Excerpts of Remarks of Hon. Brooks Hays at the Statewide Civil Rights Informational Meeting - Page 2

Speech given at the Statewide Civil Rights Informational Meeting reflecting on the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 19642. He spoke of the economics of the situation and those of you who have had access to his speech will recall that he charted the advantages to be gained from admitting the Negroes of Arkansas to a larger participation in our economic and educational life. The whole tone of our society-would be improved. "While he stressed economic considerations, I felt as I told him later, that something of his Methodism came shining through, I do not believe that we can separate altogether the economic and moral phases of this basic problem. The other comment that I had in mind was in a conversation in another State between one of my fellow lawyers and a business man from Mississippi. My Arkansas friend was very critical of the Federal Government's participation in the 1957 experience. To this, the Mississippian said "But there are two things to remember - since we have lost the battle, the Nation has decided that we must change and I see no other course. Second, I must say as a Mississippian holding pretty much the same general feelings about race relations and accustomed to the old pattern that I can not in good conscience say that the Nation is wrong". We have reached the stage in Southern life in which the cooperative approach, as distinguished from the paternalistic approach, is to be preferred in our Region. Southern people on the whole have always had a kindly attitude toward the minority race but this kindness has had an individual emphasis and we have been slow to respond to the Negro's aspirations as a race. We have done things for him, now we must find ways of doing things with him