Harry Truman and the NAACP: A Case Study in Presidential Persuasion on Civil Rights

Harry Truman and the NAACP: A Case Study in Presidential Persuasion on Civil Rights Garth E. Pauley Near the height of the civil rights controversy during the Kennedy administration , Louis Martin—an African American aide whom President Kennedy asked to read the pulse of the black community—drafted a memorandum that emphasized the importance of the American presidency in the civil rights struggle: "Traditionally most of the agitation of Negroes over abuses of their civil rights have been directed toward the White House. Since the time of Lincoln, Negroes have looked to the White House for hope and redress of their grievances."1 Historians, too, have noted that the drive for civil rights now centers largely on the presidency, and that where presidential involvement was once brief and intermittent, it is now direct, inevitable, and enduring.2 Presidential scholar Richard Longaker notes that the modern presidency has been forced into the field of civil rights primarily because of the influence of the Cold War, the political power of racial minorities, and the limits on the other branches of the federal government.3 The nation's intensified commitment to democratic ideals in the wake of World War II also has expanded presidential involvement in civil rights. A significant dimension of the presidency's involvement in civil rights is public discourse: presidential rhetoric on racial matters has the potential to educate the American public, to effect legislative change, and to inspire the African American community to continue its activism. While civil rights protesters have urged presidents to act, many also have accentuated the importance of a rhetorical commitment to their cause. For example, civil rights advocates demanded that Dwight Eisenhower make a public statement in support of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Although Ike helped pass two civil rights laws during his presidency, many blacks disliked him because of his failure to make a strong rhetorical commitment. Eisenhower's successor, John F. Kennedy, was Garth E. Pauley is Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Portions of this essay are based on the author's doctoral dissertation, directed by Thomas W. Benson. The author wishes to thank the Harry S. Truman Library Institute for a grant that made this research possible and Jeffrey B. Kurtz for his generous assistance. © Rhetoric & Public Affairs Vol. 2, No. 2,1999, pp. 211-241 ISSN 1094-8392 212 Rhetoric & Public Affairs berated by African Americans for equivocating in his public rhetoric on civil rights: his strong public statement on June 11,1963, was a turning point in his relationship with civil rights supporters. Many blacks worried that Southerner Lyndon Johnson would slow civil rights progress upon assuming the presidency; his legislative performance soon calmed most fears. So, too, did his forceful public discourse. When on March 15,1965, Johnson proclaimed, "We shall overcome"—the anthem of the civil rights movement—NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins claimed, "I had waited all my life to hear a President of the United States talk that way."4 Scholars have attended to the centrality of rhetoric's role in the relationship between the American presidency and civil rights. The existing scholarship, however, focuses almost exclusively on the '50s and '60s. Certainly this era was marked by intense protest and increased demands and warrants scholarly attention; my purpose here is not to question the usefulness or quality of the existing literature. The studies of Eisenhower's speech following the disturbances at Little Rock, Kennedy's rhetoric following the desegregation of Southern universities, and Johnson's discourse on equal opportunity and race riots have made valuable contributions to our understanding of presidential rhetoric and public talk about racial issues.5 Rather, my purpose is to suggest that we broaden the scope of our inquiry into presidential discourse on civil rights. In this essay, I widen our scope to include the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Truman's civil rights discourse has received scant attention from rhetoricians,6 yet he was president during a significant civil rights era and spoke out regularly on racial issues. I will accompany my broader discussion of Truman, civil rights, and presidential rhetoric with a...