S. Ernest Vandiver oral history interview, January 25, 1994

Item

Identifier: VandiverES_19940125_P1994-02

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S. Ernest Vandiver oral history interview

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Scope and Contents

Cliff Kuhn focused this interview on the October 1960 arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr. and its aftermath.

Among topics discussed: March on the Capitol; Sibley Commission; Judge Sibley; Griffin Bell; Herman Talmadge; Marvin Griffin; meeting with John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson; Vandiver's experience with National Guard; role of Bobby Kennedy in 1960 presidential election; return of Martin Luther King to Georgia in 1960; 1960 meeting of Southern governors; effect of Atlanta sit‑ins on presidential election; Vandiver's communication with Mayor Hartsfield; Vandiver meeting with Herman Talmadge and black leaders; controversy surrounding Judge Mitchell's revocation of King's probation; intervention of Senator Kennedy; Bob Russell; George Stewart; legal issues; Bobby Kennedy phone call to Mitchell; impact on presidential election; Charlie Pou's Atlanta Journal article; 1972 Senate race between Vandiver, David Gambrell, Sam Nunn; Vandiver association with George Stewart; Stewart and Mitchell meeting with Bobby Kennedy; Theodore White's investigation of Kennedy‑King affair; Vandiver's governorship; desegregation of schools; end of county unit system; desegregation of University of Georgia.

Dates

Creation: January 25, 1994

Creator

Vandiver, S. Ernest (Samuel Ernest), 1918-2005 (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Available in Reading Room and online

Biographical Note

S. Ernest Vandiver (1918-2005) served as lieutenant governor from 1955 to 1959 and as governor of Georgia from 1959 to 1963. He unsuccessfullly ran for US Senate, losing to Sam Nunn in 1972.