, 15 tweets, 5 min read Read on Twitter
1. White Citizens Council of Jackson, MS radio show that aired soon after JFK was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963. The most striking thing is the utter lack of remorse about JFK, seemingly because they thought he was suspiciously liberal. cdm16631.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collec…
2. Note how familiar some of these arguments probably sound to us today. This passage could have come right out of the mouth of Trump Jr or any number of conservative commentators--"the left" is bigoted, insane, and incapable of rational thought.
3. And then there's the inevitable portion of the conversation where we learn why "today's liberals" think just like Nazis.
4. These White Citizens Councils were sometimes called "the uptown klan," comprised of "respectable" white folks dedicated to preserving Jim Crow in an era of desegregation. pbs.org/wgbh/americane…
5. I was no fan of GWB, but you would have been hard pressed to find him or any of his media surrogates making arguments that were ripped from the pages of the White Citizens Councils.
6. The present day echoes of this 1963 interview speak both to the deep roots of Trumpist political culture, but also how Trumpism has brought to the surface elements of conservatism that had historically been more submerged.
7. Here's another fascinating conversation from 1963. This time, the subject was the now famous March on Washington at which MLK, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. Needless to say, the White Citizens Council was not so impressed by the event. cdm16631.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collec…
8. What's up with all of those liberal elites marching on Washington, these segregationists ask?
9. "How can these people consider themself not free?" they ask. (Note: This is before the Voting Rights Act of 1965.)
10. "When black people are protesting for the protection of their rights as Americans, it must mean that they want to take over the country in an anti-colonial revolt like those happening in Africa." Um, ok?
11. That dumb old "liberal press," thinking that this March on Washington might be the start of something significant. Pshaw. What do they know?
12. What has the response been? White people are mobilizing in order to put down this "revolutionary" black movement in their midst, to protect "the American way of life."
13. The conversation ends with a reference to the supposed revolution that was attempted in Greenwood, MS in April of 1963. They note that they were able to maintain the "racial integrity" thanks to the work of these organized white groups. Guess what that "revolution" was....
14. It was the efforts of SNCC to register black people to vote in Greenwood. The organized white people of the area murdered one of the civil rights activists, Jimmy Travis. This is the sort of racial terrorism they are celebrating here, tho implicity. snccdigital.org/events/jimmy-t…
15. Every white person listening to this radio show would have understood that these conservative commentators were condoning (if not endorsing) the murder of civil rights activists in the name of protecting what they called "the American way of life" from dangerous radicals.
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Seth Cotlar
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!