Bishop had a dry sense of humor that wasn’t to everyone’s taste. My father loved him, and Comedy Central had him on a list of the 100 greatest comedians of all time
W/r to Sammy Davis and JFK’s nomination, it was a political, not personal, decision, but of course a terrible one. (This was one of the things that Buckley-style conservatives used to trot out when asserting that the GOP should be the natural home for African-American voters. ) JFK could have used the inauguration as a bully pulpit to move the country forward. As it was, interracial marriage remained illegal in the states surrounding D.C. for another 7 years. F***ing country.
Deano boycotted the inauguration because of it:
