Singing for The Cause
After Sammy supported Nixon, the backlash was severe, and he started getting terrifying threats. Sammy’s manager, Sy Marsh, tried to help calm down the situation. The Washington Post reported in a 2003 article that Marsh reached out to Jesse Jackson – the Civil Rights leader – for a solution to alleviate the tension between Sammy and Nixon’s relationship. Jackson was the founder of an anti-poverty organization in Chicago called, PUSH, and it was funded by celebrity endorsements.
Sammy Davis Jr dancing at a post Oscars party, April 10th, 1972. Photo by Fairchild Archive / Penske Media / Shutterstock
Marsh remembered, “Jesse said, ‘if you can come up with $25,000 for my charity, then [have Davis] come to Chicago.’” He borrowed money for casinos in Las Vegas, and Sammy headed to Chicago to perform for resentful Civil Rights activists.