In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

11 The Black Cabinet Economic Civil Rights in the Nixon Administration Leah M. Wright When readers opened the November 1968 special election issue of Jet magazine , they were inundated with slick political advertisements from the presidential candidates. The black weekly offered no-nonsense messages from Freedom and Peace Party representative Dick Gregory and Democratic contender Hubert Humphrey.1 Not to be outdone, the Republican Party also tried its hand at wooing the magazine’s African American audience. Nixon’s twopage glossy insert opened with a close-up of a young, well-dressed black man clutching a thick stack of books. “This Time,” the headline solemnly advised, “Vote Like Homer Pitts’ Whole World Depended On It.” On the next page, the party directly linked the fate of “Homer Pitts” with that of the black electorate: He’ll get his degree. Then what? . . . laborer, factory job . . . or his own business? A vote for Richard Nixon for President is a vote for a man who wants Homer to have the chance to own his own business. Richard Nixon believes strongly in black capitalism. Because black capitalism is black power in the best sense of the word. It’s the road that leads to black economic influence and black pride. It’s the key to the black man’s fight for equality—for a piece of the action. And that’s what the free enterprise system is all about. This time . . . Nixon.2 The Republican Party implied that Nixon had viable solutions to address the ailments and aspirations of African Americans; that is, Nixon suggested that the GOP would succeed where the Democratic Party had failed. Implicit in Nixon’s message was that this solution was not for all of the electorate, but rather was designed for middle-class, college-educated African Americans. In essence, as Time commented, the Republican Party was looking to develop a new “Negro managerial class to lead, hire, and inspire.”3 Further expounding The Black Cabinet: Economic Civil Rights in the Nixon Administration 241 on these ideas in a lengthy Jet questionnaire, Richard Nixon wrote, “I am the only candidate who truly believes that black people, on their own steam and with ‘remedial’ help from the government are going to make it.” Increasingly irritated by the magazine’s provocative questions, the presidential candidate abruptly asserted, “Men like Ed Brooke and Art Fletcher are symptomatic of what I hope will be an increasingly political phenomenon in this country; the realization by black people and their leaders that their best hope lies not in the Democratic plantation politics of the past, but in the kinds of programs as I have put forward.”4 Richard Nixon’s appeals for minority enterprise and alternative politics echoed a theme central to black Republican ideology and action. African American party members consistently proposed a unique agenda that wedded liberal appeals for racial equality with a belief in traditional Republican principles . In particular, they had long called for the creation and implementation of an aggressive movement for economic civil rights as an alternative means of reaching full equality and independence. A June 1968 article in Time highlighted this significant development, noting that the three Republican presidential primary candidates had incorporated this concept into their campaign rhetoric.5 New York governor Nelson Rockefeller proposed “multibillion-dollar schemes for urban redevelopment,” while his conservative counterpart in California, Ronald Reagan, promoted solutions aimed at the “economic salvation of the ghettoes.”6 Most notably, Richard Nixon outlined his sweeping program of black capitalism, emphasizing black pride and self-help. Cleveland Call and Post publisher W. O. Walker was so impressed by the initiative that he confidently declared: “Nixon will do more for [African Americans] than has been accomplished in the last hundred years. Sound economic gains and restoration of pride and dignity are in store for minority groups.”7 And yet, black Republicans were divided in their support of Nixon’s candidacy , with many initially rejecting the party’s national ticket. The politician— heartily endorsed by black Republicans during the 1960 campaign—had fallen out of favor by 1968. African Americans recoiled at Nixon’s attacks on the 1967 Kerner Report, berated him for using the racially charged language of “law and order,” bemoaned the nominee’s attempts to placate white southerners , and denounced his vice-presidential running mate, Spiro T. Agnew.8 Simply put, as one black party member complained, “Nixon has a bad reputation among Negroes and so does Agnew.”9 To many, Nixon’s actions belied his...

Share