Eartha Kitt: The patriot who was right all along

[n2doc]

By John Nichols
December 29, 2008

Forty years ago, America's cultural icons expressed the frustration of the American people with the failure of President Lyndon Johnson to end this country's undeclared war in Vietnam by boldly demanding peace.

The nation's most respected newsman, CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, explained to a national television audience after the Tet Offensive that the war had gone horribly awry.

Singer Johnny Cash, whose music and style had made him a hero of blue-collar Americans, described himself as "a dove with claws" and began singing the anti-war song "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream."

But the most direct and powerful anti-war statement of the period was delivered by singer Eartha Kitt at the height of her celebrity.

Kitt, the sultry singer of hits such as "Santa Baby" who died at 81 on Christmas, was, in 1968, an internationally acclaimed music star who had begun making major stage and screen appearances.

So it came as no great surprise when she was invited to a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson. But the first lady was surprised when she asked Kitt about the Vietnam War. "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed," the singer told the first lady and the 50 other women at the luncheon. "They rebel in the street. They don't want to go to school because they're going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in Vietnam."

The first lady reportedly burst into tears. The president was furious. Kitt was blacklisted. She was investigated by the FBI and the CIA and ended up on the "enemies list" of Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon.

more:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-oped1229kittdec29,0,3382842.story

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

1. Didn't she go kinda rightwing in her old age...

and accuse Springsteen of "helping the enemy?"

[Luminous Animal]

2. Totally out of context.

"''I don't believe in war, because I think man is civilized enough to have a very strong debate,'' Ms. Kitt said. ''Leaders should debate and discuss before we rush into war. It may have been too much of a rush job. But now that we're there, we have to support our boys.''

She discussed BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, who does anti-Bush concerts.

''I think that Springsteen is playing into the hands of the enemy,'' she said. ''I think that it is wrong for us to stand on a stage where people have paid to hear us sing or play an instrument and entertain them -- it is the wrong place for politics. But if you ask me a question, if I was in the dressing room, I would give you an opinion.''

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E4DC133EF935A1575BC0A9629C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/S/Springsteen,%20Bruce

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

3. i see

thanks for the info
wasn't meaning to be rude - was genuinely asking

[malaise]

4. Eartha Kitt was one of my heroes

She was fearless and classy. Rest in peace Santa's Baby!!

[marshall]

5. Who knew Johnson started Nixon's "enemy list"

I've heard about the list for years. I didn't know they shared names.