LBJ Page #4

I don't imagine that committee's

gonna be around very long.

Don't be so sure.

Never underestimate Southern delegation.

My army may be small,

but our cause is mighty.

Am I talking to Senator Richard Russell

or General Stonewall Jackson?

No, you're talking to the man

who defeated three presidents on this.

I'll defeat a fourth.

What did Abe Lincoln say

after he woke up from a three-day drunk?

- I don't know.

- "I freed the what?"

- Thank you, Eddie.

- Yeah, thank you, Eddie.

Now...

...government has a $1 billion contract

to build a new plane.

I know exactly where that contract should go.

I bet you do, and I want nothing more...

...than to see that Lockheed plant

in Georgia get this contract.

Glad to hear it. You convince that

committee of yours to go along with it.

I will. I will.

After you convince Lockheed

to make some changes at the plant.

Not making any changes.

Why don't those Kennedys

just leave these n*ggers alone?

- They were happy.

- Come on, Dick.

I can't have signs all over the plant

saying "colored" this and "white" that.

Now you don't like

separate drinking fountains?

Oh, Lord. All right, fine.

I'll bring in paper cups.

I'm not saying

that you're not right about this...

...but you need to do

a little bit more on this one.

You're gonna have to hire some nigras.

Well, who do you think mops the floors?

I'm not talking about janitors.

I'm talking about engineers, skilled labor.

Show me a skilled one first.

Government's got no business

telling employers who they should hire.

It's the government's billion dollars.

I'm guessing we got some right.

Forced hiring's a stone's throw away

from forced labor.

- Last I heard, we were against that here.

- You don't have to convince me.

I'm the one going 15 rounds

with the Kennedys on this.

Those Harvard boys not gonna tell us...

- ...how to run the state of Georgia.

- Of course not.

But the Kennedy did get elected

by appealing to the colored man.

Now, if we play this right,

we're gonna have those nigras...

...voting Democrat the next 200 years.

You want me to surrender? What are you doing?

No. I am asking you... I'm begging you...

...to give these Kennedys

a little something just to quiet them down.

It ain't gonna make any difference,

but if we don't move at all...

...their allies are gonna line up

against us...

...and there's gonna be no way to put

the brake on all sorts of wild legislation.

- It'll be Reconstruction all over again.

- Well, let them try. Just let them try.

I'll use every means at my disposal

to defend this cause...

...till the last breath of air

escapes my lungs.

Keep the air in your lungs, Dick.

I'm... I'm gonna get you what you want...

...but just help me out a little bit here.

Since the 1954 Supreme Court Ruling...

...in Brown v. the Board of Education...

...the issue of civil rights has

taken hold throughout the nation.

Last year, in Greensboro, North Carolina...

...four negro college students staged

a sit-in at a whites-only lunch counter...

...sparking a wave of similar

demonstrations in other states.

And earlier this spring...

...a group known as the Freedom Riders...

...began their voyage throughout the South.

They have been met by cameras

and, at times, by mobs.

This week in Jackson, Mississippi...

...highway patrol officers

and national guardsmen kept the peace.

But this much is clear:

The cause of integration is a national issue.

- Sir.

- Sir.

Please take your seats.

By presidential order, this committee

on equal-employment opportunity...

...is to be comprised of:

"Four members of the cabinet...

...four heads of agencies and secretaries...

...the Army, Navy and Air Force."

Out of curiosity, who the hell are all you?

We got the undersecretary of state,

the undersecretary of defense.

We got Nick Katzenbach. What's the matter?

Bobby Kennedy too busy to join us today?

Sir, the attorney general had a previous...

Despite the fact that none

of your bosses are here...

...there is one person on this long list

that did, in fact, show up.

And it is the vice president.

So let's get this thing started.

First order of business,

$1 billion contract...

...to build a new transport airplane.

Senator Russell seems to think

the contract is going to Georgia.

That's because it is.

That Lockheed plant's record

on civil rights is disgraceful.

How old are you?

- Thirty-two. Sir.

- Mm.

Richard Russell is the leader

of the Southern Democratic Caucus...

...and chairman

of the Armed Services Committee.

We are gonna work

with Senator Russell on this.

Better to have him inside the tent

pissing out than outside pissing in.

Sir, I know I speak for my boss when I say...

...that this is a fight

in which we should not give an inch.

The secretary of labor's drafted a list of

demands that he would like addressed...

...before we award the contract to any plant.

We need to use this opportunity

to demonstrate the full power...

...of this committee.

If your boss wants to make demands,

tell him to deliver them to me in person.

And, son,

if this committee had any real power...

...the man you work for would be sitting

at this table instead of you.

This meeting is adjourned.

Mr. President, over here!

Get down. Get down! Go, go, go!

I'm switching to Charlie frequency.

Stay with him.

Stay down, stay down! Go, go, go!

- Good morning, Mrs. Lincoln.

- Good morning, Mr. Kennedy.

- Mr. Bobby.

- Hi, Caroline. How are you?

Here you go.

- Hi, Caroline.

- Come on, hon.

Good morning, Lyndon.

- Oh, hello, Mr. President.

- Sorry to keep you waiting.

- How you getting along?

- Busy morning.

How are we doing on this committee?

Fine, Mr. President.

Need to make sure

that this Lockheed contract conforms...

- ...to the committee's purpose.

- Well, ahem...

...Senator Russell has assured me that...

...we can expect to see

some significant changes in that plant.

That's not what I hear.

If you're concerned,

you should come to one of our meetings.

If you'd like me

to express my dissatisfaction...

...in front of the entire committee,

that could be arranged.

Lyndon, we're not awarding

a government contract...

...to a plant that violates civil rights.

And you might remind Senator Russell

that we don't need his help on this.

We've got a Lockheed plant

in California happy to build planes.

With all due respect,

if you take that contract from Russell...

...all it will show is

that you can't make him do...

...one damn thing that he doesn't wanna do.

Now, you have to understand his thinking.

It's straight out of the last century.

He's never gonna be a progressive like us.

Why should we be working

with him on this, then?

Because you don't wanna make

an enemy of Richard Russell.

He'll put the brakes on every legislation

we're trying to move through Congress.

We're not gonna let

one senator hold us hostage.

I suggest you don't wanna find out

how powerful that one senator can be.

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