Promises to Keep, by Joe Biden : on Civil Rights


1968: Wilmington riots failed at conversation between races

Wilmington was a strange place at the end of 1968. The city had been under martial law for nearly six months. The Democratic governor, Charles Terry, had called out the National Guard when rock and bottle throwing escalated to sniping, looting, & arson i the days following Martin Luther King's assassination.

Seven months after the rioting, Gov. Terry refused to call off the Guard. News cameras would show up to do stories about the only city where the Guard was still patrolling black neighborhoods. The white citizens were almost all happy to have the Guard there. They were afraid riots might ignite in the ghetto and spread. They were afraid Wilmington's police force wasn't big enough to keep it contained.

In the black neighborhoods of East Wilmington residents were afraid. Guardsmen were prowling the streets with loaded weapons. Curfews were in effect. The news had a way of making these stories seem like a conversation between the races, but I knew blacks & whites weren't talking to each other.

Source: Promises to Keep, by Joe Biden, p. 42-43 Jul 31, 2007

1978: opposed busing except for gov't-intended segregation

I'll never forget going to an event in the school gymnasium in a working-class town near Wilmington. Everybody in the room wanted to know where I really stood on busing. I tried to explain what I'd been doing in the Senate and the difference between de facto (or unintentional) segregation and de jure (or government-intended) segregation. But the audience wanted a full-out mea culpa and a hard statement that I despised busing. And I got hot. I wanted them to be clear where I stood. Look, I told them, I was against busing to remedy de facto segregation owing to housing patterns & community comfort, but if it was intentional segregation, I'd personally pay for helicopters to move the children. There were howls in the crowd.

I stand by this statement, but it was probably the single stupidest moment I could have chosen to make it. I actually felt physically threatened.

Busing took effect just a few weeks before the 1978 Election Day.

Source: Promises to Keep, by Joe Biden, p.127-128 Jul 31, 2007

  • The above quotations are from Promises to Keep:
    On Life and Politics    , by Joe Biden .
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Civil Rights.
2024 Presidential contenders on Civil Rights:
  Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA)
Chase Oliver(L-GA)
Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA)
Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL)
Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH)
Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN)
Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ)

2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE)
N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R)
N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R)
Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R)
S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R)
Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R)
Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN)
Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH)
S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R)
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