A few seconds of courage: the MLK arrest that decided a presidency

Executive overview

Courage is not a trait you have or lack — it is a decision made in seconds. In October 1960, Nixon chose silence when MLK was arrested and facing a chain gang; Kennedy made two phone calls. Those phone calls likely won him the presidency by 35,000 votes.

Courage is defined in the moment — a few seconds of action, or a lifetime of regret.

The 1960 arrest and two campaigns' responses

• King was arrested for sitting at a lunch counter, denied bail, and transferred to Reidsville state prison on a chain gang sentence.
• Coretta Scott King, heavily pregnant, called both the Nixon and Kennedy campaigns for help.
• Nixon — King's friend, who had personally led Eisenhower's civil rights efforts — hesitated, fearing losing the South and appearing to grandstand.
• Kennedy called Coretta directly from an airport; Robert Kennedy pressured the judge into releasing King.
• King publicly credited Kennedy, though he had planned to vote for Nixon: "It was like he had never heard of me."
• Kennedy won the election by less than half a percentage point — those two calls likely decided it.

Courage as a few seconds, not a grand stance

• Courage is not a sustained state — it is a single decision to begin.
• The hard part is the first move: hitting send, opening your mouth, picking up the phone.
• Once in motion, momentum takes over; fear loses its grip.
• The "20 seconds of insane courage" framing from We Bought a Zoo: just start, and something great can follow.
• Results are never guaranteed — but the failure to act is a certainty.
• "I was afraid" does not age well as an excuse.

Courage is specific, not general

• People are not brave in the abstract — bravery is situational and momentary.
• King did not know his Montgomery bus boycott would reshape the world when he started.
• Kennedy did not know his call was politically sound — he acted anyway.
• Track record is irrelevant; what matters is the moment in front of you.