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"Rev. James Bevel, who directed the voter registration drive in Selma for the (SCLC), had come to Chicago . . . He subsequently became King's Chicago project director." --Lionel Lokos, House Divided, p. 234, 1968
"With King in Chicago-and Bevel out-Kinging King--the city of Chicago announced a massive crackdown on building violations." -Ibid., p. 236
"For weeks King and Raby searched for the issue that would turn on the nation . . . Finally, King and cerebral top Chicago aide, James Bevel, decided on open housing . . . they selected 'the campaign to end slums' as their motto." --Barbara Reynolds. Jesse Jackson, The Man, The Movement, The Myth
"King himself was not in complete control of the plans of the SCLC. Decisions in Chicago were being made by the charismatic Jim Bevel and by Andrew Young, who controlled the finances of the movement. Dr. King, flying in and out, went along their strategies."
--Eugene Kennedy. Himself! The Life and Times of Mayor Richard Daley
MOVEMENT TO END THE WAR IN VIETNAM, 1967
Objective: To bring about an end to U.S. involvement in what was considered an illegal and unjust war.
"James Bevel showed up on King's doorstep. Bevel had come to discuss the Vietnam War . . . Bevel asked King for a leave of absence to take the 'Spring Mobe' position. Advocating nonviolence to American Blacks at home morally required insisting that the U.S. practice it internationally." --David Garrow. Bearing the Cross, p. 543
"On January 27, 1967, the Rev. James Bevel went on leave of absence from the SCLC to become national director of the spring mobilization to End the War in Vietnam." --Lionel Lokos. House Divided, p. 376
"King, who had not yet spoken out forcefully against the war and had never taken part in an antiwar demonstration . . . felt a strong moral compulsion to join the antiwar ranks, but I am convinced that he finally yielded on both these points when James Bevel and I convinced him that the mobilization was going to be a tremendous success with or without him, and that he was in danger of letting history pass him by." --Dave Dellinger. More Power Than We Know, p. 115
"It bears repeating that the man who organized the march on the Pentagon in October, 1967, was the same man who had organized the Fifth Avenue parade in April-the Rev. James Bevel." --Lionel Lokos, Ibid., p. 402
MEMPHIS AND THE POOR PEOPLE'S CAMPAIGN, 1968
Objective: Demand for jobs or a guaranteed annual income
"If Dr. King had lived, there would never have been a Poor People's Campaign." --Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy interview in LOOK Magazine, April 15, 1969, p. 29
"Dr. King was forced to wrestle over the campaign plan up until the time he told Ralph Abernathy his final decision against going ahead, probably no one else, except for his wife, Coretta, knew he had decided not to lead the poor to Washington." --Andrew Young. Ibid., p. 30
"No one was really enthusiastic about the Poor People's Campaign" . . . "Jim Bevel and Jesse Jackson in particular remained openly opposed." --David Garrow. Ibid., p. 616
"The Poor People's Campaign, whether it was a total failure or a qualified success, has sent the organization's standing plunging to a new, all-time low." --George Goodman. Ibid., p. 29
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