Thats the new girl, its her first day. Some people say there will be trouble. Some people saw trouble coming right from the start. Good morning. Good morning, miss wright. Careful on the turn. Good Office Management begins at home. Youre late. Guilty, sir. You better hurry. My coffees probably getting cold. No wonder i love to get up in the morning. Ive got such a nice boss to look forward to. Incidentally, did you see the urgent note i left on your pad last night . Top policy meeting at 9 15 . Yes. Mr. Dennis got back from washington late yesterday and called the meeting after you had gone. Thanks. This might be the new government contract. Was there any explanation . I tried to finesse some information from his secretary, beth. Shes as inform ative as a quiz program. Okay. I better get going. Have some hot coffee waiting for me. Yes, sir. Good Office Management begins at home. Theyll quit. First one, then another. Whatever they do, theyll make hell for that first negro girl you put on the payroll i dont manage personnel so personnel can manage the plant the way they want . What does that mean . It means we can put this new policy through without trouble. Now, of course well have to move slowly at first, no matter how badly we need them. Now you said it. We need them, gentlemen. The negro represents the labor force that has not even begun to be tapped. How about it, kurt . Your department has been crying for help. Think we can make it work . Maybe. Worked in the shop. Negro and white hands work side by side. We dont have any trouble. How was it when you started . Not bad. Theres a lot of talk about trouble, but the union was on our side that time. They called a meeting. By the time they were there, there wasnt opposition. Those are men, kurt. They work with their hands. How about women . Women are different. I think were asking for trouble . What are we afraid of . Bad publicity, money . Raising problems to hide our own prejudices. I dont think im a bigot and kn not a man of prejudices. My department is sales. Im mostly on the outside. The man i sell the product to doesnt care what color the girl is who types up the bill. Because im on the outside, i get around, i hear stories. What kind of stories . Trouble. Thats all. Lets call it morale. A lot of white girls just dont want to work next to a negro girl whether you like it or not. Now ill tell you something. Im not running for election, and im not going to run scared. No 20yearold stenographer will tell me how to run my business. Ive just come back from washington. I met there with the president s committee on government contracts, believe me, it was no tea party between me and the committee. They were talk business. Since when is the president s committee running dennis industries . Were not just talking about dennis industries, were talking national policy. Its not new. We had it since world war ii. Under the president s direction, no government can deal with us unless its nondiscriminatory. As long as we set up a color line at the front door of the offices or any line, were discriminating. Arent we also responsible to the stockholders we can afford anything our competition can. If we cant, we dont blochk en business. From this point on, we hire every person we need strictly according to ability. If you want to set an example, put the first negro secretary in my office. Nope. Not in your lifetime and have 12 girls quit because were giving away one of the most work poor jobs in the administration . I feel sorry for the girs girl y girl you hire. She better be strong. She has to be hand picked, she has to be so likable that any white girl with a chip on her shoulder will think twice. And so efficient that any man she works for will consider himself lucky. I think the policy should come from your office. We want everybody person to know youre behind t down to the last typist in the pool. Every girl working here should be made to feel she is involved in putting forward the new policy. Is that it . Thats about it. We have to get going. Ill go over the new policy with you in my office. So what are you going to do . They got to live too. Who said they dont. Take it easy, you two. It hasnt even happened yechlt i tell you, i know it for a fact. I got it on the best authority. Right from the horses mouth. Go ahead, laugh. Maybe you wont think its so funny when one of them is sitting at the desk next to you or at your desk. That i wouldnt wish on anybody. Whats the joke . Some jocke. The voice of doom here spreading usual cheer. Yes. And this morning shes colorblind. Very funny. She has some very confidential information on the best of i tell you its going to happen. It sounds terrible. It is. Were all going to lose our jobs. Not so loud, i happen to need my job. Oh. Me, ill quit first. What will we do without you . Probably invite my replacement down here. What is she talking about . You know ella. She claims theyre going to start hiring some negro office workers. So what . So, if they do, i quit. Youre kidding. Go ahead, you tell them. Me, they laugh at. You dont mean that. Yes, i do. Dont misunderstand me, i dont have anything against them. Take ned, the guard at the door, were good friends, i like him. But that doesnt mean i want him or his sister working in the office with me. Girls, i dont bother them. They dont bother me. Thats the way i mean to keep it. Where are you working now . Lanes. At least i was this morning. I might not this afternoon if i dont get back this afternoon. Mr. Graham should be free in a minute. He tell you what he wants to talk to you about . All i know is he said how would i really like go to work . Have you any idea . Put these books away, please, miss thompson . Im sorry i kept you waiting. Would you come inside . It will only take a few minutes. Good luck. Thanks. Has miss thompson been filling your head full of tall tales . Would you have a seat, please . Cigarette . Lets see. You have been working in lanes since you got out of high school, right . And now youve graduated from secretarial school. Must be pretty rough working during the day and going to school at night, isnt it . I think it was a little hearter heart harder on my family than me. They had to listen to my complaining. It looks like it might have been worth while. How would you like to go to work as a secretary at dennis industries . You want the truth, dont you, mr. Graham . Certainly. I would give an eyetooth to work as a secretary, but at dennis Industries Im not so sure. Oh. Youre afraid maybe youre not quite good enough yet, huh . No, that isnt the reason. Im more afraid they wouldnt want me at dennis. Someone does. They called me, i didnt call them. Mr. Graham, were not talking about anything thats secret. They have never hired a negro girl. Everyone knows that. Its not that they discriminate, its just that they dont hire us. Maybe things are changing, mary. Dont misunderstand. Id love to work at dennis. I do want a job as a secretary. And i could handle it. I know you could. I checked your records. You have every qualification you need. Let me bring you up to date. Last week the Personnel Department of dennis got in touch with every Employment Agency in town. It told them that beginning immediately negros were to be hired on the dennis office force. Really . Yes, really. They also called up the urban league and asked us to help them over the hurdle. Sounds as though theyre serious. They are serious. They already started to map a longterm educational plan so the schools around here know exactly what kind of help they need. They approached every organization in town and asked for their assistance. This could be a tremendous step forwar forward. But what about me . Suppose i do get offered the job. The Personnel Department cant make the people like me. They cant tell the other girls that well, that that youre as good as they are . No, they cant. But they can give you every chance to show you are. Mary, right now they need us. We certainly need them. If we dont take the chance when it comes along, it may not come along again. We have everything to gain. You have everything to gain. And nothing to lose except a job. And about 10 feet of pride. Its a funny thing, mary, once someone offers you a choice, you cant ever go back to the way it was before. If you dont try, when you go out of here youll find your pride has shrunk to ten inches. If you do try, well if you do try, you may have something to be really proud of. What do you say . All right. Ill try. Good girl. Well, hows the crusade for freedom at dennis industries coming . Theres a girl coming over from the urban league tomorrow morning. Shes still with personnel, i would like you to have a talk with her. Sure, ill be glad to have a talk with her. Talk is not enough in a situation like this, will. You mean you people upstairs are really serious about this . Let me point out one thing to you, will. Dennis industries does a lot of business with the government fine. We turn out a good product. And the law says fair employment practice. It never fails. Up on cloud 19, the vips decide to work a miracle and then the little wheels down stairs have to start grinding. Are you against hiring negros . Thats not what i said. What did you say . Im only an office manager. I cant make a hero out of todd dennis. All you have to do is follow company policy. And lose half the girls in the office. Have you lost any yet . No, but theres muttering. I heard one of the girls say she will quit if we hire a negro. If she decides to quit, id like to know immediately. Anyone else for that matter. Lyle, i tell you, it wont work. The girls wont stand for it. You tell me why. Come on. Dont be naive. You know the reasons as well as i do well, what . The washrooms for instance. You know what i mean. What are these same girls do when they go to the restaurants and movies . Supp suffer . They dont have a choice. We notified the unions and asked for their cooperation. Every Department Head made it official all the way down the line. Theres a memo out in black and white so that everybody can see it. We agreed the best way is to make a definite stand from the top down. You think were living in the dark ages. When will people realize this is the 20th century and the nights of america. With freedom and liberty for all. Yeah. That doesnt say anything about working where you dont want to. Can you telling me you want to quit . I probably wont have to. My job will probably disappear into thin air along with the rest of the staff. I dont understand you, will. I talked to every man in a responsible position here at dennis. Most wonder what all the fuss is about. Few admit they dont like the idea of a negro secretary, but ghil ahead with the idea. You, you keep saying it wont work. You know those signs you put up in the plant, equal economic opportunity, you can wallpaper the whole building with it, but you cant change the facts of life. I have to get home. What time is it. I dont know. Will, if this girl tomorrow morning passes all those tests, its your job to place her in one of those openings youve been complaining about for so long. See you later. Were very lucky to find someone with your qualifications, miss newton. Thank you. You passed those tests were flying colors. As a matter of fact, i thought i would be too nervous to hold a pen until. All thats left is a physical, just routine. Ill have my secretary fix an appointment with the medical office. Kit, would you just alert the medical office miss newton will be down in about a half hour . Now you better meet the manual probably be working for. Mr. Nelson, may i ask you a question . Would it be possible for me to have an assignment in the Accounting Department . Why . Well, to tell the truth, theres a girl in there from my class at high school, were not friends exactly, but i thought it might make things did miss newton, as a new employee at dennis, you ought to know our rules. We dont give favors. We dont give preferential treatment. Im sorry. I we stick to our word. Every employee is treated solely on his merits, for better or for worse. I see. Now ill take you down and introduce you to mr. Harden. As soon as i can. You have to wait. Thats all i can say. Goodbye. You the gentleman whos been complaining about the lack of office help . Get someone to sit at that desk soon, youll have to dig me out from this paperwork. I have somebody right now. Better have four hands. 22, graduate from secretarial school, honor student, conscientious, eager to work. I dont believe it. Shes outside. Would you like to meet her . Sure, bring her in. Tell her to have her pencil sharpened so we can get miss mary newton, mr. Kurt harden. I think youll find your work cut out for you. How do you do . How do you do . You should have seen his face. He just looked at me like he couldnt believe it. Like he couldnt believe it. What did he say . He said how do you do . He said it twice. Then he turned around and went back to his desk and said hed see me tomorrow. What did the other guy do then . Mr. Nelson . Yeah. He smiled like there was some sort of a joke and took me down to the medical office. Did anybody say anything about you being the first colored girl in the office . They didnt have to. You could see it in their faces. The way the girl in mr. Nelsons office looked at me. Maybe you just imagined all of it. Thats a crazy thing to say, mama why should she imagine it . Its the truth you just dont understand. Yes, i understand. You may not think i understand, but i do. You think i cant understand because im your mother and im older, but i do. What youre going through is not new. When i was a young girl i had to leave high school to get a job. I would have given anything to work in a shop. But it just wasnt done where i lived. Nobody ever heard of a working in a shop where white girls and white women came in to buy things. So i got a job cleaning house. I cleaned house and cried at nights until i got married. Maybe my mother had something she wanted very bad and couldnt have, cried about all night. I dont know. Now i have you children. I have watched you grow up and finish school and now marys working in a shop and crying her eyes out because she cant work in an office. Maybe she can work in an office. If she can, i dont want her throwing away the chance because shes afraid. Maybe those people hate her, maybe some of them do. Maybe shes imagining a lot of it, dreaming up trouble to hide her fears. If this is the way it is, shes got to find out. And the only way to find out is to go to work tomorrow. Well, when she has her own kids shell have to watch them get hurt and cry and be afraid. She will always wonder if she couldnt have suffered it for them and maybe made their lives a little easier. The way i sometimes wonder now. Oh, mama. Good morning. Mr. Nelson yes . Im resigning. Seriously . Seriously. Okay. I appreciate your getting here on time to tell me. You know exactly why im quitting. I think you may receive a personal invitation from mr. Todd dennis of dennis industries to present your case to him personally. That it should come to this, tell me i would like to see her right away. Lets squash this and get lyle ross on the phone. Oh, beth . May i ask you a personal question . Of course. Where do you stand on all this . Youve heard the policy discussion. How do you feel . Honestly, mr. Dennis, i wonder where everybodys been . Doesnt anybody in this company read the newspapers or go to the movies . I think its about time we woke up. You can be a great help to us right now. How . By giving the new girl a chance. By making sure that shae ge get chance. You mean by being especially nice to her . Not especially nice. Just plain, ordinarily nice. Common garden variety nice. You have a certain amount of prestige here, use it. I wouldnt want the other girls to think i was doing it look, dont you start being frightened, too. Think about it. Its not an order. Just a random comment on humanit humanity. Im sorry you want to leave, miss wright. Up to now youve been an asset to the company. Im sorry, too, mr. Dennis. Up until now i enjoyed working here. I suppose youll be looking for another job in a plant that doesnt hire negros, of course. In a plant that doesnt hire them to work in an office with me. I think that will become more and more difficult. I think you understand my position. I know your position. I dont understand it. Its not difficult to explain. Surely you dont expect us to adjust our policies to meet your approval. Frankly id rather not work than work under your new policy. Rather not work . Well youre lucky. How do you mean . Lucky you can afford that alternative. I cant afford it. Neither can most of the people working here. Look, mr. Dennis, i dont understand why my leaving is suddenly taking on such importance. I wish i felt flattered by all the attention, but im afraid i dont. Well, the fact is youre leaving the company is much more important than a personal matter. For me or for you. Im not going to even attempt to argue with your prejudices. I know that in a few minutes here i cant change whatever has made you think the way youve been thinking for a lifetime. But if you dont mind, id like to put shoe on the other foot. Youre a popular girl here. Probably with good reason. What you do, quitting that s may set an example for a lot of other girls who cant afford your independence. The im responsible for this company. That means im responsible to the stockholders, to the people working here, to myself, even to the whole country indirectly. Its too late to crawl back into a shell. Im afraid i dont understand, mr. Dennis. Miss wright what, mr. Dennis. Im going to ask you to stay on here at dennis in spite of how you feel. To give us to give this girl to give yourself a chance to find out if were right. Youre putting me in a pretty tough spot, mr. Dennis. Might not be as tough as you might think. Youre making it awfully difficult to refuse. It would have been so much easier if you just bawled me out. This is something that has to be handled reasonably. Will you give it a try . I think its only fair to warn you, i i may do all the wrong things. You may be sorry if i stay. Every day im in business im taking chances. Im willing to take this one. Ill think about it, mr. Dennis. I will say this, though, its the first time i stopped to think about it at all. Thank you. Yes, i tell you hi. Im miss merrill. Mary. Hello, mary. The secretaries usually eat over here. Wont you join us . Thank you. Ill give you a hand. Everybody, this is mary newton. Thats joan, mrs. Wright. How do you do . So, what department are you in . I work for oh. Hes nice. Thats right. There was no mass walkout, no one quick. A few girls even coming up, American History tv looks at womens liberation efforts in the 1960s and 70s. Then an Iowa State University class on the history of womens work on family farms. And thats followed by the legend and legacy of Amelia Earhart and theories on what may have happened to her during her solo flight around the world. Later a 1974 film on the impact of women in the navy. Were featuring American History tv programs in prime time this week as a preview of whats available every wend on cspan3. Tonight, with many colleges and universities closing campuses, were giving you the opportunity for your own Distance Learning with ahtvs lectures in history. Well have clemson, university of North Carolina chapel hill, wake forest and duke. Seth jacobs from Boston College tipping off the night with a class on president Lyndon Johnson and the escalation of the vietnam war. American history tv tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan3. We take you to the university of North Carolina at chapel hill for a history lecture on expanding rights in the 1960s and 70s. Youll learn about how the womens liberation and gay rights movements began and managed to expand into public acceptance