President Lyndon Johnson understood the politics of racism from the inside, saw it in part as a ploy to divide and conquer.
Lyndon Johnson once said to young staffer, Bill Moyers, “If you can convince the lowest white man that he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll even empty his pockets for you.”
LBJ was describing the politics of resentment and divisiveness.
