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Remembrances of Reagan
I first met Ronald Reagan when
he was campaigning for president in 1980. I was the student government
association president at South Carolina State University and was in
attendance at a political rally organized by Reagan confidantes Lee Atwater
and Senator Strom Thurmond. Both had been gracious enough to mentor me.
During the campaign, they assured me that if Reagan won, I would have a
government appointment waiting for me.
On May 11, 1981 I began my appointment at the Department of Agriculture in
Washington, DC. The Department had no idea what to do with this twenty-one
year old young kid who had been deposited at their doorstep. So they put me
in charge of coordinating their 1982 Black History Month celebration. At the
time, Reagan was being labeled anti-black, anti-poor, anti-civil rights. In
particular, the Republicans were getting flack for not reaching out to the
traditional civil rights organizations.
At the time the newspapers were studding their headlines about Richard Pryor
setting himself on fire while freebasing cocaine. Something compelled me to
look beyond the drug incident. I discovered that Pryor had marched with Dr.
Martin Luther King at the poor people's march and had given back
significantly to the community. I got in touch with Pryor's attorney, Terry
Giles, who set up a conference call. After which, Pryor agreed to
participate on the condition that he get to meet with President Reagan
following the event.
People in Pryor's camp were hesitant at first. They thought the
administration was simply trotting Pryor on stage in order to deflect
criticism about their indifference to black Americans. At the same time the
White House was cautious because they feared he might use the occasion to
launch into one of the vulgar tirades that was a staple of his stand up act.
Nothing could be further from Pryor's mind. He told me it was the first time
anyone had asked him to deliver a serious speech. Having marched with Martin
Luther King, Pryor was deeply sensible about the gravity of the occasion. He
saw this as an opportunity to shed his clown persona and honor the legacy of
Dr. King by speaking about something that was of importance to all
Americans.
That was good enough for President Reagan, who expressed to Senator Thurmond
how much he was looking forward to having Richard Pryor as his guest at the
White House Black History Month reception. Senator Thurmond passed the good
news along to me, with one important addendum: if this blew up, I would be
out of a job. Thankfully, I was too naive to understand the possible
repercussions of what I was doing.
When Richard Pryor arrived in DC, he hugged me and said, "Thank you for
honoring me, I look forward to meeting President Reagan. When everyone else
was dumping on me because of my problems, you guys reached out. I am
grateful." The next day Pryor strolled out to the atrium at the Department
of Agriculture. Over 10,000 people were in attendance. An Official from the
White House gave me a wink. I smiled back.
The next day, the Washington Post style section ran a headline reading, "The
Jester Weeps." At the White House reception, President Reagan gave me a bear
hug and thanked me for making it happen. He then hugged Richard Pryor, and
confided that he and Nancy had been praying for him. Reagan paused for a
moment, then leaned forward and said, "Thank you for remembering the legacy
of Dr. King, because he showed us all how to get along as God's children."
Pryor and Reagan then exchanged anecdotes first about Hollywood, and then
about Dr. King. Reagan talked about how he cried when he heard that Dr. King
had been assassinated. Pryor's eyes swelled with tears. President Reagan,
Senator Thurmond and Richard Pryor stood there for quite some time, leaning
forward in conversation, heads rolling in laughter.
I'll never forget that scene. Pryor was not a traditional spokesperson for
the black community. Senator Thurmond and President Reagan were pretty
uncommon in their own right. Together they were a testament to people with
different backgrounds and diverse perspectives coming together to haul us
all along as a community.
www.armstrongwilliams.com
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