Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Transcript of Conference Call with Stanley D. Levison,
Harry Wachtel, Andrew J. Young, and Ralph Abernathy." April 11, 1967.
Date Issued: April 11, 1967
Date Declassified: December 23, 1983
Length: 4 pages
NOT Sanitized
 FULL TEXT
Time Initial IC
OG Activity Recorded 10:54
AM IC B 7821 - 24; W 5632 - 14.
Conference call between DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, STANLEY
LEVISON, HARRY (ph) ANDY (ph) and RALPH (ph), and TON
UNFEMALE heard to say she could not locate CLEVELAND and
HARRY BELAFONTE.
DR. KING stated that he thought they should have this
conference call to deal with questions of strategy on
this Vietnam situation and he would like to have some
collective thinking on it. Let's deal first with the NAACP
and its board's resolution. The problem is that not only
are they making an attack but they are making it on grounds
that are absolutely untrue. I have never advocated, in fact
I've made it clear that we don't have the resources in the
movement. HARRY pointed out that the last paragraph in
the resolution adopted by the SCLC expressly says our
primary trust is still to secure equal rights for all
men in this land. In other words they are lying. KING said
that is right, they are lying. They are saying that I am
making an error in fusing the two movements, The Civil
Rights and the Peace movements. That was also the basic
point of the New York Times article, That was the basic
point of the (Washington) Post article, that was the basic
point that JAVITS said. the NAACP which, reflects they
waited to see how the papers were going to deal with this
came out with this same point. Now I think it is time to
stop the lie and let them attack me on the basic points
they want to attack me on and stop going around making
up something. HARRY said he thought he should do it now
and not Sat. KING said that's what he is saying and this
is what he wanted to think through. KING said the cards
are stacked against them as far as the press is concerned
and efforts are being made to have the newspapers take
a stand against his position. He said the mail he is
getting reflects support of 10 to 1. HARRY said he had
Dr. COMMAGER (ph) right down the line but that the only
one who could get any reaction with a denunciation would
be KING. KING said he didn't want to get in the debate
himself, there are times when he should be statesmanlike
enough to rise above it, but this time he didn't feel he
should stepback. He said he planned to continue to give most
of his time to Civil Rights, that he is absolutely
opposed to this war and give support to the forces that
oppose it. KING said he thought that something should
be done to offset the idea that he is fusing the two
movements. LEVISON pointed out that BEVEL, who has
presented himself as KING'S spokesman, has
taken this position. KING said that he has made it very
clear to the newspapers that BEVEL is on leave. KING
said he wanted it made clear that he hasn't advocated
this. LEVISON said in order to get maximum attention
KING should make a statement in the form of a press
conference. KING said somebody ought to denounce the
NAACP. LEVISON said KING should not do it by name
and HARRY said that CLEVE or HARRY B. could do it. KING
said he had a press conference tomorrow in Los Angeles
at the college where he is speaking, Occidental, and
Stanford. He will arrive there tonight after nine, almost
10:00 PM. LEVISON said he should have the press conference
tonight at the hotel in L.A. HARRY said they would
notify the press that this will be a special press conference
to answer the NAACP, Sen. JAVITS and newspaper editorials
on this point, and that it should be tomorrow morning
to get full coverage. KING said he should say in the state-
ment there are those who feel the need of attacking his
position and he would like to urge them to attack him on
the rightness or wrongness of the war and not obscure
the issue by creating a false impressions and giving it to
the American public. That would put them on the spot.
RALPH said he should respond with dignity and statesman-
ship in such a way that the sympathy of the negro
community comes to him. KING said he agrees with this
but on the other hand we should have somebody somewhere
hold a press conference and attack them with as vigorous
language as they would like to. SUGGESTED that TOM
OFFENBERGER (ph), STAN, and HARRY prepare statements of
1 1/2 to 2 pages each and telephone them to DORA, then
he, KING, and ANDY will get together and compare the
statements and draw a good solid statement from the
three. LEVISON and HARRY said they would have something
ready by 1:30. KING said he had to leave before 4:30.
They discuss projected pamphlet and agree it won't come
out this week. (end)
1:30 P OG
STAN LEVISON makes credit card call to 444-522-1420 to
DORA MC DONALD who tells him she has just finished typing
the speech - 40 pages triple spaced - DR. KING needs one
minute per page. He will have to cut - She asks LEVISON about
one word he can't make out - he has to get his note - tells her
to call him back in 5 minutes or so.
1:32 pm OG 0. 10311-cut 20 (statement
Stanley Levison dictates the following to
Dora Mc Donald.
"I live in the ghetto in Chicago and Atlanta and I
travel tens of thousands of miles each month which takes
me into dozens of negro communities across the nation.
My direct personal experience with negroes in all walks of
live convinces me that they in a majority appose in Viet
Nam. First because they are against war itself and
second they feel it has caused a significant and
alarming diminishing concern to civil rights progress.
I have held these views myself for a long time but I
have spoken more frequently in the recent period because
negroes in so many circles have explicitly urged me
to articulate their concern and frustration. They feel
civil rights is well on its way to becoming a neglected
and forgotten issue long before it is even partially
solved. However recently a myth has confused these
clear issues. The myth credits me with advocating
the fusion of the civil rights and peace movements and I
am criticized for authoring such a serious tactical mistake
I hold no such view. Only a few weeks ago in a formal
public resolution, my organization, SCLC, and I explicitly
declared that we have no intentions of diverting or
diminishing our activities in civil rights. And we
outlined extensive programs for the immediate future in the
South as well as Chicago. It pains me that the board of
directors of NAACP should have spent its time discussing
the alleged merger plan and formerly disapproved it.
They have challenged and repudiated a non existence
proposition. SCLC and I have expressed our views on the
war and drawn attention to its damaging effects on
Civil Rights programs, a fact that we believe to be
uncontrovertable, and therefore mandatory to express in
the interest of the struggle for equality. We do not
believe in any merger of fusion of movements but we
believe that the existence of the war is profoundly
affecting the destiny of civil rights progress.
We believe that despite the war our efforts can produce
results and our strength is fully committed to that end.
But it would be misleading and shallow to suggest that the
role of the war is not hampering us substantially and it
can be ignored as a factor. Loud voices have already
been raised in Congress and elsewhere suggesting that the
nation cannot afford to finance a war against poverty
and inequality on an expanded scale and a shooting war at
the same time. It is perfectly clear the nation has the
resources to do both but those who oppose civil rights
in favor of a war policy have seized the opportunity to pose
a false issue to the public. This should not be ignored by
civil rights organization. The basic elements in common
between the peace movement and civil rights movements
are human elements. People frequently have views on both
subject. I am a clergyman as well as a civil rights
leader and the immoral roots of our war policy are not
unimportant to me. I do not believe our nation can be a
moral leader of justice, equality and democracy if
it is trapped in the role of a self appointed world policeman
I will continue to express my opposition to this wrong
policy without in anyway diminishing my role in civil rights
Just as millions of negro and white people are doing day
in and day out."
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