Walking with Presidents
Louis Martin and the Rise of Black Political Power
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
In the last weeks of the 1960 presidential race, Louis Martin pulled off a minor miracle. With two days to go before the election, this passionate civil rights advocate and Democratic activists put two million pamphlets into the hands of black voters across America, informing them of Senator John F. Kennedy's sympathetic phone call to Martin Luther King, Jr., then languishing in a Georgia prison. The center of gravity in black partisan support shifted, and Kennedy won by a hair. This is just one example of the remarkable influence Louis Martin had on national politics for more than four decades. Now, for the first time, the story of Louis Martin's life is told. Walking with Presidents traces the career of an African American who rose from crusading journalist to preeminent presidential advisor and civil rights liason in the Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter administrations. Martin was the consummate insider, unconcerned about who got credit for his work so long as he could advance his mission—bringing African Americans into the political mainstream.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dubbed the godfather of black politics, Martin (b. 1912) served as an adviser to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Carter and was a groundbreaking figure within the Democratic Party. This first biography, by Ebony contributor Poinsett, serviceably outlines Martin's career, though a more dramatic and detailed work is merited. As a journalist for the black-oriented Michigan Chronicle, Martin helped foster solidarity with the labor movement in the 1930s and '40s. As liaison to the black community for JFK's presidential campaign, he helped arrange appointments of blacks to federal jobs. For LBJ, he organized black voters and later encouraged the President's civil rights efforts, advising Johnson that a civil rights dialogue was needed after major legislation was passed. His role in the Carter administration was to repair its frayed bonds with the black community. He also influenced the appointments of many black judges. Another legacy was the establishment of a black think tank--the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Though Martin cooperated with the author, this book lacks personal insights as well as comments from Martin on controversies in black politics.
