going to destroy our education program what we are going to cripple our medical program we're going to dilute our our enforcement of a lot of our civil rights program I hope that's not true I don't believe it is true but if it is true the horsepower is in this room to bring it to the attention of the american people and they should and to bring it to the attention of the congress and it's their duty and to bring it to the attention of the cabinet and to bring it to the attention of the president himself I've sat through lots of meetings of an hour or more hearing things I didn't want to hear about myself or my administration I can't remember many of them though that weren't helpful and I'm sure that the cabinet and the congress and the president because I know the president wants to do what's right he doesn't want to leave the presidency feeling that he's been unfair or unjust are unequal to his fellow man but knowing what's right is important and I've looked back in retrospect some of the things that I did when I was president and I wish I'd have known a little more than I did know when I made the decision every decision comes to hands this way and he has limited access to groups and I think it's important that you talk to the speaker and talk to the leadership and talk to the committee man and talk to the groups and the congress sympathetic with you and talk to the cabinet not demanding not threatening not putting bombs in or tell them you're going to camp in the restroom you might have to do that sometimes I had a lot to do that with me I went in the white house shortly after I was there and that wouldn't let me get upstairs to my room but I talked to them and listened to them as I have here this morning and I I was better for it I don't think that's the way Clarence Mitchell or Roy Wilkins or Whitney Young or Vernon Jordan or Julian Bond I don't think they blow up the Capitol they weren't hurt but they can be heard that's point they should be heard that's the point so get your priorities see that what we've done we don't lose then see how we're going to get black credit in this country I asked Andy Bremmer yesterday and he said well maybe we ought to take have every bank take when they have an application for a loan that they preserve that record of application and they forward those applications once a year to the secretary of the treasury and that we can examine those and see where credit had been refused and where it had been refused because of discrimination really unjustifiably maybe we could do something to prevail upon those people who have charters to do something about it while they have their charter I don't know that involves a lot of records and a lot of things and I don't know whether that's right or not but that's what you ought to know and you ought to find out when we talk about black scholarships I've met with Dr. Spurr here and Ms. Johnson's on the Board of Regents and we're going out and try to get the money to go into all these schools to say to black boys and girls and brown boys and girls in school you haven't had a fire shake the dice doesn't do you any good to be able to go to all this these fine schools you haven't got the money but we'll fix your scholarship and try to equalize things there's so many things down the road that we must do so organize I've had the best lobbyist in the world hang on to my arm and try to twist it but there's none of my rate any better than somewhere on that front row and you can see in a meeting how they reason so let's go back to that biblical adage that I've referred to so often let's try to get our folks reasoning together and reasoning with the congress with the cabinet we've got a lot of new members with the leadership and with the president there's not a thing in the world wrong matter of fact there's everything right about a group saying Mr. President we would like for you to set aside an hour to let us talk and you don't need to start off by saying he's terrible because he doesn't think he's terrible none of us did although we might have been let's start off talking about how you believe that he wants to do what's right and you believe this is right and you would be surprised how many men who really want to do what's right will try to help you and while I can't provide much uh go-go at this period of my life I can provide a lot of hope and dream and encouragement and I'll sell a few army caves now and then and contribute and let's let's watch what's been done and see that it's preserved but let's just say we have just begun we're just starting and let's go on until every boy and girl born into this land whatever state to whatever color can stand on the same level ground our job will not be done I have a great judgment but I come from now on and I don't want you to turn around like that