Somewhere in the land is a college professor who has offered the opinion that Elvis Presley should be considered one of the major civil rights figures of the 20th century. That goes to show that no one is immune from making daffy remarks, not even college professors.
Which is not to say that Elvis didn't have his impact. He plainly did. But I've always felt his relationship with black Americans was, at best, ambiguous.
Years ago, when Pennsylvania Avenue was the cultural and economic hub of blacks in West Baltimore, Elvis' movies -- "Love Me Tender," "Jailhouse Rock," "King Creole" -- played to packed houses. But Elvis never played live at the Royal when other white stars did.
"Black folks in Baltimore didn't feel he was that good," said Avon Bellamy, the guy I usually consult on such matters. "Jerry Lee Lewis could play the Royal. The Skyliners, who had black folks screaming when they did 'Since I Don't Have You,' could play the Royal. But Elvis couldn't."
All this assumes, of course, that Elvis would have wanted to play the Royal. The logistics -- and the attitudes of the times -- would have prevented it. Can you imagine the scene on Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of black West Baltimore with hundreds, probably thousands, of white teens flocking to see Elvis, most of them against the orders of their parents?
But there may be another reason Elvis never played the Royal. It has to do with that nasty rumor -- long persistent in the black community -- that Elvis once said the only thing blacks could do for him was shine his shoes and buy his records. But, the rumor went, Elvis didn't say "blacks." He used the dreaded N-word.
Black comedian Redd Foxx said he talked to Elvis once and asked him to clear up that rumor once and for good. Foxx asked Elvis if he had ever uttered the "shoe shining" remark. Elvis answered that he didn't remember saying it, but given the racial attitudes of the Tupelo, Miss., environment in which he was raised that he certainly could have.
The Elvis discussing that rumor with Redd Foxx was a different man from the one who may or may not have made the statement that led to the rumor. His attitudes about blacks clearly changed. Nothing showed this better than Elvis' friendship with heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali.
