192. Memorandum From Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)1
Mac—
The President’s reaction to Lee White’s memo2 was that you (not Busby) should talk to Rusk about it. Rusk should take the main laboring oar since he’s particularly good with the American Negro leadership.3
On substance, Buz says the President feels he’s working to make the American Negro fully a part of American society and overcome his segregation from the white community. He doesn’t think it at all a good idea to encourage a separate Negro view of foreign policy. We don’t want an integrated domestic policy and a segregated foreign policy. The President recognizes the American Negro community’s natural interest in African affairs but doesn’t think they should make it their special province. They shouldn’t become a special interest group but should be interested in the totality of US policy as Americans. In short, I get loud and clear that the President wants to discourage emergence of any special Negro pressure group (a la the Zionists) which might limit his freedom of maneuver.4
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Africa, General, Vol. II, Memos & Miscellaneous, 7/64–6/65. Secret.↩
- Document 190.↩
- On January 7, Bundy sent a memorandum to Secretary Rusk saying that President Johnson hoped that the Secretary would talk with the American Negro leadership because he had a particularly high standing with them. The President wanted Rusk to make the point that the administration did not think it was a good thing to encourage a separate Negro view of foreign policy. He recognized the natural interest of the Negro leaders in African affairs, but hoped they would also be interested in the totality of U.S. foreign policy as Americans. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Africa, General, Vol. II, Memos & Miscellaneous, 7/64–6/65)↩
- A notation on the source text in Komer’s handwriting reads: “Amen.”↩