Birmingham helped shatter that apathy. Sometime or other, we are going to have to stand and be on the receiving end of a fire hose. Leaders of all three states decided they must do something, not to say something. Soon, many white clergymen were stepping from behind their pulpits and joining the ranks of pickets. Until then, Church Action have been limited to a few fronts. Among them, new orleans. It was three years ago that desegregation came to the deep south. It happened in new orleans. The battle developed within the White Community, those who saw desegregation as an eventuality with which to reach an accommodation, personified by most members of the new Orleans School board. On the other side, those who shouted never, many of them members of the rural dominated state legislature. For a time, the second force prevailed largely because the city leadership shrank from the fight. As frequently happens in leadership vacuums, even in the streets of a city so sophisticated as this one, violence overtakes reason. It happened in fact right here on around old street in new orleans. On that november day, teenagers protesting the desegregation of two grade schools a few days before, becoming more unruly. Firetrucks trucks scattered the crowds with streams of water. What first had started as a lark turned into something mean and dangerous. At the desegregated schools themselves, women dominated the bitterness displayed morning after morning. Some of them clutched babies in their arms and screamed epithets at u. S. Marshals escorting children into the school building. Many cries were directed at a young minister who refused to join, who took his child to the school. And there were talks for mrs. Raymond gabrielle who witnessed of the boycott. I have no sense of hatred. I dont feel this hatred that most of these people have. And therefore, i feel that im within my Constitutional Rights as an american to send her there if it is within my judgment that that is where she should go. I think im within my rights to send her there, until my judgment changes. Reaction in the state capital was a target of condemnation. The legislature and soft speaking governor did nothing to discourage or restrain the women. If i did not live up to my obligations, to be fair and keep our southern traditions that have meant so much to all of us, a think my own father would come out of his grave and slap my face. All sorts of segregation and antinew orleans laws were proposed. Many of them, ridiculous. They died stillborn. Ultimately, a year ago that the new orleans would operate on a desegregated basis. This is the Largest Center of catholic population in the south. Despite the clear ruling by the churchs hierarchy, there were catholics who challenged. Among them, mrs. Yuna gala whose embarrassing dramatization of opposition led to her excommunication. The demands we keep segregated, he considers the segregation. God forgives murder and he forgives adultery. But he is angry and he curses those who integrate. Another excommunicate, landa perez, longtime undisputed boss of two counties, backstage draftman of segregation proposals in the state legislature. I say the leaders of the church are bringing the church to distribute and disgrace. What are the catholic people in the new orleans going to do about it . It is the simplest thing in the world. It will give us some trouble. But it will give them a whole lot more. All you have to do is shut their water off and the moment a negro [applause] the moment a negro child walks into the school, every selfrespecting, loving parent should take his white child out of that school. [applause] there is today here more of a the reality of the eventuality of desegregation. What happened here three years ago, particularly the image of the small group of screaming women, the paralysis of leadership, led to the determination of other cities if they wanted none of that and that they must prepare to avoid it, so that when desegregation came peacefully to atlanta, memphis, nashville, dallas, it was because of the Lessons Learned at little rock, reinforced by new orleans. Race hatred running rampant. Most often, businessmen are the first in the White Community to make the move. Most often, the gains realized by negros has been in public accommodations. Most often, the reaching of an accord has involved demonstrations and negotiations. Take Oklahoma City. Oklahoma city, with its oil wells in the shadow of the state capital, was basically a southern town. Here, the very young led the assaults on racial barriers. For five years, they demonstrated at lunch cart, stores, and hotels. They won small concessions. Late in may of this year, the dam broke. First the hotel. Then a single restaurant. Then another hotel. The battle had been won peacefully. The youngsters celebrated. [singing] next target, a segregated Amusement Park. The Naacp Youth Council demanded it be integrated along with two other amusement centers. The owner met with the youngsters, suggested one day a week integration, called for a gradual change. I want to say it is not a moral issue, strictly financial. And there have been several cases where a situation such as mine have gone downhill because they integrated too quickly. The public was not ready for it. We are going to try to work it out over a period of time. What that time will be, i cannot say. But i do want to impress upon you that demonstrations are not the answer. His answer came in the silver faces and from Youth Council advisor, mrs. Clara looper. I would like to give some things that he probably doesnt have. An intelligent businessman says to the white people, you need to integrate an Amusement Park. I would like to go over some facts. Oklahoma has always been a leader. We have taken more cases to the Supreme Court then any other state in the history of america. And we have been able to do it because of the fact that white and coloreds have worked together. Subsequent demonstrations at the Amusement Park turned the tide. Wedgwood was integrated. Today, they say the move has cost more than 1000 a day in lost business and he charges the negros who wanted integration are not supporting the park. Total integration of Oklahoma City is a reality, led by reform city administration. The city manager told Department Heads that they would have to go along. If you feel that you cannot adhere to this policy of the council in all good faith, then i think you and i need to sit down and talk about it. I can realize what human nature is. I can sympathize with it. But nonetheless, it it might pose a problem. If you feel discharging your responsibilities that you cannot act without prejudice, or at least control what inbound or inherited prejudices that all of us do have, then frankly, we might as well face it, you are in the wrong business. Leader of the nonviolent but determined negro drive is a young lawyer, local naacp president , he is aware of the economic realities. Basically, the community is healthy. Construction work and federal employment is pretty broad in oklahoma. I would think that in the skills and semiskilled areas are where we suffer quite a bit, in the sense of lack of employment opportunity. This is the area where we are concentrating in. When it comes to domestic and manual labor, it is pretty wide open and liberal. What has happened in Oklahoma City, integration with peace, was not an accident. White and negro leaders were determined from the beginning that their city would not become another oxford or birmingham or jackson. And they realized that it is not utopia either. This negro area, some of it slums, is one of the problems remaining. But they have the making of an answer. Responsible leaders on both sides. Attorney porter and mrs. Looper can sit down with the members of the mayors Communication Committee and seek honest solutions for their differences. The chairman of the committee is businessman frank carey who discussed at the next major goal in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma city [indiscernible] that gets a little complicated. The first area will be on the east side, which is heavily negro. The negros are somewhat contained on the east side. There are pressures. This is not unique in oklahoma. It exists in other parts of the country. This pressure must be relieved. It must be possible one way or another that is satisfactory for the negros to be able to expand. Almost everywhere across the nation, the negro is taking a few steps forward. But not everywhere. Mississippi voters had just nominated paul b. Johnson for governor. As lieutenant governor, he proved himself by his commitment to the effort made it to prevent the integration of the university of mississippi. They endorsed johnson by a larger vote than they gave the outgoing governor, who early and autumn stood bathed in floodlight and told the grandstand i love mississippi [applause] i love her people [cheering] i love and respect our heritage [applause] 24 hours later, mississippi campus became a battlefield. A vicious mob rioted against the admission of a 29yearold airport veteran as the first negro student at ole miss. The battle scars still show, as the command post for the federal forces that was a prime target of the rioters. The fires of violence were kindled when the governor, a diehard segregationist, and University Officials from complying with a order. He even had the registrar block enrollment. Once at oxford, once at the state capital. He rationalized his action with the concept of interposition, an exercise of state power to protected citizens from the illegal use of federal power. On september 30, hundreds of u. S. Marshals preceded meredith to campus. They poured from planes. Some carried teargas guns. A convoy of army trucks moves into ole miss. Soon after, they took up positions and flipped into then nearby hall. President kennedy who had federalize the Mississippi National guard, appeared on television from washington. He noted that meredith had arrived without the use of troops so far. He emphasized the orders of the court would be obeyed. Irresponsible defiance in the Governors Office was translated into violence on the campus. Unruly students gathered at the area. While state police stood by and simply watched the riot build. Some students began throwing things. An army truck was set on fire. The attack increased. He ordered his men to retaliate with teargas. The state police pulled out. The campus was no longer guarded. Outsiders poured in. The battle became more deadly. Snipers opened fire on the marshals. Several wounded. Regular army troops from their standby in memphis followed. After midnight, they drove the rioters off campus. The rioters went downtown. More troops arrived and were bombarded with flying objects. Several were hit. Windshields were smashed. By early morning, the battle was over. Two men were dead. Almost 200 injured. In the gray morning light, flames flickered among the chart charred cars. The smell of teargas hung thickly in the air. It was littered with rocks and broken glass and hundreds of teargas canisters. He was and rolled, enrolled, escorted by federal marshals while soldiers with six bay and it crews nearby. Meredith was admitted but never accepted. Even those who dare to befriend him were intimidated and ostracized. From his oncampus isolation, he later wrote he was the most segregated negro in america. Not far from the lines of battle, meredith received his diploma. Meredith now plans to raise money in washington for an Educational Fund he established for needy college students. He says he will eventually return to mississippi. Now, tonight, an interpretive footnote from the mississippi governor recorded especially for this program. Fellow americans, you are witnessing one more chapter in what has been termed the television revolution. Information media, including the tv networks, have publicized and dramatized the race issue far beyond its relative importance in todays world. The threehour special program and a degree of coverage recorded august 28 march in washington underline the fact that the American Public is being propagandized by overemphasis. The race issue is a legitimate issue in america in its proper context. But the race issue as it has been presented to you in recent months is being used as a smokescreen to hide the biggest power grab in American History. Behind the headlines, beyond the interpretation, down deep in the text of legislation lies a very great threat. An immediate threat to the basic rights and independence of all americans, all of you. Not merely those of us who insist on a racial segregated social system. The real goal are the conspiracy which tempts your emotions with this race issue is concentration of all effective power and the Central Government and washington. You can see the real issue at stake in America Today is centralization of power in washington and not the race issue. One of the most certain effects of the revolution has been to change the picture that most whites have held off most negros. This hardly because negros are changing, but because whites are being compelled to really look at the negro. He is not the negro of memory. The wideeyed watermelon hungry one. Those had been believed everywhere. Here is chad hatley. They are not exactly hotbeds of dissension. There have been no riots, not even any picketing. The schools are integrated, they always have been. I can speak with authority on such matters because ive grown up in these towns. Looking back on it now, i suppose they were typical western towns, but nothing is typical to a boy. I thought our drugstore was unlike any other drugstore across the country. The Church Picnics and institutions unique to us, and the adventure of jumping from a barn window into a pile of hay must be discovered fresh each generation, as though it had never been thought of before. In reality of course, we were supremely typical, in what we did, in what we wanted, and perhaps above all, in what we thought. It is here, this active thinking, that is germane to this program. The negro was present when i went to high school there there were three negro boys, splendid athletes. We were a fun pair of people, at least our fathers were. In the tradition of judging each man by his merits had by no means died out. Still, in an odd way, the negro was outside our tradition. A thing apart. In a sense, we never saw him, not the way we saw our friends. We never looked with honesty at negros. The way we examine the anatomy of a grasshopper or speculated on the after hours life of our teachers. We looked, but we had been told what to see. What we saw was not the reality but the way it was supposed to be. They played music, for all we knew, and they were always happy, or so we were told. We were allowed to like them if we wished, but not to know them. They were something apart from us in our time. Entertaining, funny, gay, ignorant, and perhaps above all, never to be trusted. It was like some giant conspiracy to which all lent, even sadly, the negro himself. Here is a film made in 1916. He added coal to his face because his skin wasnt dark enough. In the process, added to the pattern. And other joke was that the and other joke was that the negro, being ignorant, was filled with silly fears. Fears of ghosts in the graveyard. Here we are in 1916, when the old joke is told again. It was the same in des moines or wichita, wherever, those of my generation spent the years of between being a child and adult. We all agree that this was the way things are. Why did Robinson Crusoe go with friday on saturday night . Friday was up to no good, you can bet that. A negro was always good for a laugh. Even the newsreels added their piece. Foolish, childish, always less than lifesized. And this from a newsreel of the early 1930s. All this from a newsreel in the 1930s. For most of us, this sort of thing was a distortion. It was wrong, unfair, demeaning. For most of us, that is. For the vicious or aggressive, the line between contempt and violence is a small one. There was this. Where did Robinson Crusoe go with friday on saturday night . Well, it was not funny now. It never was, really. It is not given to any generation to see everything clearly. The children of our children will grow up to be scornful of mistakes not yet made. We know ours. And they must be told. In the first half of this century, 1791 negroes were lynched. Happy people, gay, foolish, not to be trusted, we meant the negro. What we were really showing, of course, was ourselves. The pace of change has been slow. Six years after the interstate Commerce Commission outlawed segregation on interstate busses and trains, it got around to establishing penalties for the practice. Nine and a half years after the Supreme Court decision declared a separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, most southern Public Schools still have only token integration, if any. It began in topeka, kansas, when linda brown had to go to an allwhite elementary school. At 11, she became the victor in the classic court case, brown v. Board of education. The whole wearying struggle was repeated time after time. And nowhere was the ritual of resistance to admission more clearly displayed than at tuscaloosa, alabama. Alabama state troopers were stationed around this building. The last time i was here on june 11, 1963. The auditorium was being used to register students for the summer session at the university of alabama. Two of them were negro. The auditorium was being used as the National Stage for george wallace, the governor of alabama. Wallace, a dedicated segregationist, came here to fulfill a campaign pledge, to stand in the schoolhouse door to lock the integration. It sparked rioting on campus. When the rioting was encouraged, she was expelled. For her own protection. This time, influential forces at the university and throughout the state, looking over their shoulder, invented pressure to make sure the tragedy of oxford would not be duplicated here. This time, even the troops were heard by their leaders to stay away. State troopers on local police went off the campus to outsiders. Some students were warned that any disorder would be punished severely. They were also required to take a good conduct vote. The governor himself ordered units of a state National Guard to standby. Semi circles were painted in white around the doors to mark the lines of the impending showdown. The drama of registration day was played out here as though it had been rehearsed. Governor wallace stood up for alabama to preserve law and order, arrived. He drove to the campus of which he had graduated over 20 years ago. Not long after, students were brought on campus. They remained in the car while the Deputy Attorney general and two other federal officials, both alabama graduates, approached the door. Governor wallace signaled them to halt. He limited himself to asking the governor to assure that he would not block the entrance of the student. The reply was defiance. I stand here today as governor of the sovereign state and refuse to submit power of the Central Government. I claim today for all the people of the state of alabama, those Rights Reserved to them under the constitution of the United States, among those is the right of state authority of Public Schools, colleges, and universities. The two students were escorted to their dormitories. They were on campus and they stayed. The alabama National Guard was federalized under the command of a Brigadier General henry grant. After lunch, units of the guard were ordered to the campus. About 100 men marched in the shadow of the auditorium. Governor wallace took his position. This time, he was confronted by four unarmed guard men wearing the green berets of special forces. The general ordered him to step aside. The governor read another statement of protest. We shall now return to montgomery for the purpose of continuing this fight. This constitutional fight. Because we are winning. We shall continue to work for a better alabama, for all the people of this state both white and negro. They were taken into the auditorium and registered. One has already dropped out. He claimed he was on the verge of a mental and physical breakdown. His return is in doubt because of public statements he made accusing state and University Officials of trying to get him expelled. Alabama was the last in the allwhite state university, as in many other southern states, the desegregation is only token. But it is a start. Governor george c. Wallace is still in the forefront of the fight against integration of alabama schools. His views were filmed for this report. Of course, i feel that we have local agitators within this country who like to stir up trouble for one reason or another. The communist movement is behind all of the racial demonstrations in this country. I have a statement here that j. Edgar hoover made in 1958. When he was asked for more funds for the fbi, he said this to a congressional committee. It is also being exploited by communists on a national scale. Programs include negro mass organizations. The parties objectives are not to aid the negroes, but to take advantage of all issues. From the beginning, from the real beginning, slavery. The slowest advance the negro has made is against white indifference. True, a few abolitionists attacked slavery, but they were a minority. Lincoln said he would abolish it. True, the Supreme CourtSchool Decision probably reflected the opinions of a majority of whites. They let the negro almost entirely alone to fight his way into the schools. Piercing the armor of apathy could bring the negro his greatest gains. That was attempted last wednesday in washington. [singing] the marchers, 200,000, saying their way down constitution avenue on a sunny 28th of august demonstrating for civil rights and job opportunities. The greatest assembly the capital has ever seen. It might not change votes in congress, but they hoped to impress those in the nation watching on television. My friends, we are here today because we want to the congress of the United States, to hear from us in person what many of us have been telling our Public Officials back home. That is, we want freedom now. [cheering] the president in his state of the union speech spoke of civil rights after bringing him the president became caught up in it. Civil rights became his legislative priority. Here he was on june 11. Unless the congress acts, i am therefore asking congress to enact legislation giving all americans the right to be served in facilities open to the public, hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments. This seems to me to be an elementary right. Its denial is an arbitrary indignity that no american in 1963 should have to endure. But many do. After much consultation, the president sent his civil rights package to congress six weeks ago. Immediately there was trouble. Some of the program looked all right to congress but two items added to criticism. First withholding federal aid where discrimination is practiced and second banning discrimination in firms which serve the public. Opponents pronounced this an invasion of private property. Here is how the situation looks. In the house, the bill is under consideration by the judiciary subcommittee and should reach the floor in several weeks. In the senate, the strategy is to wait until the house has acted, then place the bill directly on the senate calendar, thus bypassing the committee problem. Senate committees are dominated by southerners who move slowly on civil rights. Here now an example, the attorney general has gone up eight times before the judiciary committee, each time one senator, sam ervin of north carolina, has done all of the questioning. Here was robert kennedy. Senator, once again, i do not think we are speaking english but we are not speaking the same language because theres a problem here, problem in education, voting, problem in public accommodation and the treatment of the nigro. The negro not been treated equally and we want to do something about it, senator and we want to have you join us. But youre opposed to every provision of this bill for one reason or another. I am sorry, i have detained you as long as i have. I feel that fighting this bill, i am still fighting to preserve the Constitutional Government in the United States and to protect and preserve the basic economic, legal, personal, and Property Rights of all americans. What is the prospect for a bill this year . There will be one. The question is how broad . There are many and congress. How many republicans will support the administration in the immediate battleground in the house . Will the public accommodation section stay in the bill . Can the senate choke off a filibuster . Heres a sample of senate opinion. The constitution talks about three things. Life, liberty, and property. Man cannot be denied any of those without due process of law. This is no process of law, Just Congress saying you have no Property Rights to control your own property. If you abuse the commerce clause, a man shall serve in his restaurant, you can say what he shall serve this person who comes in and even what he shall charge for it. Theres a limit to how far you can go. It is one of the most farfetched proposals. And holds entirely the probability of breeding more trouble and bringing us into socialism, faster than any, any law that is been presented in a long time. I do not have any objection to new york integrating if they wish to or some state segregating if they wish to. My position is these matters should be left to each state. In salisbury, maryland, the mayor said if they had a federal law, public accommodations, they could not have accomplished what they did. He says they brought about many changes, but this would not have resulted if washington had passed the law. My position is, this matter should be left to each community and each state to decide. Well, i do not predict the outcome of these no holds barred contests will give a good accounting of ourselves. We will do the best we can as we have done in the past and anytime youre fighting with your card and it you have a chance to win. The real revolution will have to be for the rights our forefathers came seeking in the first place, the right to be left alone. The right to choose ones own property. The right to have ones own property. The right to take at your gun and shoot anyone who intrudes on those rights. Trying to deny the privilege our forefathers saw when they left the comfort of europe and came over in the wilderness inhabited by savages to make life for themselves. If the candidate civil rights bill passes, it will make some needed changes in civil rights and longdelayed changes, yes. I think that negro citizen has felt that equal justice under law is longdelayed and he will not wait further for it. Someone asked me, why is the negro in such a hurry . My answer is that if you are having tea on the docks of a vessel, you better get it below deck, because this is the Boston Tea Party all over again in many ways. Im convinced the president s program for civil rights, the proposals to this congress, will substantially improve the lot of our negro people and indeed will substantially improve america. These proposals go farther in the protection of Voting Rights and the right to vote and the exercise of that right is fundamental to a strong democracy. These proposals also get at the problem of discrimination and Governmental Services and in social practices within our economy and our within our governmental structure. They will go far to remedying those inequities and those injustices. These proposals also strike at the problem of the lack of education and the lack of training. After all, job opportunity means that job training and job preparation. So the proposals will do much to improve the lot of the american negro. Even if the kennedy civil rights bill should go through congress intact, the negro has other economic greatest problems. Here is a white house correspondent. During the 1960 campaign senator john f. Kennedy told a nigro audience on chicagos south side, then he grows are the first to be fired in a recession because have not had a chance to learn skills. President john f. Kennedy knows this is still true. Birmingham forced him to push for civil rights legislation this year. The president Still Believes even with the best civil rights legislation, the negro will advance socially when he advances economically. This belief is shared by the man closest to him, his brother, the attorney general. This is going to be an education problem and an economic problem. When you have such high unemployment among negros, averaging in our northern communities two to three times that of white people. When you have one out of the heads of one out of every four families in the city of chicago that do not have employment, does one out of every four negro families in chicago that do not have employment, you have negros drawing relay for the Second Generation where you have young people who drop out of school in large numbers, hundreds of thousands, and cannot get employment. Where the unappointed rates goes up to 70 the Unemployment Rate goes up to 70 or 80 . All these factors and People Living in poor, substandard housing, lack an adequate education, do not have recreation and cannot look forward to employment to support a family. Where you have malnutrition and disease, all these factors come together in this kind of explosion taking place at the present time. Unless we come up with economic answers, we need 30,000 new jobs every week over the next 10 years to have a full economy. Unless our economy does well, where can we find employment for our people, youre going to have many problems. I think we can stress Vocational Training and education and have our best teachers in these deprived areas and that is with the passage of the tax bill, and other measures that could be taken in the economic field, these come under the category of civil rights. I think we can get the answers and youre going to require action by the federal government, at the state level, the local level, and the people themselves. All of this is forthcoming over the next five years and weve come up with answers. The president wants a tax bill this year to help the economy and help prevent a recession that hurts negros the most. But he knows this is not the entire answer. He watches that negro ferment swell at a time for stark change in our economy, when automation is moving ahead with no deliberate speed, without a backward glance at those who cannot keep up because society has not provided them the skills they need. Better education and job training will help, but the president and his advisers here fear many negros will gain too late the skills they along with many white should have had 10 or 20 years ago. He has not found the answer to this yet. Perhaps there is no adequate answer. But he tries to find one, tries as dr. Martin luther king jr. Speaks for negros and insists, the time is now. For a report on the Supreme Court and civil rights, heres david brinkley. Until nine years ago, it seems longer, the Supreme Court held segregation was perfectly all right if the facilities for negros were equal to those for whites. When it reversed that in 1954, there was a cry that this new doctrine was too radical and there were refusals to obey it. Point not dwelt on his those who refused to obey the new doctrine had not obeyed the old one either. Negro facilities then were separate but certainly not equal. Of the three branches of government, the court has always taken the advance, unpopular, radical positions on civil rights, because congress and the president could not or would not. Now there are demands to impeach warren. But in 1896 when the separate but equal doctrine came out, that was radical for its day. But nobody wanted to impeach chief justice fuller. The reason was, once his decision came out, that was the end of it and nobody tried to enforce it. The negros did not demonstrate or hire lawyers. The 1954 decision was also radical but the change was not only in the law but also in the negro. This time, he didnt hire lawyers and demanded it be obeyed. The agony of these nine years has not been entirely because of radical court proclaiming radical law, the agony was because for the first time in our history, it was being enforced. So, three hours from where we started at a for albany to where we ended at w for washington, can we say why it is happening now . Why 1963 . Most of the answer is time because time is life. The negro feels lives are slipping away. The negro League Freshman was in the fourth grade when the Supreme Court said there should be no more school segregation. Jobs denied now because of segregation may soon cease to exist because of automation and there will be two rivers to cross. Black men in africa have crossed the river and achieved what american negros have been promised for 100 years. American negroes have decided it was not the white mans to give but theirs by right of birth as men created equal. Parts of the nation, particularly in the south, are convinced the negro is wrong and is no just cause for complaint and are meeting force with force. These forces, and the revolution broke out in 1963 for the same reason the earth on a given day begins to quake along an ancient fault. Nbc news, good evening. This program was prerecorded. Next week during this time, see monday night at the movies, the Art Link Letter show and the jfk report. Starting september 9, on nbc, the Huntley Brinkley report will expand coverage to one half hour. Watch the allnew huntley brickley report on nbc. [dramatic horns] produced by nbc news, which is solely responsible for the content this is American History tea on cspan. We feature 48 hours of programs exploring our nations past. The cspan cities tour travels the country. Weve been to more than 200 communities across the nation. Our staff stays close to home during the coronavirus. A look at one of our visits. [marching band playing] the basketball started in 1910. They won their first national