Yes. I came home. I was at home. I would work three weeks, and then I
would come home and spend a week. So I was home. I came to Chicago, and
I spoke for a minister there in church. And I left there that Monday and
came on home. Well, I was on my way to the Council on Human Relations
office, and I kept my radio on, when the news came through that Kennedy
had been shot. And I was just home on leave. And oh, I had worked at a
little district office, and so when
Page 40 I came on home
I just couldn't believe it, to see what was happening afterwards. [unknown] But anyway, L. C. asked me, "So what are you
going to do?" I said, "I'm [unknown] going back." [unknown] But I didn't go back. They sent me my check. I
had one more [unknown] check coming. And when Johnson came
down and talked to Reeves—this is Frank Reeves—he said, "Where's Daisy
Bates? They said she used to be around here." And they said, "She is at
home." "Where's home?" "In Little Rock. She's staying in Little Rock."
[unknown] . He said, "Why isn't she working?" [unknown] "You know she can't get a job in Arkansas." He
said, "Well, suppose you get her here Thursday, a meeting." He said,
"I'll call her." He said, "Then [unknown] make a
reservation for her at the Mayflower, and call her." So he called me,
and he said, "The President commands your presence on Thursday morning.
I'm going to take you to his office at nine o'clock." And I thought he
was kidding. [unknown] He said, "No, I'm not kidding." I
said, "You're not kidding?" He said, "No, President Johnson wants to see
you." Mr. Bates was crazy about President Johnson. So sure enough, the
man at the ticket office called and said, "We have a ticket for you."
American Airlines. And so I said, "Okay, [unknown] . They
called; I went on down and picked up the ticket, and that must have been
on Monday or Tuesday, and packed. And on Wednesday
Page 41
evening, [unknown] I got there about nine-something, and
went to see Johnson the next morning. And he was one of the nicest
persons to work for. And he gave me a raise in salary. I think I was
making under Kennedy about ten thousand dollars. [unknown]
And he raised it two thousand. He said, "Well, what were you making?" So
he upped it to twelve thousand.