Press/Journalists

National Archives Hosts Discussion on LBJ’s White House Tapes April 28
Press Release · Monday, April 25, 2011

Newly transcribed LBJ recordings cover Mississippi Burning and passage of Civil Rights Act

Washington, DC…On Thursday, April 28, at 7 PM, the National Archives, in partnership with the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, will present a panel discussion and release the latest volumes of the Miller Center’s acclaimed series of annotated transcripts of President Lyndon Johnson’s White House tapes. This event is free and open to the public and will take place in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Attendees should use the Special Events Entrance, located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, NW

The Presidential Recordings, Lyndon B. Johnson: Mississippi Burning and the Passage of the Civil Rights Act, June 1, 1964 – July 4, 1964 zeroes in on 34 critical days in Johnson’s presidency and includes candid conversations Johnson had with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and others about America’s questionable role in Vietnam; the momentous phone call announcing that the Senate had just passed the Civil Rights Act; and the most recorded day in Johnson’s presidency as a crisis centered around three missing civil-rights workers developed in Mississippi. The undeniable strength of these transcriptions is the unique, “fly-on-the-wall” tour of history readers and listeners experience.

Joining the discussion and playing selections from the tapes will be Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize-winning author; David Coleman, chair of the Miller Center’s Presidential Recordings Program; Guian McKee, an associate professor at the University of Virginia; Kent Germany, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina; and David Carter, an associate professor at Auburn University.

The new volumes are the seventh and eighth in the Miller Center’s print series, The Presidential Recordings: Lyndon B. Johnson. They include more than 1,000 pages of annotated transcripts of conversations. The volumes also include a multimedia DVD, which has complete audio from Johnson’s tapes, a photo gallery and video from the period. A book signing will follow the program; the book is available at a discount from the Archives Shop (202-357-5271) before and during the event.

The National Archives is fully accessible. To request an accommodation (e.g., sign language interpreter) for a public program please e-mail public.program@nara.gov or call 202-357-5000 two weeks prior to the event to ensure proper arrangements are secured. To verify the date and times of the programs, call 202-357-5333, or view the Calendar of Events online.

About the Miller Center

Founded in 1975, the Miller Center of Public Affairs is a leading nonpartisan public policy institution that aims to fulfill Jefferson's public service mission by serving as a national meeting place for engaged citizens, scholars, students, media representatives, and government officials to research, reflect, and report on issues of national importance to the governance of the United States, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency.

About the National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration, an independent federal agency, is the nation's record keeper. Founded in 1934, its mission is unique -- to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries, and on the Internet at http://www.archives.gov/.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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