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inserting myself into this--is that during the 1960 Democratic Convention, when I was a floor reporter for NBC and was also keeping in touch with the King people, I did watch King take one phone call. I cannot recall exactly what was going on at that time, but perhaps he was a little frustrated. I asked him “What are you going to do about this school issue?” He said, “We're likely to ask for the federalizing of the school system.”

Did he?

He did not, and when I sent in my report to the desk, the editor turned it down as “unimportant.” [laughter]

I think it's very important.

But I never heard about it again. Let me go back to A. Philip Randolph. We didn't cover this much earlier. Did he talk to you about his forming the Negro American Labor Council--which was in about 1959, 1960--and its motivation?

I don't know whether it was Phil that talked to me about that or Ben [Benjamin] McLauren. It certainly wasn't in any detail. I think Ben McLauren was involved in staffing, in trying to get that off the ground. I think; I'm not sure.

Do you have any recollection of the quarrel that A. Philip Randolph and George Meany had? Perhaps I should say George Meany's