’’ i * :
Of'stwvet, P. ge 3
_______ Capitol Hill in Black and White_______
Pari tw o o f a three part senes on the reve la tions o f th e fo rm e r m a itre d
o f the Senate d in in g ro o m
R eprinted by p e rm issio n o f D odd M ead b
C om pany, Inc . fro m "C a p ito l Hill in Black and W h ite , by R obert Parker
and R ichard Rashke, c o p y rig h t 1966
The au nt and uncle m y m o th e r sent m e to live w ith w ere p ro m in e n t in
the W ic h ita Falls colore d c o m m u n ity
A u n t R ebecca was the o n ly black
tie a u ticia n the re that w h ite w o m e n allow ed to cu rl the ir hair U ncle C urtis
w as a real estate investor w h o o w n e d tw e n ty five or th irty houses I en
rolled in Booker T W a sh in g to n High S ch o o l in 1936 and g o t a part tim e
io b as a bu sbo y at the segregated W ic h ita Falls C lub w h ere m y older bro
ther G eorge w as headw aiter I was angry and lo ne ly d u rin g m y hig h school
years F ortun ately, there w as fo o tb a ll, and I soon becam e B T W s star full
back Jackie R obinson, the m ost versatile a th le te in th e c o u n try , becam e
m y idol He w as a star at every spo rt he trie d at U C L A fo o tb a ll, baseball,
track, and tennis, even Ping Pong and b o w lin g He w as b righ t and fam ous
e ve ryth in g I w a n te d to be Like him , I planned to go to college and earn
m y re p u ta tio n on the g rid iro n
I w as eager to m eet Lyn do n J o h n so n , for, a lth o u g h he w as n o t yet a
senator, everyone in Texas kne w he w o u ld tie som eday W ic h ita Falls had
tieen little m ore than an old oil to w n b e fore S enator M orse S heppard dip
ped in to the pork barrel and cam e up w ith S he pp ard Air Force Base, just
ou tside o f to w n
N ow W ic h ita Falls was a key c ity in the congressional
d istrict and since Joh nso n was w id e n in g his p o litic a l base tie and his chief
aide, W alter Jenkins were frequ en t visito rs at the local clu b
This is m y little b ro th e r," G eorge said to C ongressm an Jo h n so n
He s
a star fo o tb a ll player at Booker T W a sh in g to n
Jo h n so n shook m y hand
I was im pressed by h o w tall and skin ny he
Life W ith LBJ
A nnapolis had been one o f th e biggest slave m arkets on the East Coast,
and in th e m id 1940s its a ttitu d e to w a rd blacks w as just as h o stile as it had
been before e m a n cip a tio n I w o u ld drive Jo h n so n and his p a rty up to the
fro n t gate o f th e N avy s ta d iu m w ith in s tru c tio n s to be w a itin g th e re w h e n
they w a lked o u t after the gam e W henever I w as late no m atter w h a t the
reason, Jo h n so n called m e a lazy, g o o d for n o th in g nigg er He especially
liked to call me nigger in fro n t o f sou thern ers and racists like R ichard Rus
sell It was. I soon learned LB J s w ay o f being one o f the boys
I w as b e g in n in g to feel a sense o f po w e r
I w as som e bo dy, because I
dro ve for Lyn do n Jo h n so n
T oday, I kn o w tha t m akes m e sou nd like an
U ncle Tom b u t in the m id 1940s it w as one o f th e fe w kin ds o f (lo w er for a
black m an A n d I w as p ro u d because I was surviving , and d o in g it honestly
and better than m ost One evening w h ile I w as d rivin g Lyn do n and Lady
Bird Jo h n so n to the C ongressional C o u n try C lub for dinner, I asked Jo h n
son if he co u ld get me a jo b the re
W hy not serve at m y parties and m y
frien ds ?'
was. and I kept m y eye o u t for hirn over the next several m o n th s
H e 'd
alw ays say hello to me It m ade m e feel g o o d th a t im p o rta n t people were
be g in n in g to recognize me, for already as a teenager I sensed tha t m ee ting
the p o w e rfu l w o u ld be m y w ay o u t o f p o ve rty
A fte r that, I w a tch e d Jo h n so n closely w hen ever he cam e in to tfie club
M y m other had to ld me th a t I co u ld learn m ore ab ou t people by w a tc h in g
them than by hearing w h a t they were saying J o h n s o n im pressed m e as a
i areful, cau tiou s, and de te rm in e d m an, p re o ccu p ie d w ith s o m e th in g tugger
than just his steak, his friends, and W ic h ita Falls As h e listened to ttie p o ll
in u n s and c o n trib u to rs he m et at the club, he seem ed to tie m aking m ental
notes W hen I heard him speak, his voice w as s o ft and persuasive Them
w as none o f the raucous b e llo w in g that I w o u ld hear later w h en I w o rked
fo r him
I was gra du ated fro m high school in 1940 But b e fo re I i ou ld tie d ra fte d
I jo in e d the arm y In A u g u st 1941 I entered Fort L e o n ,ltd W o o d M issouri
for m y basic tra in in g
I hated arm y life
M ost of the black soldiers were
old, u n ed uca te d and m ean, the o ffic e rs w ere yo u n g w h ite and filled w ith
i o n te m p , It w as hard to fin d a d ro p of hu m an kindness
O nce the Japanese invaded Pearl H arbor, the arm y decided it needed
Negro o ffic e rs to com m a n d its N egro fig h tin g m en I to o k a n e x a m (nr the
o ffic e rs 'tra in in g school at Fort Belvoir, V irg inia and passed M odean Par
ker's w ife l answ ered the g o ve rn m e n t s u rg en t call for help and to o k a jo b
as a W ar D e pa rtm e nt secretary in W a sh in g to n for $1 040 a year so we
c o u ld be to g e th e r Before I co u ld be a d m itte d to Fort B elvoir, I had to corn
plete co m b a t train in g at Fort Leonard W o o d U n fo rtu n a te ly I w a s severely
in jure d in a fall, breaking m y rig ht shoulder and leg in several p la te s and
tw is tin g m y neck D o cto rs had to use pins and plates to put me bar k to
ge ther again I w o u ld never m ake it to Fort B elvoir
In the fall o f 1943 I
received a m edical discharge and le ft M issouri to |oin M odean
I had tug
dream s
The first place I w e nt for a jo b in the capital, after M odean and I had set
tied in to our one bedro om a p artm en t on S S treet in n o rth w e s t W a shing
ton, was to Lyndon Jo h n so n I visited his o ffic e at least once a week but
cou ld n t get past his re ce p tio n ist and aides
H e's o u t of to w n , they I
say
A w a y fro m his desk N ot in
They w o u ld n t tell me w h en he w o u ld
tie available or let me m ake an a p p o in tm e n t to see him
But I kept com ing
back.
M y d e te rm in a tio n paid o ff One m o rn in g , late in 1943 the re ce p tio n ist
to ld m e Congressm an Jo h n so n w o u ld see m e I w as na ive ly c o u n tin g on
turn rem e m be ring me " I'm Robert Parker ' I to ld him
I m et you several
tim es at th e W itc h ita Falls C lub
W hen his eyes sh o w e d no re co g n itio n ,
m y heart sank I began d ro p p in g nam es o f m u tu a l acq ua inta nces He re
m em b ere d th e m , b u t n o t me As a last reso rt. I d e scrib e d h o w I used to
w a it on him There was a flicke r o f re co g n itio n and a little sm ile on his face
He d id n 't k n o w R obert Parker, tiu t he k n e w th e " b o y 'd w h o had served
turn so o fte n w ith ob vio u s a d m iratio n and eagerness to please
M y m o u th felt like c o tto n w h en I realized th a t th is w as m y o n e
to land a decent |ob
hance
If I failed in the next sixty seconds. I d p ro b a b ly never
fin d w ork
W hat can I do for you. b o y? " Jo h n so n asked q u ie tly
I need a |ob, s ir," I m anaged to say
W tia t kin d o f iob. boy? W h a t can you do? W o u ld you like to w o rk in
the post o ffic e , b o y? "
I c o u ld n 't even stam m er an answer
Jo h n so n gra b b e d the ph on e and
dialed the c ity post o ffic e director " I w anna sponsor th is boy, he said
At th a t m o m e n t, I sto o d in aw e o f Lyn d o n J o h n s o n
I had never seen
such pow er W ith one phone call, I n o t o n ly had a jo b , but I had a c a re e r
civil service p o sitio n , w ith o u t even ta kin g an e xa m in a tio n L ittle did I realize
then h o w sim ple the w h o le th in g was, for J o h n s o n had developed c o n ta cts
all over W a s h in g to n w h o o w e d him favo rs W h a t I did realize, ho w e ver,
w as that n o w th a t Jo h n so n had sponsored me, I o w e d him A n d if I d id n 't
pay I co u ld have m y
are er" jo b jerked aw ay as fast as it had been gran
ted It was a p o lite fo rm o f slavery, but a sm all price to pay for a g o o d job
th a t, I sensed, had o p p o rtu n itie s for a black m an T hat civil service ratin g
tu rn e d o u t to be extrem e ly im p o rta n t, for tw e n ty years later I w o u ld use it to
w in (letter w o rk in g c o n d itio n s for the blacks w h o w o rk e d in the Senate
D ining Room
In the post o ffic e , I learned an im p o rta n t survival lesson At m o st, educa
tio n co u ld on ly h e lp get me som ew here W h a t I really needed w as pow er
the kind th .it com es fro m m oney, frien ds and inside in fo rm a tio n
I took
stock I had no experience and on ly a hig h scho ol e d u ca tio n , yet I w as sor
tin g and de live rin g mail next to attorn eys, m aking the same kind o f m oney
and liftin g the same fin d o f bags, because I kn e w som e on e w ith po w e r and
A u th o r
R o b e rt P a rk e r
C o u r to s y o f F ox S tu d io
A new life op en ed up for m e
Joh nso n s pa rties were usually sm all affairs tor half a dozen politic i.ms
and their w ives
Sam R ayburn w h o was unm arried, was alw ays there
Vu e President Trum an i am e som etim es So did Henry S tim so n . the secre
tary o f w . ii
Then there w ere S enators H h tia rd Russell o f G eorgia Albert
Barkley o f K e n tu cky T heodore B iltm o f M ississippi, Tom C onnally of
Texas Olin J o h n s to n o f S o u th C arolina and J o h n M i Clellan o f Arkansas
G iven Jo h n so n s p o litica l a m b itio n s it was a p o w e rfu l g ro u p
Rayburn
was Speaker of th e House Barkley m a jo rity leader in the Senate Trum an
w o u ld becom e pre sid ent th e fo llo w in g year ,945 after Roosevelt died
Barkley Trum an vk e pre sid ent in 1949 S enator C onnally w as i hairm an
of the Foreign R elations C o m m itte e and a po w e r in Texas p o litic s Russell
Bilbo, J o h n s to n and M i Clellan were w h ite suprem i ists and leaders of
the D em ocratic so u th e rn b lo t that m ost observers agree con tro ller) W ash
in y to n at th a t tim e
I began ta kin g no tes on w h o dra nk w h a t and w h e n
S o o n I w a s passing
o u t the rig h t drinks b e fore I w as asked T rum an liked O ld F itzgera ld w ith
branch w a te r, LBJ S co tch and w a te r R ayburn, w h o d id n 't d rin k m u c h in
p u blic, sour m ash and ginger ale and O lin J o h n s to n 's w ife , gin g e r ale and
w hiskey w ith o u t ice Before long even b ig o ts like Bilbo w e re asking J o h n
son, "W h e re did you get th is nice co lo re d boy? W e 'd like to use him , to o "
They gave me their p riva te (ih on e nu m be rs, and I began rn o o liy h tm g seve
ral n ig h ts a w eek I had be co m e a status sym bo l
If you w a n t a succe ssful
party
tfie w o rd w e n t, you m ust have tha t nice co lo re d b o y "
D u ring tfie next few years Jo h n so n loaned m e to his frie n d s for a variety
o f jobs as a m eans o f e x te n d in g his po w e r tiase
I re g u la rly d ro ve O lin
Jo h n s to n . Tennessee C ongressm an Estes Ketauver and O kla h o m a Con
gressm an Carl A lb ert a ro u n d to w n
I'd take th e m to th e a irp o rt in L B J s
i ar and drive the m to a p a rtm e n ts and hotels at n ig h t
I’d sit in th e car,
s tru g g lin g to stay aw ake, u n til o n e and tw o o 'c lo c k in the m o rn in g , som e
tim e s all n ig h t
W h e n I w o rk e d e x c e p tio n a lly la te J o h n s o n or an aide
w o u ld call tfie ( lo s t o ffic e and get m e tfie next day o ft
The s jio t IB J , K etauver J o h s to n and A lb e rt seem ed to like to visit the
m ost w as the Rhode Island A ve n u e Plaza a lu xu rio u s a p a rtm e n t ho use for
b la i ks in no rth e a st W a s h in g to n
In tfie 1940s. successful, p ro fe ssio n a l
b la i k c o u ld n 't rent a p a rtm e n ts or buy hom es in th e nicer p a rts o f tfie c ity
M ost d rifte d to tfie Plaza w h ic h housed m ore tale nt and a m b itio n tha n any
b u ild in g in W a s h in g to n , in c lu d in g tfie C apitol
I'd d ro p the co n g re ssm e n or I BJ s c o n s titu e n ts o ff at a side door at the
Plaz.i and w a it u n til tfie wee flo u rs of tfie m o rn in g I rem eber d riv in g Ke
fauver there one n ig h t As w e turne d the corner he saw Carl A lb e rt co m in g
out the side door
Keep d rivin g
Ketauver ord ere d as fie slid d o w n in the
bai k seat
Go a ro u n d tfie b lo i k
He did n t w a n t A ltie rt to k n o w fie had a
colored frien d th e re to o I never did fin d o u t w in ch w o m a n th e y visite d,
tin t I kn o w th a t one or tw o w tio lived the re eve ntua lly b ro ke in to p o litic s
Jo h n so n never jia id m e for the bo rin g n ig h t d u ty and I u n d e rs to o d th is
was ho w fir* e xjie i ted m e to earn Ins pa tro na ge
But w h e n I d id n 't b rin g
m oney ho m e M o d e .in th o u g h t I w as i hearing on tier There she w as. sit
tin g at hom e w ith our baby. Barbara A n n w h o was b o rn in tfie sp rin g of
1945 w h ile I was o u t on th e to w n H ow w as I to i on virn e tier th a t I w a s n 't
the one w h o was o u t at n ig h t w ith a w o m an ? The m o o n lig h tin g and late
fio u rs b ro u g h t a te rrib le strain to our m arriage
As pleased as I w as w ith tfie exposure I w as g e ttin g and the extra m on ey
I was m aking w o rk in g for Jo h n so n d u rin g the ,940s in W a s h in g to n w as a
p a in fu l experience A lth o u g h I w as gra te fu l to him for g e ttin g m e a jo b w ith
the (lost o ffit e and tin giving m e other o p p o rtu n itie s I w as afra id o f him
tits ause of the (i.un and h u m ilia tio n fie co u ld in flic t at a m o m e n t's n o tic e
I th o u g h t I had learned ti fig h t my bitte rn ess and anger one day at a tim e,
tfie w ay m y m other had ta u g h t m e w ith kindness But J o h n s o n m ad e it
hard to keep the waver, o f bitte rn ess inside I w o u ld like turn one m in u te
and hate him the next But I h a il to s w a llo w or q u it If I q u it, flo w w o u ld I
su p p o rt m y fam ily ?
I i h o s e s u r v iv a l a n d I. lin e d t o s w a llo w w i t h a s m ile I t 's w h a t m o s t black
in . , i i a, w is h in g t ,,, n in , 1 94i fs h e , o n 1 th e , iv il r ig h ts m o ve m e n t w as
.
i iii. m i
I
• le d jio w e r
A s y o u n g as I was
T o g e t it
I k n e w th a t lie ,o re I c o u ld fig h t racism ,
I f i. n l t o survive
A n d that w as a lo ne ly, full tim e
|<<ll
PCC In te r p r e te r T r a in in g
P ro g ra m S c h e d u le s
O r ie n ta tio n S e s s io n s
The Interpreter Training Program
at P ortland C o m m u n ity College has
scheduled six o rie n ta tio n sessions
for p ro spe ctive stu d e n ts at Cascade
Cam pus, 705 N K illin g s w o rth
C O M IN G S O O N
The sessions w ill sup ply inform.»
tion about the p ro g ra m and other
fields related to deafness, help the
p ro spe ctive stu d e n t d e l ide w h ethe r
or n o t to apply for the sign language
in te rp re ta tio n
pro gra m ,
provide
counseling and answ er qu estio ns
Sessions w ill tie held the evenings
o f A pril 6 and M ay 21, and both
days and evenings A u g u st 17 and
S eptem ber 8
Those w h o w ish to a tte n d the
o rie n ta tio n s are advised to call Chris
Cady, ITP secretary, at 283 2541
Ext 5288 to book an a p p o in tm e n t
Blood Pressure
Clinic
A public H yp e rte n sio n (bloo d
pressure) S cree ning clin ic is sche
duled T hursday. M ay 7, fro m 1 30
3 p m , at the K ing C ity R etirem ent
Center, 11777 S W Q ueen Eliza
beth, King C ity
The clin ic w ill be
s ta ffe d by registered nurses from
M eridian Park H o spita l, Tualatin
The clinics are sche du led the first
Thursday o f each m o n th , ap po int
m en ts are not necessary, and there
is no charge For m ore in fo rm a tio n
call 692 2656
Say goodbye to harsh taste'
King Cobra is the only malt liquor that
gives you so much cold satisfaction
in a smooth taste And this month you II
want to get twice as much satisfaction1
During April we re having a
special Strikes Twice promotion
to make it easy for you to take two
six packs of King Cobra everytime
you buy Check your local store for
details
had gone to him for help
R ightly or w ro n g ly , I decided early in m y post o ffic e jo b tha t a college
e d u c a tio n w o u ld not help m e survive in W a s h in g to n , a lth o u g h it m ig h t
w o rk for oth er you ng black m on I saw the w o rld as a ju ng le, and I kn e w I
needed to learn q u ickly w h o had the po w e r and h o w I c o u ld get som e
I g o t w h a t I th o u g h t w as a break several m o n th s after I becam e a mail
carrier J o h n s o n 's o ffic e called to tell me that the con gre ssm an needed a
driver at six o 'c lo c k in the evening to take him and M rs Jo h n so n to dinner
at the Congressional C o u n try Club, one o f his fa v o rite h a u n ts I w as to ld to
dress like a ch a u ffe u r, black hat and all, and th a t if I d id n 't have a u n ifo rm ,
to buy one
Lyn do n J o h n so n , w h o did n o t have either a lim ousine or a
regular driver, w as be g in n in g to collect on m y debt
I becam e such a g o o d un pa id c h a u ffe u r th a t J o h n s o n called on m y at
least on ce a w eek to drive him a ro un d to w n and to the Naval A ca d e m y in
A nn ap olis on every S atu rday that the Navy fo o tb a ll team played at hom e
Jo h n so n w as on the Naval A ffa irs C o m m itte e and g o t free ticke ts I hated
those S atu rday trip s I d pick up LB J at ten in the m o rn in g U sually he had
'UMtal Pi»«.!»«, * * * * 2 . * * * - • ” ’
k"«m ,r9m x»W<li"t'* • ’* p
"Me H rlnklll] r*» « » *" *
' »"inkle unit*«<i* '
in vited V irg inia S enator Harry Byrd and G eorgia S en ator R ichard Russell
to ride w ith him B oth w ere also on the Naval A ffa irs C o m m itte e , and the
tree ride w as just one m ore w a y fo r Jo h n so n to e xte n d his po w e r base in
C ongress
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