takes us through the 1960s, and at the end of the 20th century, montpelierbecomes a museum open to the public. the late 1980s is really the first time in american history when both black and white americans can walk through the home of this past president. we, the people, had come to include all americans. >> this program is one of a series featuring james madison's montpelier. view all american history tv programs online at c-span.org/history. this discussion is from a conference on the presidency and civil rights, held at the john f. kennedy presidential library and museum. among the topics, fdr's world war ii interment of japanese

americans, president truman's desegregation of the armed forces and president eisenhower's supreme court justice appointments. and we hear about attempts on first lady eleanor roosevelt . d this program is about 1 hour and 20 minutes. good afternoon. i'm david farrio, archivist of the united states. it's a pleasure to welcome up as you know, the national archives charged with preserving and providing access to our nation's most important documents. the records we safeguard are part of the backbone of our democracy. important pieces of the story of the american journey. they contain accounts of heroism and tragedy, of moments of pride and moments of shame.

of sacrifices that men and women have made to defend our country and to extend basic human rights to all of our citizens. this library and 12 others like it around the country, contain the records of the presidents, dating back to 1929. when herbert hoofer lived in the white house. part of the national archives' vast holdings that tell the story of america. our holdings also include the charters of freedom, declaration of independence, the constitution, and the bill of rights, located in the rotunda of our main building in washington. but we also have 12 billion more pages of documents, not to mention millions of photographs, charts, and billions of electronic records and artifacts that are part of the national archives. you don't have to read and study many of them to realize the story of america is a story of people struggling to achieve the rights promised in the charters of freedom or protesting because

they have been denied those rights. it is, of course, the constitution and those amendments, the president aviewed to undertake major actions on which the united states supreme court has based so many landmark decisions involving civil and human rights. the list is daunting, and franklin roosevelt outlawed discrimination by wartime contractors and harry truman ordered an end to sectiongation in the armed forces during the historic election year of 1948. dwight eisenhower sent army troops to central high in little rock so african-american students could enroll. john f. kennedy put the power of the federal government behind the effort to integrate the university of alabama. and lyndon john pushed congress to enact the voting rights act of 1964 and civil rights act of 1965. this city has play pivotol roll

and is at the heart of the debate as how best to desection regait public schools to comply with the historic 1954 supreme court decision in brown versus the topeka board of education. these struggles for civil rights has not been easy. when they occur, they often revolve around the constitution with the rights that define us, as a nation have always been secured. first ten amendments to the constitution are known as the bill of rights. spell out personal rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to every american, including freedom of speech, religion and the press. right to petition the government, right to bear arms and the right to due process of law. most of the later amendments sought to explicitly extend rights, granted in the constitution itself to individual who's had been excluded from full participation

in our democracy when the constitution was adopted in 1787. three post civil war amendments abolished slavery, made former slaves u.s. citizens and granted them the right to vote. the 19th amendment grant women the right to vote and another grant access to the ballot by 18-year-olds. we may view founding documents as timeless, but the government they envisioned and that we inherited was not inevitable. it required devotion of citizens like you and me. a national respect for the rule of law, and the wise exercise of power by our elected leader who's are held buildable by, we, the people. as i mentioned before the holdings of the national archives chronicle our nation's efforts to live out the ideals expressed in the charters of freedom. they document abraham lincoln's war time proclamation to the signing a century later of

theive rights act of 1964 that sought to end legalized segregation. many documents housed throughout the country. in this building, one of our regional archives in waltham and 42 libraries and regional archives around the country. understanding the stories surrounding the actions by our presidents helps us give context to martin luther king's observation that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. it bends not only its own, dr. king said, but because each of us in our own way, puts our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of a more just world. i'm proud the kennedy library is hosting today's conference and recognize all to are hosting today's program. i'm not allowed to say this in public, especially in the presence of my friends from the fdr library, but this is my favorite presidential library,

even growing up in beverly, massachusetts. [ applause ] i cannot think of a better day or a better place to mark president's day. i also want to personally thank all of our speakers, many of whom have traveled far, including one from south africa, to be with us here for these proceedings, and a personspecia welcome to those watching around the world on c-span. i'm especially pleased to see so many young people and students in the audience today. those of us who lived through the kennedy presidency now prepare to pass the torch again to a new generation of americans, knowing the fate of our country and the rights we hold so dear rely in your hands. in considering our future, i'm reminded of the famous words president kennedy used in his inaugural address. he not only challenged what we can do for our country, but said that his election showed that

the torch was passed to a new generation of americans to witness or permit the slow undoing the human rights to which this nation has always been committed and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. ist now my great honor to introduce the man who will open our proceedings, the 41st president of the united states, george herbert walker bush. [ applause ] >> let me start by saluting our friends at the john f. kennedy presidential library for launching their jfk 50, justice for all program. i'm particularly happy to single out caroline kennedy and todd put putnam, and brigham mccutchen and jay zimmer for making this topic a reality. your topic strikes a real chord with me.

as a young congressman from texas, i well remember the open housing vote back in 1968. i voted with those who were fighting to give americans of all races and creeds a chance to buy a good home in a good neighborhood. later, as president, we got the americans with disabilities act passed. to make sure that tens of millions with disabilities had fuller access to the american dream. of course, these two instances are only part of the broader struggle for civil rights. here at this forum and another program, learn how and why so many americans across this great land came together for a noble cause, basic human dignity, equal opportunity under the law, recognizing our diversity as a strength and blessing. these are the values that define more than a movement. but a nation realizing its destiny, our potential for greatness. barbara joins me in sending our

best wishes for an informative and enjoyable event. >> good afternoon, everyone. thank you, all, so much for coming on behalf of my colleague, tom mcnaught, executive director of the kennedy foundation library, i want to thank the archivist of the united states for being here and opening our proceedings. i also want to thank the law firm of bingham mccutchen, the underwriters of a special initiative called jfk 50 justice for all which have helped to sponsor today's conference. i would like to thank wbur and "the boston globe." we could have a whole hour and a half or conference on franklin roosevelt and civil rights, and you'll see from your schedule, we only have 20 minutes to do

that and i was suggesting to alita, an expert on franklin and eleanor roosevelt, their koortship lasted two years, and trying to cover this topic in 20 minutes is a bit like the modern phenomenon of speed dating. we'll do our best to cover this topic. fortunately, aleta is a wonderful story teller and a fast talker. so, aleta, a debate among historians among franklin roosevelt and civil rights, and maybe when he came -- became president, he faced a country that was not only facing depression, but was a segregated nation. like president kennedy and others, he faced conservative leaders and congress within his own party, and as he was trying to put forth legislation, if he moved too quickly on integation in terms of legislation that could have held back other legislative accomplishments, give us the quick gloss of

franklin roosevelt and civil rights. >> this is like doing my whole life in 15 seconds. just so you know. well, i think first of all we have to remember the democratic party was profoundly southern and a western party, so when roosevelt comes into office, is he not yet realigned the party to become the party we know today. it's quite interesting to me that some of the things that immediately happen with the staff that he picks. when you immediately integrate, you abolish segregation in federal cafeterias and interior department and other places, when d.c. is a profoundly segregated city, and was segregated by a democrat, woodrow wilson. his appointments are quite interesting in that way. have you harold ickes, harry hopkins, aub bree williams and

mary macleod buthoon. i used to say before 201 2001, they were the twin towers of the civil rights movement. there is a huge risk-taking mind-set. does that mean it goes as far as we want? no. i have been all over the map on this, and i have come to a very eleanor-like conclusion. and that is you can look at a glass and you can see it half empty or see the water keep increasing. i think both roosevelts did was really introduce to america the concept that the federal government was not just for the forgotten man or forgotten woman. as fdr said when he spoke at howard, not only will there be no forgotten man, there will be no forgotten races. we have policies, two executive

orders that are issued. one for the wpa that outlaws segregation. wpa hiring practices, and then you have the fair employment practices commission doing that for the defense industry. do they work? no. do they help some people? yes. is there a long way we need to do? yes. do we still need to do it now yes. but these were the first type of executive orders passed since reconstruction, which i think says a lot. also, if you look at the risks that they took, in terms of setting off the civil rights division of the justice department, i'm supposed to talk about fdr and my colleagues will expect me and pardon me as will the fdr library people to say you cannot talk about fdr and race without talking about eleanor, and eleanor traveled without secret service

protection, there were assassination attempts on her life. not that's, attempts. as first lady. the ku klux klan places the largest bounty in history on her head. she firebomb trees in revolution era churches she spoke in 1937, 1938. she joined a commission to abolish the poll tax. there were profound risks that were taken. may i goad friendly my colleagues that write on this. for once, please, as a favor to me, will you please say that people were trying to kill his wife when you write about fdr and race? he could have shut up, if he said on this you will not cross me, like deon internment? there is a huge different here,

and the untold story of the roosevelts and race, which if i could ever go back and be a fly on the wall and engage in the what if school of history moment, would be the conversations that they had one-on-one, about the risk that she was taking to aggressively change her position from being truly separate but equal, but moving toward integration, and so by the time that garner murdol and ralph bunch do their landmark study, the american dilemma. ralph bunch will say of all of the people i interviewed in the united states, the person on whose sincerity i have no doubt, is eleanor roosevelt. now when you get to the war, which i guess we'll talk about, you will see the impact there. and the other thing about -- we all want anti listynching passe.

i was two block as way when dr. martin luther king was assassinated at the lorain hotel. it changed my life. nobody on the planet wants fdr to engage in the anti listening legislatidge lynching legislati i do. when fdr calls lynching murder. he's the first president in the united states to call it murder, and w.e.b. dubois editorializes about it on the front page of the crisis. he doesn't legislation it when it first comes up, but eleanor roosevelt spends seven days sit negotiate gallery of the united states senate and people -- she is surrounded by civil rights leaders, all people of color. when they ask her what eleanor is doing, she says i am bearing

witness. that to me is a powerful, powerful statement. you have to look at -- granted, no legislation passed, but internal policies changed, there was eleanor's outspokenness. there was her literally putting her life on the line for this, and executive orders written and the justice department created. so i look at his record as a huge step forward to help jump start where we want to be. >> is that good in three minutes? i've never done it this fast. ever. [ applause ] >> let's move to another small topic. the desegregation of the armed forces. a panel will talk about president truman, but where did fdr stand? it may be of interest to people, we've seen the movie on the tuskegee airmen? did he know those stories? his main intent was to win the

war. how did he face this issue? >> fdr always thought the primary responsibility was to win the war. there was never any, any doubt in his mind about that. but fdr did instruct the war department to, in fact, allow -- to remove the barriers placed in front of african-americans who, in fact, wanted to enlist and serve. at this point, 9 pest of the population was african-american. less than 1% were allowed to serve in the u.s. military. for those of you who may be suspect to propaganda, and people say only 1% of african-americans served in the draft, there were laws that prevented people from enlisting. and so fdr worked with the war department, who was profoundly opposed to this, to, in fact, remove barriers. it didn't work that much. it went from 1% to 5% as opposed

to 9%, but if you go back again, the glass is half full. there were -- when -- when fdr meets with a. phillip randolph and walter white and leaders from the urban league to discuss this, it's the impact same day that the tripact is announced. germany, russia, and japan have signed a pact to come against us. when randolph and company come, they come in a meeting eleanor has facilitated and have a list of seven demands. of those demands, four are met. full enat the grags of the service is not met, obviously. because that's left for truman to do. but the steps that fdr does take i think are not just in yes

mental, but a slap in the face. he has gotten rave reviews for changing his cabinet and bringing in a new secretary of war and a new secretary of the navy. republicans, a bipartisan cabinet and absolutely adamantly opposed to any activity that will advance negros through the rank s simson says leadership i not embedded in the negro race. he's secretary of the war. the secretary of the navy cox -- i mean knox, says he will resign if, in fact this happens. so what does fdr do? he brings the dean of the howard law school in to be stemson's aide. he reports an african-american colonel to advise selective

service and the firsten fr african-american general to ride rupp shod on them. the big obstacle is george marshall. if you look at who will block a lot of stuff. marshall is the one that says come down, not on my watch, we've got to win the war. eleanor works to help get the 99th squadron, the tuskegee airmen through. she worked to have african-american women, who want to become waves and nurses do this. there is a riot in this. eleanor goes to the city the night after the riots to try and calm things down. stays with the waves and insists, in fact, that the swimming pools they are in to train in be integrated so they can have the same training that their white counterparts are. so it's complicated. >> let's go to another

complicated issue, japanese internment. probably the case most in our history where the federal government actually imprisons people based on race and ethnicity. >> i wouldn't say it's the first time, but one of the major times. there is no doubt in my mind that fdr considered that the emergency of wartime overrode civil liberties protections, no doubt in my mind about this. i mean, he looked to lincoln, he looked at a lot of precedents, he knew immediately it was a decision that was greatly opposed within the administration. eleanor, for one, strongly opposed it, as did the attorney general of the united states, bittle. as did the military command in hawaii. as did justice william douglas who really violated legal p protocol if you will, to advise

eleanor on arguments to present to the president. but fdr -- i think the best book on this really is a shoutout to my friend, greg robinson, whose book by order of the president really is hands down i think the -- the best study of this. and i think greg is absolutely right, that fdr did not think it through in the sense of thinking there would be long-range questions of patriotism or, you know, suspicion of people or really understand the theft of property that went on. and so when there is a riot in the manson r. camps in july of -- i mean in the summer of 1943, he sends eleanor out to meet with them. and i know that they had numerous conversations on this.

not a shred of paper on it, give you my word on it i've looked for it since the day i was born. it's not there. i strongly suspect there were countless conversations about this. eleanor wanted to adopt japanese american families to get them out of camps, she wrote countless letters attesting to people's patriotism. assimilated their entry into the war. so i would stake my mortgage and my soul on the fact that there were conversations about this that we'll never be privy too. >> let's end with you givesing you the back store to the iconic concert that marianne anderson gave at the lincoln memorial. >> i lovell nor roosevelt, i love franklin roosevelt. their picture is in every room of my heart. we have to give harold dickey a shoutout. we need to give both roosevelts

credit for is eleanor's understanding of how to use her newspaper column, my day, to turn this concert in from a local, i.e., regional washington, d.c. slap in the face, to turn it into a national civil rights event. when eleanor resigned in 1939, that column goes on the front page of 483 newspapers, and marianne anderson stays on the front page of those newspapers for seven weeks. eleanor goes to the radio programs to say, you -- basic until politely eleanor language, which i will never in my life be accused of having, if you want me on the radio, you need to carry this. and so it's eleanor's pressure on the radio stations that make it the first live coast-to-coast

nationally broadcast radio event in the history of radio. she also works with walter white to schedule the concert at 4:00 in the afternoon, so churches around the country. african-american churches in particular, on easter sunday can have picnics and suggests to walter white that perhaps they can make arrangements for those elections that are capped to be donated to the naacp and the collections that are raised that day are the second largest donation in the history of the naacp, only surpassed by duke ellington's national concert tour when he gave the proceeds of that to the naacp. she also had -- before the -- the debacle that was -- the insult to marianne anderson. eleanor invited her to the white house, she had stayed in the white house, had talked about her voice in the column ask said

singing, hearing marianne anderson singing is like sitting in the lap of god. and after the concert, eleanor went july 4, 1939 to richmond, the capital of the confederacy, where she give marianne anderson the spring arm medal and gives a speech on -- in nonconfrontational terms about the horror that unequal education inflicts on the united states. so in many ways to me, the back story of marianne anderson is how this extraordinary woman got the courage to come up and shift from being an artist to a symbol which she knew absolutely she was going to become, she was terrified of doing it, i talked with her before she died. and the courage that she took with the support that she got from eleanor, the friendship that developed about that, the

phone calls, the letters that went back and forth, together really is a phenomenal story and it does my heart good to know that when dr. king stood on the steps of the lincoln memorial, he stood on the exact same spot and in my lexicon, the two angels that sat on his shoulder were marianne and eleanor. [ applause ] >> so he did it, fdr and civil rights in 20 minutes. >> we really did it see, did i it. >> thank you very much. we'll try and start the next pan nell literally four or five minutes. we'll bring some chairs up and bring our next group of panel t panelists up. good afternoon, everybody. good morning, late early day, whatever. i always think it's nice if you are marking the occasion, and we