From 1964: Calvin Trillin writes about a flight on which he witnessed a debate on civil rights between Martin Luther King, Jr., and a young man. NewYorkerArchive
,” by V. O. Key, which she read when she wasn’t talking with King. Across the aisle from King, there happened to be sitting a stocky, nice-looking young white man with a short haircut and wearing Ivy League clothes. He looked as if he might have been a responsible member of a highly regarded college fraternity six or eight years ago and was now an equally responsible member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of a Southern city that prided itself on its progress.
“Uh-huh. Well, let me tell you some of the things that have happened to us. We were slaves for two hundred and fifty years. We endured one hundred years of segregation. We have been brutalized and lynched. Can’t you understand that the Negro is bound to have some resentment? But I preach that despite this resentment we should organize militantly but non-violently. If we organize non-violently, we can show the injustice.
“I think segregation and discrimination play into the hands of the Communists much more than the efforts to end them,” said King. “Uh-huh,” said King. “Well, I’d like to be loved by everyone, but we can’t always wait for love. Maybe you ought to read my writings. I’ve done quite a bit of writing on non-violence.”“Would you condemn the robbed man for possessing the money to be robbed?” asked King. “Would you condemn Christ for having a commitment to truth that drove men to crucify him? Would you condemn Socrates for having the views that forced the hemlock on him? Society must condemn the robber, not the man he robs.
“You sound like a good Goldwaterite,” said King, with a slight smile. “Are you going to vote for Goldwater?”“It’s too bad you’re going to back a loser, because I’m afraid we’re going to hand him a decisive defeat in November.” King’s tone was light; he might have been joking with a long-time neighbor who had always been a member of the opposing political party.
“There’s no need to debate this,” the young man said finally, and he began to look out the window. At Montgomery, he walked off the plane. “I never know if the Justice Department knows something it’s not telling us,” said Vivian. “But I hate to be on the road.”“I hear they were pretty good with the congressmen who went down there,” said Young.“Well, let’s see what the mood is when we get there,” Young said in conclusion. He walked across the aisle, lowered the back of his seat, and soon went to sleep. In front of him, King was engrossed in a news magazine.
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