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

Item

Identifier: VandiverES_19940125_P1994-02

Staff Only

S. Ernest Vandiver oral history interview

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

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.