The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 165 - The Racism of Maryland Route 40

Episode Date: April 4, 2016

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine Route 40 in the early 60's and it's delightful racism.SOURCESTOUR DATES REDBUBBLE MERCH

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telling you mate you're done well mate yeah good job mate well done yeah good on you mate. You're listening to the dollop this is an American History podcast each week. I read a story to my friend. Gary Reynolds has got no idea what the topic will be about. I mean are you... I'm a character for this one mate yeah is he like in graph English my mate bit of a gangster yeah okay yeah tough yeah got your back though you're one of good ones you're David okay you're alright Dave appreciate it yeah okay I'm just gonna go on with the podcast. Yeah yeah you do your thing mate do your thing yeah I'm just here watch mate yeah okay do you want

to do? I'll do one bottle. People say this is funny. Not Gary Gira. Dave okay. Someone or something is tickling people. Is it for fun? And this is not gonna come to tickling quite good. Okay. You are Queen Fakie of made-up town. All hail Queen Shit of Liesville. A bunch of religious virgins go to mingle and do what? Pray. Hi Gary. No. Nicely done my friend. We'd like to thank our sponsors at Patreon. You guys make this podcast possible right all the subscribers all the peeps who help out. Couldn't agree more Dave. We really appreciate it. I love you. Dave took a real weird turn. What do you mean? Honesty is a weird turn? That's a weird

turn. Honesty is? Yeah okay. Well the way you did it. I think honesty isn't. Yeah no honesty I guess for you someone who's. Oh stop. Emotionally bankrupt. Emotionally bankrupt. August 10th 1930. Hey asshole we'll deal with that later but I am not emotionally bankrupt. This GDP is thriving emotionally. Very very threatening very very defensive. Oh really? Maybe I should take my buddy from earlier in the podcast and go beat you up out back. Your cat is being ridiculous. Look he's having fun on a computer. Pedro San Juan was born in Havana Cuba. His father was a classical composer conductor and founder of the Havana Philharmonic

Orchestra. What year is this? I'm sorry 18. 1930. 1930. His mother was a Spanish professor and writer. As a child Pedro's family traveled through Spain and were there when the Spanish Civil War broke out. Okay. After living through years of war they escaped through the Basque Mountains and eventually Basque went back to Cuba in 1939. They then immigrated to the United States in 1941 settling in South Carolina. Okay. Pedro was shocked at the treatment of black people in America. I don't know why. Yeah I mean what he's never seen one one culture enslave another for no reason. I mean what come on based on the

color of their skin. Live a little. It was not how life was in Cuba. He said so called decent white people treated blacks as less than human. Nonetheless Pedro became a U.S. citizen in 1947. He was riding around town with some friends in high school when his friends just started shooting into the black part of town for the hell of it. It's gotta be so like if you're him they're just like yeah look at that girl that's fun yeah what do you feel like doing later guys. Hey I'm gonna shoot in this ghetto for a second. You're like all right guys we're just having fun. Hey you're like psychopath. Now we're having fun for a minute. Remember

girls milkshakes that's what we were talking about. Pedro got out of the car and walked home. When Pedro was 26 he served as a Naval Intelligence Officer for two years in Germany. He met and married his wife on June 21st 1958. Her father was a top Latin American expert at the State Department. Pedro decided to work on Latino outreach for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1960. Of course this is when the Cold War was in full swing. Now the late 50s and early 60s were a turbulent time for Africa. Several nations became independent in 1960. Newspapers called it the year of Africa. They needed a few more

apparently. Yeah right. The UN was also greatly affected. Now the balance of power was thrown out of whack as the African voting block made up about a quarter of the General Assembly. This meant the US had to create alliances by building and maintaining relationships with these new countries. John F. Kennedy had seen it coming as a senator in 1957 when he said quote the sweep of African nationalism is the most potent factor in foreign affairs today. We can resist it or ignore it but for only a little while we can see it exploited by the Soviets with grave consequences. Or we in this country can

give it hope and leadership and thus improve immeasurably our standing and our security. Smart. Kind of smart right. Yeah it's smart. No wonder we had to get killed. Thank you. This became a big part of his platform in 1960. Another part of his platform was civil rights but when he got into office that quickly took a back seat. He postponed promised executive action on federally assisted housing and integrated integrating the National Guard. He was going for quote minimum civil rights action. A Kennedy loyalist said there was a quote a firm belief that there is no possible chance of passing a civil rights bill.

Unfortunately America's horrific racism was a problem for arriving African diplomats who are now black instead of white. Yeah I'm sure I like the there's it's so upsetting to always know that whenever a pot like whenever someone gets a leg that since probably even before Kennedy but even since then you still are talking not only about civil rights but when someone gets into office doing what they fucking said they would do and they just they just recognize they can't and they don't fuck it. Ghana had recently gained independence from Britain in 1957 the Ghanaian finance minister went to a Howard Johnson's

restaurant but was refused a glass of orange juice because he was black. That is so I mean like he's yeah and he's like I am the ambassador from Ghana. They're like yeah why don't you get outside there's a certain water fountain you can drink from Mr. Unbelievable the nerve to come inside and Ghana's not even a place dummy. Instead he was given the juice in a to-go container to take outside where he was allowed to drink it. Drink outside where you're allowed to drink it. I have a an enormous mention where I come from yeah yeah okay well drink it there. Drink it out yeah go to your mansion and drink your OJ. Get out.

The waitress told him he could not sit at a table because quote colored people are not allowed to eat in here. Can you I'll stop but can you imagine just like here it's like if you heard that now I feel like I'm fucking sorry. Fucking crazy. President Eisenhower invited the finance minister to breakfast at the White House to make up for the blatant racism. Another African American diplomat. And then at the White House they were like you're not allowed to go in that side. Don't please don't. Don't use the silverware. Don't use the silverware. Can we get the plastic self mayor for the finance. He'll eat with his

hands won't you sir. Another African diplomatic secretary was driving in Washington DC when he was told quote black nigger get that car out of here get away or we'll lynch you. When the diplomat asked what was wrong he was promptly pulled from his car and beaten up. Oh my god. By the way if you I will be using that word because it is historically accurate for what happened. That is crazy though. Yeah. In 1959 a Ghanaian ambassador was refused service on Route 40 in Maryland. Route 40 was the major road in and out of Washington DC. The treatment of black diplomat diplomats was being noted and it

started to get major press in 1960. The Washington Post wrote an article in August 1960 titled DC is a hardship post for Negro diplomats. They were experiencing problems finding houses and places to eat. One African diplomat said if you tell an African you're going to go to America and starve they're like what was that was happening. How's that possible. What do you mean. One African diplomat said quote we have no particular affection for Russians but their imperialism isn't racist. When they did find a place to live owners would charge them a higher rate to compensate for their color. Well that's what we

call the black tax hack. You got to pay an extra third because obviously you weigh what. You're not the same as us. You color different. Is ya. I am an ambassador from Ghana. Then you can afford it from where I'm sitting. Fucking assholes. Boy. Assholes. I'm older than you. In November 1960 two Ghanaian diplomats went to a polling place in Georgia to observe the presidential election procedures. Where do they think they're doing. Possibly for use in their own country. Well I hopefully they would be put in some sort of tank or something to watch this. But as soon as they entered the white voters became

enraged. Police were called and the diplomats were told to quote get out of here or there will be trouble. Diplomats. The police then not only diplomats but diplomats invited to watch the polling. The police then pushed the diplomats out of the building and roughed them up a bit. I'll teach you for coming here and trying to learn our ways. All right. That'll teach you to try to spread democracy in your land. Now you know. By late November the Oregonian reported that President-elect Kennedy and the State Department were worried about the treatment of African diplomats particularly the standard policy of not

renting to black people in Washington DC. They were often told to their face we don't rent to Negroes. This meant they often couldn't find places to live near their embassies. Well. It's awkward. It's tough. Yeah. They're about a hundred representatives. Just say it's credit. Yeah we ran your credit. Yeah there's so many lies you could make. That's what I mean. It's like and I don't know which is worse. Like because there's definitely racism today but it's just the idea that you could so publicly be like no you can't eat here or be like well we can't rent to you because you're black. Well it was just a matter of fact.

Yeah. Matter of black. I like to say. There you go. There are about a hundred representatives from 16 new African countries expected to arrive in the next few months. One diplomat spent six months looking for a two-bedroom apartment but could not find one. Holy shit. Another African embassy worker settled into a white neighborhood but moved after his tires were slashed and he kept getting death threats slipped under his door. Well it's it's it's always nice to get a note. Well that's just a welcoming committee. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Kennedy wrote to President Eisenhower's Secretary of State expressing

great concern on how this would reflect on the US. He didn't want the housing situation to jeopardize US relations with the African countries. The real estate board agreed to give housing requests from diplomats the same special treatment they gave to members of Congress. That's nice but just not any other blacks. Right. A gone in diplomat received a note that was addressed. Dear head nigger. The letter said blacks were not wanted in the US and was signed by Count August W. von Holzen earn Haufenhofer a white American for a white South Africa. Wait. That's that's a real name. That goes. I got a

lot of a genus. That's his real name. Well I mean I'm sorry to make that the headline I'm going with but what is his name. It's I'm surprised you're not more struck by the dear head. Look we'll get to it. Okay. But what the hell is his name. August W. von Holzen earn Haufenhofer. I mean that's bananas. Yeah. No it's completely bananas. Okay. Sounds like a made of cartoon races. Let's talk about how crazy it is to start with deer or head head. Yeah. Jesus. I mean the deer is a weird way to start it. The worst thing I can say. You just start with the H. H. M. Now at this time Pedro San Juan put on JFK sub cabinet

committee on now this time Pedro San Juan was put on JFK sub cabinet committee on civil rights. Pedro learned that an African delegate to the U. N. had once been barred from an airport restaurant in Atlanta. Instead he was made to sit on a stool in a hanger in a hanger where he was allowed to eat his sandwich alone just surrounded by planes. Just a stool of a stool or a bucket maybe like a fucking mechanic on a break in a hanger where he where they let him eat a sandwich. Let him. He was allowed to eat a sandwich. Well we gave him a stool in a space. That's the diplomat treatment. Here you go. That delegate was now the

prime minister of an African country. Oh my god. Okay. Just imagine how this is problem. Imagine. Imagine in this day and age not even black or whatever any prime minister being in this country. Yeah. And he's eating alone on a stool a sandwich. I mean. Oh god. It's the old thing in Hollywood where you don't talk shit about people because you never know what they're gonna be. Yeah. You never exactly. Pedro proposed and created a new office special protocol service section under the office of protocol of the State Department. His first report discussed how discrimination against African and Asian diplomats was a

problem for the war against communism. Diplomats usually belong to social clubs. It's one of the ways they do business. But in DC all the social clubs were segregated and they weren't about to change their ways for the foreign relations of the United States. Pedro proposed starting a new non-segregated club for members of foreign service. Oh boy. He also recommended the State Determined Department determine which restaurants would not allow black people and inform all African diplomats so they wouldn't be embarrassed. I love how you have to like carve out rules and racism. Yeah. For this particular

situation. Welcome to America. Yeah. Here's a list of our racists. Welcome. Here's where you can eat comfortably. So I can just go to IHOP. No my god. No no no. Sorry. Look at the list. Did you read the list? Do not go to IHOP. I don't see Denny's. Oh my god. Listen. Listen to me sir. Sir. Do not go to a Denny's. Okay. Do not. What about this restaurant called Sambos. You are not allowed to go to Sambos. Okay. Subway. No my god. Are you out of your mind sir. We want you to live. Okay. No. Okay. No. You can't go to any of those places. Okay. Okay. Yes. Look at that. You can go to the egg shack. I don't know where. Look at that. You can go

to the egg shack. You can go to chili buckets. Okay. Sir. I swear to god. If you say IHOP again. It's the only reason I came here. Well you are. Look. I wish I wish you could go to the International House of Pancakes. But unfortunately. This is international. I understand how vexing that is. But regardless you're not allowed to go anywhere near there. Yeah. IHOP you die. Okay. The list of places they shouldn't go was expanded to stores, barbershops and other public establishments. Get a haircut before you come on your visit. And hotels in each town that would accept black people. Motel six. Yeah. Now based on the previous

orange juice incident at the Howard Johnson's in 1957 Howard Johnson the president of Howard Johnson's expressed regret. Oh my bad. In March 1961 Sierra Leone Ambassador Dr. William H. Fitzjohn was not allowed into a Howard Johnson restaurant in Hagerstown, Maryland along Route 40. He had thought based on what he was told that Howard Johnson's was one of the restaurants that now served blacks. Oh my god. Why would you want to come here? The State Department sent a letter asking the restaurant chain to explain its policy. Yeah. The manager of the local Howard Johnson's explained quote. Oh fuck. We're

in a peculiar situation here. We didn't serve them before but we're in the process of changing over. Changing over like it's a menu shift. It was the policy of the former owner not to serve Negroes but he died last fall and his wife took over the business. We intend to start serving Negroes this week. So you let him know that if he comes in after Thursday we can serve him but Wednesday is our last day not allowing blacks in. Wednesday is a non Negro day. Thursday brand new day bringing Negro two for one off eggs. Okay. Two for and that's good that's good all day. All day. Also he can't make eye contact. No please. With

anyone. With the waitress especially. And he can't use the bathroom. Do not. The bathroom you can use outside. He can't sit in the booth but he can stand on a board. No I'm sorry. We actually changed that policy. He has to sit on the floor. He can sit on the floor. But there's a buffet. $2.99. All you can eat. $2.99. Endless pancakes. Not blueberry. And that is as many plates as you want. As many plates as you want. You cannot take the plate. He just has to eat it out of the toilet like a sick dog. Most of most blacks will be fed in the bathroom. But you're being served inside the restaurant which is our new policy. He will be fed by

having whites from the town who will come down and throw the food at his mouth at him. Wrapped. It will be bacon. Wrapped around a rock. Okay. He's gonna love it. Don't stand him. Welcome to America my friend. You asked why people would they don't want to come here but the UN is here so they have to come here. Yeah I just you think at some point they would just be like hey how about this get your shit together maybe we'll come when you're ready to like treat us like humans. Totally. Pedro also dodging a bullet by not eating at a Hojo's. Right. Yeah they don't know how lucky they are. Pedro

phoned and apologized to Ambassador Fitzjohn. He was assured that action was being taken to prevent the recurrence of such an unfortunate event. We plan on serving soon. A couple days later the mayor of Hagerstown and Howard Johnson of Howard Johnson's issued public apologies. Well that's good enough. From a Nigerian newspaper. Oh boy. Quote it is to be seen how a nation of Ku Klux Klan officials can bring world peace. Well that's hurt that's hurtful. The qualities of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson are non-existent anymore in America. From the Nigerian Daily Times. By this disgraceful act of racial

discrimination the United States forfeits its claim to world leadership. From the West African pilot. This act of racism against Fitzjohn clearly demonstrates that America is a country with a completely bankrupted racial policy. A country which still lives in the dark ages. Well actually they don't live in the dark ages. Do you think about it? Yeah no I got it. Okay. Yeah well it turns out you're gonna get some bad press in black nations if you won't serve them. But it is also amazing to think that Howard Johnson is in a Nigerian newspaper. This is the fucking 60s. And it is true too. That's where you

got to hit us is in our history. That's where like that's where we get affected. Then we're like well what are you talking about but it is true. Think about it. I mean Lincoln was fighting for like you know less segregation in the 1800s. And here you are in 1960 being like whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa you drink that OJ outside pal. I mean now John of Kennedy was like okay what the fuck. He wrote to Maryland. Okay what the fuck. He wrote to Maryland and six other state governors asking for them to help with the racism against diplomats situations in their states. Chicago Daily Tribune headline August April 20th second 1961.

East states asked by Kennedy to be nice to diplomats. Oh my god did you imagine. That's like adorable. Be nice to them please. But then American black people got involved. The black newspaper Washington Afro-American asked if the State Department was asking black diplomats to be treated well. Why wasn't the government asking the same for black Americans. Easy now. Okay. Oh boy. Someone relid this can of worms. Shit this is awkward. Get the lid back on this worm can. The governor of Maryland told the paper that he was quote aware of the situation but there was a matter of property rights and he would take no action. What.

Well the people in the restaurants can do whatever they want. JFK asked the Justice Department about the federal government's legal jurisdiction over segregated Howard Johnson restaurants. Justice Department. I can't believe I'm like Kennedy being. I know them all being like listen the Howard Johnson did we need these diplomats need to eat at a Hojo and we also got to get them into a Shoneys. Hojo is going to make everyone be communist. Hojo. The Justice Department said they couldn't do anything. Kennedy then told the Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges to ask Maryland businesses to voluntarily desegregate.

JFK wrote to the head of the NAACP explaining that the president wanted to end all discrimination but it was a state matter in the end. Yeah. He has no jurisdiction over getting rid of racism. No he can't. What are you going to do? Peter San Juan was then sent to Maryland to talk to restaurant and hotel owners along Route 40. Yeah I'm sure they were like oh they were like oh we can't wait to listen to this Cuban tell us about what we need to do racially. Yeah right. One restaurant owner said quote to the hell of the United Nations and the hell with your color diplomats I built this place with my sweat. Now you come up

here with your clean shirt and press pants and tell me how to run my business. Go back to Washington and tell Kennedy he can feed him. I wouldn't have a customer left if I let them people in here. He's mad at a clean shirt and nice pants. Well how dare he. You come in here looking all nice like he's not just like a goddamn fucking hillbilly and you want to tell me stuff with your fancy shirt. With your showers and your teeth. You know what I dress like this so I can treat people like they're different. I bet you ain't even got a scab on you anywhere. Not even on your penis. All right. I'm a go now I feel like I said too

much. Maybe the last thing was a little much now to think about it. I may have revealed a lot. I may have problems with my penis. How good day to you. Another owner of a hotel told Pedro quote I've been 13 years building up my clientele. I got one of the best restaurants and motels on the highway. I know most of my customers if they saw Negro come in here or walk out by the motel pool in a bathing suit they'd never come back. I'm not prejudiced mind you know but if I went along with you and opened up to Negroes I'd go out of business. All my help was white. Most of them girls from the South. They told me they'd as soon as

quit then clean up after colored people. I'm as patriotic as the next man. Jesus. I know what you're asking is in the best interest of the country but is the government prepared to subsidize two years worth of losses. It'll take two years for people to get used to it. How about this how about if you're the boss. You just tell these people to do their job and clean up. Here's a weird one. Why if you're in Maryland are you hiring Southern white racist waitresses. Yeah. Why not hired local racists. Well that's why we call it the racist cafe. So you're with you I understand what you're saying but that's off theme for this

particular restaurant. Okay. Welcome to Ignorant Watts. How you doing. What kind of toast you want. What. And your eggs egg whites. Egg white. You want some cream in your coffee. No coffee just a glass of cream. Jesus Christ. This one's painful to reading in. Oh boy. No just the whole thing is just. Yeah. Well it should be. Maryland's longest serving state senator then accused Kennedy of meddling. He also told restaurant owners to resist. Quote a man engaged in private business in which there is no public money has a right to conduct that business as he sees fit. Pedro. It's so funny because this is literally the argument we are still

having about homosexuals being able to go in businesses in some states. Absolutely correct. And they're they're really. And they're falling under the same umbrella of it's like almost like the freedom of business like you're allowed your business you're allowed to dictate your clientele which again is just I mean it is just like a you know it's like a different form of segregation. We just had these fucking this bakery. Yeah. For two black two gay people. Yeah. It's no fucking different. Yeah. It's absolutely. I don't understand like I never understand the idea that like because a lot of this will come from you know I

don't think you're speaking out of turn if you say that like in the South there is a deeper racism right like there's more like it's just that I mean that's obviously what the Civil War was over but then it comes from this sort of like religious sect where you would think that the wouldn't be the case that you would be Jesus was a black man. You would be influenced by the idea of like love for all of them and like compassion and understanding and progression and all this stuff but you're like well for everything but not when it comes to race it's just like or like sexual orientation. Yeah they're fucking it's just crazy.

Alright. Pedro's protocol. That's why I'm opening a cake store that only serves to gays. It's the best kind of cake store. It's called what? Gakes. Pedro's protocol office issued another report stating that African diplomats thought the government didn't care about segregation but that they didn't think they had to comply with the segregation laws. As diplomats and honored guests they felt they have the same rights and privileges as all diplomats. At the point the protocol office was actively helping African diplomats find housing but it was still just as problematic. It would often take months. Oh my god. It was obvious

Washington real estate owners kept blacks out of the better residential areas of the city. The office saw the only way to change this was with new laws. Either way African diplomats now saw Washington DC as a hardship post. And it's like it's DC. Yeah. The protocol office also wanted to establish a beach for diplomats because all beaches within reach were segregated. Are you fucking shitting me? No. They needed to come up with a diplomat beach. Yeah. Funny the only people I ever see here are fellow diplomats. And finally they tried to get the Africans to sell their companies to the office instead of the press. Which

was happening more and more frequently. Feels good. In June 1961 Adam Melick Sow the ambassador of Chad left New York for Washington DC. He stopped at the Bonnie Brair diner on Route 40 for a cup of coffee. When he walked into the diner he was told by a waitress quote the restaurant does not serve people of your color. That's the way it is here. So explained that oh shit another fucking autograph. So explained that that kind of discrimination would not benefit her country's relations with Africa. Oh man. She then told him to get his ass out. Oh God. He did. When a reporter asked her about the incident a couple of days

later she said he looked like an ordinary run-of-the-mill nigger to me. I couldn't tell he was an ambassador. Well you know what they say about diplomats they all look the same. 1961. Just so everybody's keeping track. It's also cool to learn about someone being a diplomat and then still feel comfortable enough to drop the head bottom. Right. Yeah. Better than you waitress lady. Yeah. Well he just looked like a regular nigger. If we're talking about you know where people are in their lives. Yeah. Diplomat. Yeah. Better than you. Yeah. Oh yeah. Now the governor of Maryland stepped up and said what happened was

an insult to everyone in Chad and asked the people of Maryland. I never even met Chad. He sounds like a dick. Asked the people of Maryland to put their nation above personal interests. Meanwhile the Soviet Union started a propaganda campaign about the racist incidents in America. I mean that's amazing. Yeah. Smart. So smart. Fuck yeah. August 29th 1961 two reporters from the Afro-American newspaper put on tuxedos while the third reporter dressed in maroon robes and a gem covered leopard print crown. What's like lost in America. The three Americans are dressing up. OK. They then headed to route 40 in a

borrow limo. They had fake identities made from the fake country of go bon. They then went from route 40 restaurant to route 40 restaurant. At their first stop the robe covered diplomat got tangled in the robes and for several minutes couldn't get out of the car. When they eventually got in the waitress took them to a side dining room. The owner demands to know where they were from. Sorry. These are black guys. Yeah. OK. American black guys. OK. I just didn't know if they were black. OK. For a minute I thought they were white and I was like what's their angle. It doesn't prove anything. Yeah. They're like we're

going to go eat for free. At the next restaurant the double T diner the manager asked them for their diplomatic credentials before he would serve them saying it was state law. Later he told them he read National Geographic which had a lot about Africa. Sir. Sir. Sir. Sir. Sir. You just did the I have a black friend. It's even worse than that. It's just so. You know I read. I read about your people. Your your blacks in the National Geographic. If you're so black carry a basket on your head. Fuck. I see that. You know your topless. That's cool. The reporters then wrote that just by putting on costumes and using

accents they were given very different treatment than black Americans were given. Oh dude. I'm hoping that this and I know it doesn't but sets off just black people all dressing up like trying to get into restaurants now. That would be amazing. Like we can't actually validate your nation man. We'll have to put a pin in it. I'm looking at the ambassador from the Sotho right this way. Sir. You actually checked out over here. Sorry about that. Meanwhile. Peter San Juan was trying to create public support for accommodation legislation in the Maryland General Assembly. He had the green light from Kennedy to do what

he was needed. San Juan was able to address the Maryland Assembly and explain the importance for US interests. He told them foreign policy shouldn't be jeopardized over a 10 cent cup of coffee on September 25. When you put it like that. Yeah it's kind of yeah. On September 25th 1961 members of the Kennedy administration met with 200 business leaders along Route 40. They were told the president was asking them for assistance. They told the owners that the US was being embarrassed and this was an overriding issue for the country. The business owners were not impressed with the speech and that became

apparent when they were allowed to ask questions and make comments. Oh god. The first guest stood up and said what in the hell are you doing here. Oh my god. The most American the most American response to can we please be reasonable that is ever be reasonable. Let me get up and shout. Then the meeting descended into yelling and booing. They were not interested in desegregation whether it affected the safety of the US or not. They resented the government coming in and telling them what to do. They shouldn't have to. Before leaving the administration officials basically made a threat. They said if this wasn't

handled privately they were they would be forced to find another way. A government solution. The next month the committee of restaurant tours disbanded itself because the members believed quote that restaurant integration was a statewide problem not one limited to their corner of northeast Maryland. Oh fuck. The State Department initiated an equal opportunity employment program and went to major cities to recruit black college students and now Route 40 had a target on it from those fighting against segregation. Core the Congress of Racial Equality decided to target restaurants along Route 40 with sit-ins. Core said the State

Department opened Route 40 up for them to go after. That's so great. Like the idea that the government and like black protest styles have to unite in order to just get these assholes to learn a lesson. That's fucking crazy. Like legal black protest that you're just like yeah enjoy it. Go fuck yourself. They even sent a letter to the State Department of United Nations explaining what they were doing and that they'd be happy to help in the future. That's so great. They were planning for a thousand members to stage sit-ins at Route 40 restaurants on November 11th 1961. They wanted the governor to call a special session to

pass public accommodations law that had already passed committee but the governor refused. He thought it would just cause the bill to be defeated. Core said they would postpone the sit-in if 25 or 30 restaurants agreed to desegregate voluntarily and that's what happened on November 8th. 30 restaurants did. 35 restaurants did. Core postponed the sit-ins. Pedro San Juan said it was progress but not success. Then activists tested to see if the restaurants had actually desegregated. 25 of the 35 had. On December 16th Martin Luther King was arrested in Georgia and Route 40 was suddenly forgotten. Pedro wrote an

internal memo saying court helped with the Route 40 situation and a State Department speechwriter called him and told him he had quote appalling bed fellows. Wow. So maybe it's not as nice as you thought it was. It's awkward. February 1960 the public accommodations bill was introduced into the Maryland Assembly and then tabled by segregationists but the State Department kept pushing. The governor called a special session. Pedro came and told the segregationists that if they didn't pass the bill they were agents of the Soviet Union. Them's fighting words. That's like Colin Marty McFly chicken. It was rejected by two

votes. Damn it. In 1963 a new turnpike opened between Baltimore and the Delaware Bridge. I mean is that what it took? They're like well open a new goddamn freeway. That's a government solution isn't it. Is that really why? Well I couldn't find out why but if all this shit's going on and they start building a new turnpike come on. Welcome to Equals. Come on in anyone. Yeah. So they build a new turnpike between Baltimore and the Delaware Bridge making it unnecessary for motorists and truckers to use Route 40. Travelers on. If you're like the Route 40 restaurants are like all right well maybe we've been

idiots. Okay so guess what we're serving everybody. Sorry. Only blacks. Only blacks. I'm serving all commerce. Route 40 was dead. On July 1963 Pedro San Juan was assigned to what was described as administrative Siberia where he was quote kept under wraps. He was working for the special assistant for minority affairs which would coordinate equal opportunity in the State Department and look for black people to work in the Foreign Service and handle the ongoing problem of housing African diplomats. One top official at the State Department called Pedro quote a nigger lover who was stirring up trouble. Hey well. So that's

all good right? Whatever. Everybody happy? Look he's you know he's just just one dude talking. Jesus. The situation along Route 40 and the stubborn refusal by the restaurant owners and the Maryland legislators led to a remedy for the situation and was one of the reasons the government pushed the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Wow. It allowed an outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin and ended racial segregation in schools at the workplace and public accommodations. So they fucked they fucked with the government. They fucked with national security and that's one of the

main reasons for the Federal Civil Rights Act. That'll learn ya. Things worked out pretty well for Pedro San Juan in the end. He was awarded the Superior Honor Award of Department of State in 1965. He then worked for the Secretary of Defense from 1971 to 1975 and then the Office of International Security Affairs where he helped to ban the use of biological weapons. He was Director of the Defense Energy Task Force during the OPEC crisis. Blah, blah, blah. He was appointed by President Reagan as the first Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Territorial and International Affairs, Bush the first appointed to work at the

UN. In 2005, he wrote a book about his experience called The UN Gang, A Memoir of Incompetence, Corruption, Espionage, Antisemitism and Islamic Extremism at the UN. Oh my god. He also wrote satirical books. One was called W and Eddie in which presidential George W. Bush gets advice from a pet coyote. What? Pedro San Juan died at 82 in 2012. What? Yep. W and Eddie. W and Eddie. So that was fun. That was fun. God damn it. Our country is really. Well and then you think you know it's just like and and then you just you know you look around at like what's happening now and the racial pod is just again being like violently stirred by

yep by the politicians or like a sect of the population and or they're just being killed by police. Yeah. Well that's the like the Chicago thing is insane. Chicago thing is insane. So you know it's all insane but you know there there is still like you know we just can't get past racism. No. Like any and it feels like we've peaked with how or not peaked but we are definitely in a down from where we were you know like a few years ago. Well I think the internet is just bringing it all out. I think there's it's like the wild west of shitty things to say. Yeah. And so they're emboldened. Yeah. And they're all

meeting up. They're all meeting each other and gathering. Well and again now there's you know there's some sort of like yeah that I mean more more. Yeah again I mean like you look at Trump rallies like black people get fucking thrown out. Sucker punched. The shit kicked out of them. What about the black Trump supporter. The weird. The other guy. We talked about that. Black Trump supporter be a white guy. So now it's all when we're all off the map. Well but you will say this right that that that black dude probably lives like a king in the Trump world now like once he gets out of jail like he and the Trump world they're

like we found our good one. You're absolutely right. Yeah. He'll get like a sash. Yeah. Yeah he will. He'll get like a king black sash and he'll just be at the Trump rallies. That was a feel good story. Yeah. Well that that is not you know that's not as bad as like you know the slavery stories but it still is just like you know it's just the same shit a different day like all the time with the early 60s. Yeah I know and these are these are diplomats. Diplomats. I think I mean they built a freeway to stop it instead of like changing the thinking and people are mad at Trump but it's like that thinking hasn't gone away.

He's not doing anything but telling them what they want to hear. Yeah he's just they're still there. He's just doing he's winning every poll. That's what he's doing. Big hands. Small hands. Well this is quite a session. Yeah. I've enjoyed I've enjoyed our day. I enjoyed our falafel together at lunch and that's it really. All right. Yeah. Anything else to say. We are the dollop on Twitter. Yes. We the dollop on Facebook. Yep. We have a sub Reddit the dollop. Tell your friends tell your family. We like to party. Yeah love to party. We just got a dog. No good. Oh good the dogs are fighting. I told you if we waited just one more minute we could

hear a wild dog fight in the yard. Yeah. And Jose is and Jose is just sitting up like a human in a chair like who was a fucking cucumber. Just does not give a shit. Look at him. Look at me sitting. This is like whatever. He needs like a mini beer in his hand. I'm going back to licking my body. Yeah. I got bowling later so. All right. Well we signed cars. Yes we do.