North Carolina Interview: Brooks Hays

Article about Brooks Hays along with personal interview in (We the people of) North Carolina magazineNorth Carolina interview: BROOKS HAYS It wasn't long after Brooks Hays took up residence in North Carolina that he was tapped for service to the state. Governor Scott appointed him as Chairman of the Good Neighbor Council in 1969; it is a post for which he is abundantly qualified by experience and temperament. A native of Arkansas, Mr. Hayes is a lawyer, one of the nation's most outstanding Baptist laymen, a veteran of eight terms in the U. S. House of Representatives, the author of several books, former Assistant Secretary of State and later Special White House Assistant during the Kennedy Administration, former Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Public Affairs at Rutgers University, and now Director of the Evangelical Institute at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. Hays was an early advocate of moderation and understanding in the critical area of race relations; his views brought him wide criticism from his native state and resulted finally in his defeat in the Arkansas Congressional primaries of 1958. Soon after he moved to North Carolina, friends sought to persuade [sic] Hays to run for Congress as a Democrat in the 5th Congressional District, for the seat held by Republican Congressman Wilmer Mizzell. Hays decided not to get in the race and soon thereafter agreed to Governor Scott's request that he become Good Neighbor Council Chairman. The following interview with Hays was conducted in Raleigh on May 4. N.C.: Mr. Hays, you didn't have to wait long after moving to North Carolina before your services were called on. Hays: No, but I consider myself a full-fledged Tar Heel. I've been visiting in North Carolina for 40 years; I knew a good deal about the state before moving here. I think I've made speeches on about 260 college campuses around the country and North Carolina leads the list - I've spoken on 22 campuses in the state and I think I know its academic life about as well as its political life. N.C.: You served the Kennedy Administration in the early 1960's in the State Department and later as a White House assistant. What caused you to leave government service? Hays: President Kennedy's death took the heart out of a lot of us. President Johnson asked me to stay on, but I had been offered the Rutgers professorship and saw that as a fine opportunity to enter the academic community to which I've always felt close. N.C.: How would you describe your stance in social, political and economic terms? NORTH CAROLINA/JUNE 197