Truman, Eisenhower civil rights records reexamined

More than a half-century has passed since Dwight Eisenhower left office, yet the details of his presidency remain clouded in myth, party politics and misunderstandings. Author and historian Irwin F. Gellman may clear up some of those persistent questions.

Gellman will give a free lecture at the National Archives at Kansas City on Oct. 8. The Harry S Truman Center for Governmental Affairs at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is also a host and sponsor for “Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower: Myths and Realities of the Civil Rights Struggle.” Other presenting partners are the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. A free light reception will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the lecture at 6:30 p.m.

Common knowledge holds that Eisenhower distrusted Richard Nixon, his vice president, and kept his distance; that Ike did little to advance civil rights; that he silently stood by as Joe McCarthy’s brutal anticommunist witch hunt threatened to ruin Ike’s administration; and that he planned the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. According to Gellman, none of this is true.

Gellman reveals a man whose complex relationships with Truman and Richard Nixon nonetheless advanced the cause of civil rights. Eisenhower completed the desegregation of the military begun by Truman, followed by both Eisenhower and Nixon shepherding the Civil Rights Act of 1957 through the Senate. Eisenhower wanted to stop McCarthy, and did. Gellman will discuss the civil rights records of Truman and Eisenhower, putting their accomplishments – and shortcomings – into historical context.

Gellman is supervisor of special education teachers at West Chester University, where he has spent over 30 years as a teacher. In 1999 he established Gellman Education Associates, a firm that works to assist students with special needs. He is the author of four earlier books on American presidents. “The President and the Apprentice: Eisenhower and Nixon, 1952-1961” was published earlier this year. He is currently at work on a book about Nixon and JFK.

For more information, you may log on to the Truman Center’s upcoming lectures website, or contact Truman Center director Dale Neuman at 816-235-2787 or neumand@umkc.edu. To make a reservation for this program, call 816-268-8010 or email kansascity.educate@nara.gov. Requests for ADA accommodations must be submitted at least five business days prior to the event.