Afterthoughts
Writing this was difficult, for I was present as an observer on some of the nights, and the memory still evokes strong feelings. I have tried to let the facts speak for themselves. I chose to omit names, except for the people whom I believe would still take pride in the roles they played.
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Perhaps this next point does not matter, but I feel compelled to add it, lest my writing mislead readers about Arizona's Sen. Barry Goldwater. His rather disastrous 1964 Presidential campaign, largely managed by GOP "insiders," left many people with the impression that Goldwater was a racist. He was not.
In 1964, Goldwater wanted to openly repudiate the KKK's offer of support for his campaign, but the Republican Party overruled him. Coming from Phoenix, which was still segregated at that time, he chose not to publicize the fact that for years, he had personally financed efforts by blacks in Arizona to organize, in order to work towards improving their social standing. Although he initially opposed the new Civil Rights Act on constitutional grounds, national events later led him to give it his full support.
Had Barry Goldwater been present at Hicksville during those eight days, he doubtless would have felt greater kinship with Lincoln Lynch than with the counter demonstrators.
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