A phone call that changes history
Jamaica Jazz & Blues is back
Caribbean Life, January 15-21, 2021 31
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Always look for the helpers.
No doubt, you’ve heard
those words before: whenever
you’re in trouble — lost,
scared, unsure, in danger
— look around. Somewhere
nearby, there‘s someone who’ll
help. As in the new book “Nine
Days” by Stephen Kendrick
and Paul Kendrick, though, it
might not be quick.
The Reverend Martin Luther
King, Jr. had been in jail
before.
It was fast then, in and
out the same day but still not
pleasant and as a Black man in
1960, the prospect of an entire
night there was loathsome.
So when a group of students
in Atlanta asked King to help
integrate restaurants in one of
the city’s largest department
stores, he understood the sacrifice
and he prayed on it first.
In the end, he stood with
the students and his worst
fears came true.
Their jail sentence was
short and while they were kept
mostly together, King was not
among the last of the students
released three days later. His
sentence: four months‘ hard
labor due to a driver’s license
issue he thought had been
taken care of, the spring prior.
He was moved to another
jail, and then another, each
farther away from his family
and further endangering his
life.
Some time before, King had
reached out to the two 1960
Presidential candidates, asking
them to put Civil Rights at the
forefront of their agendas. He
thought he knew who would
be most likely to help: King
had met Richard Nixon, and he
genuinely liked Nixon. He had
struggled to arrange time with
John Kennedy, however.
That summer, the Kennedy
camp itself struggled. JFK’s
campaign staff understood,
with the help of Louis Martin,
a respected Black newspaperman,
that the candidate who
attracted “Negro” voters would
win the White House and
Nixon was besting them. Then
suddenly, there was King, sitting
in jail days before the
election.
At the urging of his staff,
Kennedy picked up the phone
and made a call…
Two of them, as a matter of
fact — JFK made two phone
calls that may have changed
the outcome of the 1960 election
and perhaps the course of
history. In a story that spreads
forward and back and sets a
few facts straight, “Nine Days”
tells about those calls, King’s
jail-time, and how they are forever
linked.
But wait: did Nixon and
Kennedy both seem to drag
their feet on King’s release?
Authors Stephen Kendrick and
Paul Kendrick answer that
question in a peek at 1960s
politics and society that’s fascinating
but also frustrating to
read, content-wise. Kendrick
and Kendrick don’t let that
feeling linger, though: inside
the tale of King and Kennedy
is the story of a man whose
wisdom, savvy, and his reputation
with Black newspapers
altered the election in a way
that, as it’s told, feels like the
cheer-worthy last ten minutes
of a truly great movie.
Though its focus is small,
“Nine Days” is a gigantic tale
that you won’t want to stop
reading once you’ve started it.
Really, this is the kind of book
you can’t help but love.
“Nine Days: The Race to
Save Martin Luther King
Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960
Election” by Stephen Kendrick
and Paul Kendrick
c.2021, Farrar, Straus
and Giroux
$28.00 / $38.00
Canada 353 pages
“Nine Days” author, Stephen Kendrick and Paul Kendrick. Anna Kendrick
Book cover of “Nine Days” by Stephen Kendrick and Paul Kendrick.
By Nelson A. King
The Jamaica Tourist Board
(JTB) is inviting the public to
join this year’s Jamaica Jazz &
Blues virtual launch on Tuesday,
Jan. 19 at 12:00 p.m. EST, saying
that the marquee event is back.
“After a five-year hiatus, The
Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival
is back, this time with a virtual
twist,” said JTB in a statement
on Tuesday.
“The event has been thrilling
music lovers from as far back as
1996 and is synonymous with
bringing some of the biggest
international acts to Jamaica,”
it added.
JTB said the likes of Diana
Ross, Chakka Khan, Aaron Neville,
Erykah Badu, Toni Braxton,
John Legend, Michael Bolton,
Celine Dion, Maroon 5, Alicia
Keys, Mariah Carey and Kenneth
‘Babyface’ Edmonds have
all graced the stage.
“During the virtual launch,
you will have opportunity to
hear from organizers, select artists
and main sponsors about
the return of the festival and the
three-day virtual extravaganza,”
it said.
For more information, email
Lyndon Taylor at lyndon.taylor@
finnpartners.com.
/finnpartners.com
