Transcripts For CNNW The Sixties 20140627

We talk about it as separation of the races, customs and traditions that have been built up over the last 100 years that have proved for the best interests of both, the colored and the white people. It was almost 100 years after the emancipation proclamation, and america is still racially and rigiddy segregated. Black people couldnt vote in the south. They couldnt even go into the Public Libraries. The Public Libraries were segregated. The churches were segregated. Amen we are in atlanta, georgia, in the eb needer Baptist Church where a father and son are the copastors. Frankly, as others have said, i dont know what the future holds but i know who holds the future. This is our hope. This is that something that keeps us going. Martin luther king was immensely frustrated by the end of the 1950s because he had become famous. Hes preaching all over the country. He knows thats his gift but he says people cry at my sermons and then the next morning, its still segregated. Martin king called about 50 ministers from across the south to start a nonviolent movement. The understanding of teaching nonviolence was clear, but there wasnt anybody that could teach it like jim lawson. James lawson has been to india and comes back with this store house of gandhiian tactics. Martin king said come to nashville now, we need you now. So i went to nashville and organized other people. Now, tonight, we have a most important business to try to accomplish, and that is to try to have one major roleplaying experience, which sort of tries to set the stage for an actual demonstration for an actual sitin. You talk about the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s is, people often talk about selma and birmingham and montgomery, but the incubator of it all was tennessee where james lawson started teaching his lessons about nonlessons. Teaching people like james louis and. Dan nash how to not swing back if somebody hits you with a nightstick. We actually practiced sitting in. Some took the role of students who were sitting at a lunch counter, and others took the role of white thugs. We were practicing how to remain nonviolent even in the face of violence. There had been other sitins in those early months of 1960, but no one is centrally organizing or coordinating this like the Student Group from nashville. It was on february 13th, and we had the very first sitin in nashville. I took my seat at the counter. I asked the waitress for a hamburger and a coke. The students sit down at the lunch counter asking to be served, knowing full well its against the law. We were prepared to be arrested and go to jail, and if necessary, stay in jail. Well, it was a moving feeling within me that i was sitting there demanding a godgiven right. I could no longer be satisfied or go along with an evil system. The big surprise for them was that they werent arrested. They sat there all day and they realized that white people were flummoxed. It is creating bewilderment and confusion among the White Communities and even among the kneeing grows themselves. When this disciplined platoon comes into a store and occupies all of the seats at the lunch counter, they renewsed to move on the request of the store owner, they put on a boorish exhibition of what seems to be bad manners and crashing into a place where they are not welcom, i submit it comes with poor grace where their spokesman charges the store owner with bad behavior. Mr. Kilpatrick, i think on this point, you would have to agree with me that all people should obey just laws, but i would also say that an unjust law is no law at all. And when we find an unjust law, he think we have a moral obligation to take a stand against it. During the weeks after the sitins began, opposition in the White Communities of the south solidified and the first signs of violence appeared. A man cape out and said that there was a fight down there on the side. There was a bunch of colored boys and girls on the stools in the counters so i instructed the men to put them under arrest. On february 27th, 80 nashville students were arrested out of over 300 who were participating in the 8ins that day. As the students were confronted with the choice of paying a 50 fine or spending over a month in jail, each of them chose jail. I felt free. I felt liberated. I felt like i had crossed over. While we were in jail, black women got on the phone and organized an economic withdrawal. The negro has a terrific purchasing power. So the merchants, of course, was feeling the pinch because they were definitely not coming downtown to spend that money. The next day in nashville tennessee in the newspaper had a headline, mayor favored desegregation. It was a great victory for the movement and for the city of nashville. The economic boycott was withdrawn, and nashville became the first major city in the south to permit whites and negros to eat together in public places. A Remarkable Group lawson brought together in nashville, they became a cadre. We all applauded and here was the situation that turned out right. The ideas that they promoted very quickly spread across the region and across the nation. Start with the best writing experience. . Make it incredibly thin. Add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard, a usb port, and the freedom of touch. And, of course, make it run microsoft office, with the power and speed to do real work. Introducing surface pro 3. The tablet that can replace your laptop. But were not in the business of naming names. The Volkswagen Passat is heads above the competition, the fact is, it comes standard with an engine thats been called the benchmark of its class. Really, guys, i thought. It also has more rear legroom than other midsize sedans. And the Volkswagen Passat has a lower starting price than. Much better. Vo hurry in and lease the 2014 passat s for 199 a month. Visit vwdealer. Com today. So what im saying is, people like options. When you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. It dont matter, day or night. Use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. The point is, you have options. Oh, how convenient. Hey. Crab cakes, what are you looking at . Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. The sitin movement it has challenged certain fundamental concepts of law and is shake the regional traditions of the south in an entirely new way. He was extremely pleased with the emerging of the student sit in movement in early 1960s. There were sitins in atlanta where dr. King is living by that time. King himself gets arrested in one at Richs Department store. King is kept in jail when everyone else is released. And thats when it got involved in the president ial campaign. John kennedy, the president ial candidate, calls concern, very unexpected public gesture. Within 24 hours, Robert Kennedy called that judge and asked that he get king out of jail. Next thing we knew is daddy king had gone public and said i was against having a catholic for president , but if he can wipe the tears from my daughter nalls eyes, i have the courage to vote for kennedy for president and i have a suitcase full of votes. Dr. King, have you heard anything from Vice President nixon or any of his supporters . Ive been confined and i havent talked with anybody from washington or from the campaign. Do you know of any efforts made on behalf of the Kennedy Group . Well, i understand that the Kennedy Group did make definite contacts and did a great deal to make my release possible. It turned out that phone call was given credit for kennedys victory in one of the closest elections in modern history. King said, i hope that at last we have a president with the intelligence to understand this problem. Im convinced that he has that understanding, and now well have to see what his passion leads him to do. But what together we can do kennedy in his inaugural speech did not have a single mention of a domestic issue. Harris wofford said all these people out there and particularly black people who voted for you and youve got to give them something. What they did then was add two words talking about freedom and human rights abroad and at home. That was the only mention. Kennedys administration is trying to keep a lid on the civil rights issue, and civil right activists are determined to push ahead. Brave blacks and whites rode into the deep south together on greyhound and trailways buses to challenge segregation as freedom riders. The freedom ride started with two buses, 13 people going from washington d. C. To new orleans. The concept of the freedom rides was to show that the segregation laws were not being enforced in the south. Even though the law of the land says that a passenger can ride interstate and participate in lunchrooms and waiting rooms and bathrooms an, the law says this, everyone cannot, particularly the negro. They are buying tickets from town to town and getting off in each town, going into waiting rooms, restaurants, cafes that are traditionally segregated in such a manner as to enrage them and provoke them into acts of violence. Thats what they are doing. We were aboard a Greyhound Bus going to birmingham. We were surrounded by a mob. Who followed us out for about four miles until one of our tires went flat. They finally threw a bomb into the bus. The bus filled very rapidly with black smoke. Meanwhile, when the trailways bus got to birmingham, it was even worse. They dragged about six of the passengers out, both negro and white, they took them into the corridors and alleys and began beating them, began hitting them with lead pipes. They knocked one man, a white man down at my feet and beat him and kicked him until his face was a bloody red pulp. The riders were severely beaten, could not continue. The Nashville Movement decided that we had to take up the freedom ride where it had left off. Groups would be dispatched. Dan die and nash side the line made the difference. She said we will not allow violence to destroy nonviolence. This was the test. Ten of the kids said we will go tonight and thats the stuff that makes you free. Thats the stuff that is freedom. A group of them got on a bus in birmingham. When the bus pulled into the montgomery station, john lewis could see hundreds of whites headed towards him with baseball bats, bricks, rocks. An angry mob just came out of nowhere. They started beating the freedom riders. I was hit with a wooden crate, beaten, left lying in a pool of blood. Before police finally broke up the crowd with tear gas, they beat and injured at least 20 persons. After the riders are attacked and brutally beaten, the freedom riders essentially become trapped in Ralph Abernathys first Baptist Church. The church was surrounded and people were setting fire to cars. It is a very dangerous situation. Outside. No one, but no one could leave the church. Dr. King had gone over to montgomery from atlanta to lend support to the freedom riders and so king, too, along with the riders is trapped at this church. Now, its very easy for us to get angry and bitter and even violent in a moment like this, but i think this is a testing point. So nice, so nice sweet, sweet, st. Thomas nice so nice, so nice st. Croix full of pure vibes so nice, so nice st. John a real paradise so nice, so nice proud to be from the Virgin Islands and the whole place nice [ female announcer ] to experience your Virgin Islands nice, book one of our summer packages today. I hope that we will remain calm as we have done in so many touchy, difficult moments and i know were going to do it. Martin luther king jr. Placed a call to Robert Kennedy and said to the attorney general, something must be done. We are planning during the course of this afternoon to send in several hundred more u. S. Marshals from around the country to help and assist. President kennedy called out the United States marshalls, he placed the city of montgomery under martial law. In this situation, i want to making this announcement that the city is now under martial law, and troops are on the way into the montgomery. [ cheers ] now this thing with king and all of the socalled freedom riders is to return to the their homes, go back to their books and mind their own business. Finally, with federal intervention, the freedom riders were put on a bus and headed to jackson. We pull on into jackson. The wagon was waiting for us. Youre under arrest for refusing to we didnt know it at the time, but the kennedys had agreed that the freedom riders could be imprisoned. The Kennedy Administration makes a deal whereby the Mississippi Police units agree that there will be no violence, but the tradeoff is that every free rider arriving in jackson immediately will be arrested. Officials in mississippi think theyve found a legal way to circumvent desegregation. Their method calling any defiance of segregation a threat to the peace in an area where popular feelings run so high. The freedom riders included james bevel, john lewis, james lawson, among others, were sent parchman state penitentiary. So this guy takes me back to the jail cell and prison doors slam, it has an effect on you. That sound, you felt you would never get out again. As soon as the agitators leave and get tired of trying to stir up trouble, were going back to the same old way of living thats made our city such a wonderful place in which to live. Thank you very much, mr. Mayor. Well. This attempt to stop the freedom rides only served to fuel the flames of the Civil Rights Movement. I would like to see a show of hands of those of you who will be willing to continue the freedom ride in the near future. Lets see a show of hands, please. Freedom ride after freedom ride would come freedom ride after freedom ride would come through and get arrest in jackson and go to jail and get moved to the penitentiary. During the time they spent in prison, a bond formed and they came out of prison more dedicated than ever and began to fan out across the south. James h. Meredith, grandson of a slave and applicant for admission to the university of mississippi. What do you want from the university of mississippi . I think every citizen should have the opportunity to receive an education in his state. You should have an opportunity to receive the best possible education. Mississippi air force veteran James Meredith insists on being admitted to the university of mississippi and ross barnett, the government of the state hes not going to let this happen. We here by deny you admission to the university of mississippi. And it becomes a crisis. Ross arnett with drew local police and allowed the campus to become a war zone. Please, teaching order. How can i remove him governor when there is a riot in the street and step out of the building and something happen to him . We got to get somebody up there now to get order and stop the firing and shooting and then well talk on the phone about meredith. At first we need order. Finally, the army arrives from memphis and comes rolling on the campus and stops the riot at that point. I deeply regret the fact that any action by the executive branch was necessary in this case. But all other avenues and al alternatives have been dried and exhausted. James meredith went to school at old miss today but his travels to and from classes were not those of a regular student. Go on now. For everywhere meredith went, so did his escorts. There is no country where the violence of sunday and monday is unreported. The example of the biggest story in the london everything standard was the violence on the mississippi campus. It was humiliating for a democracy and embarrassing. I think my father and uncle were forced on the policy issues of americas leadership in the globe and saw the Civil Rights Movement in our country as kind of a distraction. I think this is a charge before the president. He must start now making moral decisions, rather than purely political decisions. And other Car Insurance companies . Yes. But youre progressive and theyre them. Yes. But theyre here. Yes. Are you. There . Yes. No. Are you them . Im me. But the lowest rate is from them. Yes. So thems best rate is. Here. So where are them . Arent them here . I already asked you that. When . Feels like a while ago. Want to take it from the top . Rates for us and them. Now thats progressive. Call or click today. With the top speedou compare of comcast the top speed of business dsl from the internet. Phone company well, theres really no comparison. Why pay more for less . Call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. And find out more about our twoyear price guarantee. Comcast business. Built for business. In the name of the greatest people that have ever walked this earth, i draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet and i say segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever. George wallace became a figure for white southerners and when he promised segregation forever to the resistant white south. Im sorry mr. Wallace, god has spoken to me. That he wants freedom for his people. It may even mean physical death but if it means that i will die standing up for the freedom of my people, god has spoken to me. King very wisely sees an opportunity to give more exposure to the sieve Rights Movement and prod the Kennedy Administration. Martin luther king decided that they should have major demonstrations, only in areas at local Law Enforcement would react violently. Do you think you can keep burning him in the present situation of segregation . I may not be able to do it, but ill do trying. Bill conner has a wellknown identity as one of the hardest hard liners in defensive segregation. He encouraged the hiring of clansmen on his police force. King is assuming that bill conner is going to provide the pictures and footage they need to outrage the country. Commissioner conner used mass arrests, fire hoses, police dogs to break up the demonstrations. The demonstrations continued for weeks. Youve got 12, 14, 20 adults max much marching and the movement was on the brink of extinction and said i got plenty of teenagers in my youth workshops willing to go to jail. I was on the phone constantly with jim, with diane and others about making it happen. There is an understandable reluctance on kings part when their parents are going to be furious for putting their children in the line of fire. Finally, its king who makes the decision to send the children into the streets. Will you use the hoses and dogs . We will use the dogs if they draw knives again and throwing rocks. Well use the hose if it becomes necessary to stop the mob. Most of the pick pets and marchers were juveniles instead of adults. Officers quickly moved in to make arrests under the direction of conner. Police overflowed Juvenile Hall with the youthful demonstrators. All kinds of vehicles in service to house them. The Sheriffs Department estimated upwards of 400 had been arrested. Instead of 14 adults, you had 600 teenagers and the next day a thousand and thats when the dogs and hoses came out. Of course what he was doing what the head of the Civil Rights Movement wanted him to do, create the theater that broadcast how bad things were. They were as young as six, eight, nine years old. Why did you want to take part in the demonstrations . Just all the color folks get together and take part in certain fights for freedom maybe they will get some, but if they dont, they wont get nowhere. Birmingham was the soul of the nation was being forged. Negro drive for equality gathered momentum this week. The Supreme Court sanctioned sit in demonstrations, another court removed the government of birmingham dominated by conner. All i can see is i enjoyed my 22. 5 years as Public Safety commissioner. I dont believe i owe the taxpayers of birmingham anything. They will owe me two and a half years back pay. Dont shop for anything on capitol street. These are stores that helped to support the white citizens counsel. He is operating in and around jackson, mississippi, the heart of resistance to desegregation. The nbc Network Affiliate was notorious for features segregation speeches and become such a problem that medger evers demanded equal time. They found themself on the threat from the fcc they agreed to allow medger evers to go on television and make a statement about the goals of the movement. You black son of a [ bleep ] on television, god dang more than 17 minutes they better get his black behind off or ill get him off this is below the mason dixson line. You dont have to put the black jungle bunnies on tv. To many right mississippi people it was an outrage. Thats the first time a black man had been allowed to appear on television in mississippi. Certainly, to argue, against segregation. It made him in someways a marked man in mississippi. Well be demonstrating here until freedom comes to negros here in jackson, mississippi. [ applause ] spokesperson the Volkswagen Passat is heads above the competition, but were not in the business of naming names. The fact is, it comes standard with an engine thats been called the benchmark of its class. Really, guys, i thought. It also has more rear legroom than other midsize sedans. And the Volkswagen Passat has a lower starting price than. Much better. Vo hurry in and lease the 2014 passat s for 199 a month. Visit vwdealer. Com today. 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No, it does not. [ female announcer ] not all Credit Report sites are equal. Experian. Com members get personalized help and a real Credit Report. Join now at experian. Com with enrollment in experian credit tracker. Our guest today on meet the press, next week two negro students will seek to enroll at the university of alabama. Governor wallace will bar the entrance despite a federal court order and the threat of troops. Would you believe the negros in the south are human beings created by god. Of course, they are. I said so in my campaign address. Do you think they should be discriminated for obvious reasons . Can they be enrolled . Well of course, well just have to wait and see what transpireds on that occasion. At the focus are two though fee grows, shes 20 years old and attended a home school in mobile, alabama. Hes 20 and president of his class at gadsden, alabama. What is the general feeling around the campus concerning the agreement to admit the negro here this summer . Well, all the students ive talked to and my friends feel there is not going to be any repeat of mississippi situation. There is not going to be no violence. Well, i feel like it wont be as much trouble as, you know, has been on other campuses but will be bad news when the me negro comes in. Does the government plan to use federal marshalls to prevent the negro students from entering . There is opposition in alabama or any state to federal marshalls and federal troops, and i would be reluctant to see us reach that point. You know, kennedy up there in washington and his brother the president , they give anything in the world if we had some trouble here. Now georgia ask him to do one thing, tell your friends between now and tuesday, dont go out there. Leave it alone. They going to handle this situation. Governor wallace ordered 500 Alabama National guardsmen. They are under his control. It would require more than the pen to place them at the disposal of kennedy. National guard units are commanded by a governor unless they are federalized and the president becomes their commander in chief. Kennedy had to make the decision what to do next. President kennedy has done some significant things in civil rights. At the same time, i must say that president kennedy hadnt done enough, and we must remind him that we elected him. [ applause ] under a siring alabama sun that has the temperature above 100 degrees, the waiting continues. The direct confrontation with federal authorities and negros students is believed to be moments away. They are on route from birmingham to the campus. Wallace about ready to make his appearance on campus. Coming into it, the Justice Deputy doesnt know what wallace will do. Wallace doesnt know whether hell be put in jail. As governor and chief magistrate of the state of the alabama, i deem it to be my solum obligation and duty to stand before you and represent the rights and sovereignty, the constitution out state of alabama and seeking to preserve and maintain the peace and dignity of this state and the individual freedoms of the citizens thereof, do here by denounce and forbid this illegal and unwarranted action by the central government. Governor wallace, i take it from that statement that you are going to stand in that door and that you are not going to carry out the orders, is that correct . I stand upon this statement. You stand upon that statement. Governor, im not interested in a show. I dont know what the purpose of the show is. I am interested in the orders of these courts being enforced. That is my only responsibility here. The choice is yours. I would ask you once again to responsibly step aside. Remain on the campus. The Justice Department says the negro students will be enrolled sometime today. After ole miss, the kennedys learned their lesson about negotiating with a southern governor. Kennedy decides to just go ahead and federalize the guard. He is not going to play games anymore. The National Guard general henry graham goes up to wallace. He says it is my sad duty to tell you to step aside. We shall now return to montgomery for the purpose of continuing this fight, this constitutional fight, because we are winning. Governor wallace moved away from the door and has left after being confronted with about 150 federalized National Guardsmen. Assistant state attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach all smiles as the two negro students are to enter the building. Each time the issue came up, the president and the attorney general did everything they could to not have to get involved. And it was after the encounter with wallace that civil rights became top priority. This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every state of the union. But love alone cannot make men see right. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and as clear as the american constitution. And that was the first time the president made the question of ending racial segregation not because its politically expedient to do so, because it is morally right to do so. Next week i shall ask the congress of the United States to act to make a commitment it has not fully made in this century to the proposition that race has no place in American Life or law. Its his most eloquent speech in some ways, most heartfelt speech. And this nation for all its hopes will not be fully free until all its citizens are free. There is a kind of bitter irony in that within hours afterwards, medgar evers comes home and his wife and children are up because they want to tell him about the president s wonderful speech. Shortly after midnight, medgar evers steps in his car in this driveway. Then evers was murdered. The fatal bullet was fired from a vacant lot across the street from his home, crashing through his body and the window of his home. He was 37. I was appalled at the cowardly ambush of him at his home in front of his wife and children. It said something about how far we still had to go in reaching any semblance of social and civic justice. Hey. Im ted and this is rudy. Say hi rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] id do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. Thats why im so excited about these new milkbone brushing chews. Whoa, im not the only one. Its a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. Clinically proven as effective as brushing. Ok, here you go. Have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth . The twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. They taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. 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We need the movement of best minds many of which are white as well as black. Rustin was simply an organizational genius. He was the best and the brightest. Do you feel that the president s Civil Rights Program is actually not needed . I dont think its needed. And furthermore, i think its unconstitutional. Segregationists senators like Strom Thurmond are attempting to trumpet the fact that bayard is known to be gay as a way to undercut the march. There was an effort to block rustin being selected. And martin king said let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. Dead silence. I recommend very strongly rustin. He designated as the director and chief of staff of the march. People around him said i second that. Freedom now movement, hear me. We are requesting all citizens to move into washington, to go by plane, by car, bus, any way that you can get there. Go to washington. Pass them down. The white house, the Washington Police department, the Defense Department were all drawing up these tremendous contingency plans for mass violence. You have any questions, be sure you contact your captains for anything, and they will take it from there. The whole thing is an orderly march. They came from all over america, negroes and whites, white house wives and hollywood stars, more than 200,000 of them came to washington this morning in a kind of climax to a historic spring and summer in the struggle for equal rights. The march on washington was probably the most joyous protest march ive ever seen. This turned out to be a huge interracial gathering that clearly did send a National Message that there was tremendous support for racial equality. I admired the people my age, and i knew that Jonathan Lewis was the youngest speaker at the march. As a student, and as a participant in an international movement, i was ready to go. I wanted to push. I wanted us to stand up and speak up and speak out. Were tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again, and then you holler be patient. How long can we be patient . We want our freedom, and we want it now. [ cheering ] and i would never forget the speech of Martin Luther king jr. On that day, dr. King spoke out of his soul. And he used that day and the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to preach a certainly man, not just to america, but to the world. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. [ applause ] as he is speaking, Mahalia Jackson shouts to him, tell him about the dream, martin tell them about the dream. And i see him take a written text, and he slides it to the left side of the lectern, looks out on the 350,000 people there, and then he speaks. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed we hold these truths to be selfevident that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. Let freedom ring for every hill of mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring. When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to feed up that day when all gods children, black men and white men, jews and gentiles, protestants and catholics will be able to join hands and sing in the way of the old negro spiritual, free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, we are free at last. I dont think they quite anticipated just how successful it would be. It represents the Civil Rights Movement and a kind of high watermark. The momentum of change seems to be accelerating, and the hearts of 21 million american negroes, im told millions of sympathetic whites, theyre meeting tonight in the hope that negro equality was at last overtaking the reality of history. Freedom, freedom in the immediate wake of the march on washington, the Civil Rights Movement has a national glow to it that it never before had had. But that glow tragically lasts hardly two weeks. The bombing of this birmingham, Alabama Church claimed the lives of four little girls attending sunday school. That was the church out of which all the kids had marched. So it was clearly a punishment. We felt like we were involved because if there had been no movement, chances are that bombing would not have taken place. Kids were murdered in birmingham on a sunday and in sunday school in a christian nation, and nobody cares. Start with the best writing experience. . Make it incredibly thin. Add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard, a usb port, and the freedom of touch. And, of course, make it run microsoft office, with the power and speed to do real work. Introducing surface pro 3. The tablet that can replace your laptop. Hi, Credit Report site andour i have a problem. I need to speak with your fraud resolution department. Ugh, we dont have that. What should i tell him . Just make that super annoying modem noise. shuuuuuuuh. Zzzzzzzz. De ee. Dong. Shuuuhh. hello . Not all Credit Report sites are equal. Classic. Experian. Com members get personalized help plus fraud resolution support. Join now at experian. Com. With enrollment in experian credit tracker. White House Press Secretary Malcolm Kilduff has Just Announced that president kennedy died at approximately 1 00 Central Standard time which is about 35 minutes ago. After being shot at after being shot by an unknown assailant. By an unknown assailant. During a motorcade drive through downtown dallas. During a motorcade drive through downtown dallas. What are you feeling right now . I really couldnt say. Really. Right now i just dont know what to do. I dont even know where to go, what to say. This is nothing for me to say. It is said that the human mind has a greater capacity for remembering the pleasant than the unpleasant. But today was a day that will live in memory and in grief. No words are Strong Enough to express our determination to continue the forward thrust of america that he began. Lyndon johnson wasnt that widely known in the country at large. Johnsons aides say to him in this speech dont fight for civil rights. Thats a noble cause, but its a lost cause. You know what johnson says to them . Well, what the hell is the presidency for then . No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor president kennedys memory than the earliest passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long. Johnson gets that civil rights bill moving in the first few weeks after kennedys assassination. Dixiecrats led by Richard Russell announced a filibuster. That is they would continue to talk and prevent the bill from coming forward for a straight up our down vote. This bill which we feel is a perversion of the american way of life and a great blow at the right of dominion over private property that has been the genesis of our greatness. Lbj and his allies knew they were short. So thus began a 24 7 campaign. He bullied. He cajoled. He made deals in order to get enough senators on board. Surprisingly, after a year on capitol hill, this bill is stronger than the one president kennedy first requested. President johnson should have the bill on his desk by the fourth of july. We hope to send in to mississippi this summer upwards of 1,000 teachers, ministers, and students to open up mississippi to the country. Freedom summer, an operation to flood the state of mississippi with volunteers white and black students. We were there because we could assume that if the White Mississippians mistreated us the way they mistreated the black people, that would be the basis on which to mobilize national opinion. We will treat anyone with Great Respect here in mississippi, but we will treat the people who come here, these children like any other backward children should be treated. And here is the news. There is some mystery and some fear concerning three civil rights workers, two whites from new york city and a negro from mississippi. Police say they arrested the three men for speeding yesterday, but released them after they posted bond. They have not been heard from since. They paid the fine and i released them and i escorted them to their car. And thats the last time we saw any of them. We got word that mickey and andy and james had been arrested. And there was no word what had happened to them. Mr. President , i wanted to let you know we have found the car. Yeah . Now this is not known. Nobody knows this at all, but the car was burned and we do not know yet whether any bodies are inside of the car because of the intense heat. It is merely an assumption that probably they were burned in the car. Or kidnapped and locked up. I doubt people down there would even give them that much of a break. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty, yet millions are being deprived of those blessings. Not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin. We can understand without rancor or hatred how this all happened. But it cannot continue. Our constitutional, foundation of our republic, the principles of our freedom forbid it. And the law i will sign tonight forbids it. [ applause ] senator Hubert Humphrey has called the civil rights bill the greatest piece of social legislation of our generation. Tell somebody my stamp, make sure we get some more hands here. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not going to create instant brotherhood. No one pretends that. But the attorney general gets new power to bring suits against Racial Discrimination in voting, in public accommodations, in education, in employment. If a court finds you guilty of violating some part of the civil rights law, and if you continue violating the law, you can be fined or put in jail until you stop violating the law. Three civil rights workers have disappeared in mississippi. They have not been heard from. So far only one clue, the burned out Station Wagon in which the three were last seen riding there is little hope that they are still alive. Schwerner, chaney and goodman were found shot to death at the base of a recently built dam just six miles from the city of philadelphia. Their bodies wrapped in plastic bags numbered one, two, and three were taken to the state Medical Center in jackson for identification and examination. The two white boys were shot once each through the heart. James chaney, the black youth had been beaten with chains until every bone in his body was broken, then he was shot three times. The finding of the bodies of the three mississippi civil rights workers is a saddening and shocking reminder of the brutality of race hatred. We naturally expect that those responsible for these terrible murders will be brought to justice. We shall overcome we know theyre going to say not guilty. No one saw them pull the trigger. Im tired of that. Dont bow down anymore. Hold your heads up. We want our freedom now. I dont want to have to go to another memorial. Im tired of the arrests had started before dawn. In all, fbi men picked up 21 men. Included in the group were the chief law officers sheriff lawrence rainy and cecil price, they were murdered by Ku Klux Klansmen with conspiratorial help of the local sheriff. Bond was set. But less than a week later the accused were set free, their bond lifted. For james chaneys mother it was a shock, a disappointment. The reason for her sons murder seemed farther away than ever. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. My mom works at ge. What can i do with my 7 a month anemail the school. Acfone . Call the doctor. Text the groomer. Find gear for soccer. Send invites to a party. Post karate pics. Help sean with history. Battle of hastings. 1066. All that with my android from tracfone. Now with three times the talk, text and data for as low as 7 a month. Unbeatable nationwide coverage without a contract. The new Samsung Galaxy centura. Tracfone. Do everything for less. I have the great honor to hand over to you the insignia of the Nobel Peace Prize and a gold medal. Some critics have charged that the Nobel Peace Prize was not appropriately given this year. What is your reaction to that one . Well, first i want to say that i dont think the peace prize was given to me personally, and i dont accept it as a personal honor. I think it is rather a tribute to the wise restraint of discipline and dignity of which negroes and white persons of good will have carried out the whole struggle for civil rights. By the end of 1964, dr. King is aware that the one major Southern Civil rights challenge that had not been dealt with in the 1964 Civil Rights Act was voter registration. A hodgepodge of election laws from state to state prevents many from voting. Political machines disenfranchise others by downright fraud. The negro citizen may go to register only to be told that the day is wrong or the hour is late, or the official in charge is absent. There are five counties in mississippi, each at least 57 negro in which no negroes at all are registered. Today marks the beginning of a determined, organized, mobilized campaign to get the right to vote all over this state. King chooses the city of selma because it has the worst record of any Southern City on black voting. We will seek to arouse the conscience of the federal government by marching by the thousands on places of registration all over the city. Now move. Move. Move. Student protesters had already had a presence in selma going back to 1963, but had found it exceptionally tough going because the Dallas County sheriff, jim clark, was an even tougher version of birminghams bull connor. Is not in session this afternoon as you were informed. You came down to make a mockery out of this courthouse. This courthouse is a serious place of business. You seem to take it to be just a disneyland or something on parade. We have had numerous negroes that couldnt read and write come down and say they were told to come, and if they didnt come, they would lose their pensions from the Welfare Department or the social security. Or have their land confiscated if they didnt show up to register to vote. And when they came down, they had no idea then what they were supposed to do. You are breaking the injunction by not allowing these people to come inside this courthouse and wait. This courthouse does not belong to sheriff clark. This courthouse belongs to the people of Dallas County, and these are the people of Dallas County. And they have come to register. And you know this within your own heart, sheriff clark. Clark, he knew what he wanted to do to me, but he couldnt do it in the open because of all those cameras, right. We have come to be here because they are registering at this time. And i cant enforce the law. We have come to register. And this is our reason for being here. Youre blinding me with that light. Move back. If you want to arrest us, arrest us. Why dont you get out in front of the camera and go on. Facing your sheriff and facing your judge. Were willing to be beaten for democracy. And you misuse democracy. You good people that they will not have the privilege to vote. Im here to tell you tonight that the mayor of this city, the Police Commissioner of this city, and everybody in the white power structure of this city must take a responsibility for everything that jim clark does in this community. Were marching today to dramatize to the nation, dramatize to the world the hundreds and thousands of negro citizens of alabama, but particularly here in the area denied the right to vote. We intend to march to montgomery to send our grievance to governor wallace. Governor George Wallaces head of the Alabama State patrol in tandem with his good buddy sheriff jim clark thinks that what these marchers deserve is a good beating. We arrive at the highest point on the Edmund Pettus bridge. Down below we see a sea of Alabama State troopers. Opposing the protesters was a force of Alabama State troopers, sheriff clark, and clarks private army, the socalled posse men. We saw these men putting on their gas masks. They came toward us. It will be detrimental to your safety to continue this march. You have orders to disperse. Go home or go to your church. This march will not continue. Norfolk southern whats your function . Hooking up the country helping business run build were investing big to keep our country in the lead. Load we keep moving to deliver what you need. And that means growth, lots of cargo going all around the globe. Cars and parts, fuel and steel, peas and rice, hey thats nice Norfolk Southern whats your function . 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Plus, you could save hundreds when you switch, up to 423. Call. Today. Liberty Mutual Insurance responsibility. Whats your policy . This is an unlawful assembly. You have to disperse. Youre ordered to disperse. I thought we were going to be arrested. The major said troopers advance. They used electric cattle prods, bull whips, wooden clubs wrapped with barbed wire. I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a nightstick. I thought i saw death. I thought i was going to die. Sheriff clark and his volunteer army, the posse men sent 80 men, women and children into the hospital. Abc broke in with this footage. It was now being called bloody sunday. And white middle class americans sitting in their comfortable living rooms suddenly had the whole racial ugly mess thrust into their face. It was a watershed moment in television, a landmark moment in the Civil Rights Movement. For the First Time Since birmingham, that footage sets off a national firestorm. In our country, we dont tolerate police by terror taking the law into their own hands. This is unacceptable and just not american. And i believe the time has come for the president to step in. The pettus bridge incident is one of those seminole events that helped create a groundswell for Lyndon Johnson to quickly and this time without nearly as much opposition as the Civil Rights Act of 64 to push through the Voting Rights act of 1965. The president of the United States. Johnson feels that he needs to go before the country in a joint session of congress about why this should be done. I was in the home of a local family in selma with dr. King, and we watched and listened to president johnson. At times history and fate meet at a single time to shape a turning point in mans unending search for freedom. So it was at lexington and concord. So it was a century ago at appomattox. So it was last week in selma, alabama. There long suffering men and women peacefully protested the denial of their rights as americans. Their cause must be our cause too. Because its not just negroes but really, its all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome. [ applause ] so hear Lyndon Johnson, the president of the United States use the theme song of the movement, we shall overcome, i looked at dr. King. Tears came down his face. He started crying. We all cried a little. Dr. King decided that the only proper response to this was to continue the march to montgomery and a court order forced the state of alabama to permit said march. Has just ruled that we have a legal and constitutional right to march from selma to montgomery. [ cheering ] come and follow me, you know the master said dont wait until tomorrow, or you may be dead i was young and i wanted to play, said i wait just one more day dont you know i would, no, i would, i would now with those who said we would get here over their dead bodies, all the world today knows that we are here, that we are standing before the forces of power in the state of alabama saying we aint going to let nobody turn us around. I come to say to you this afternoon however frustrating the hour, it will not be long because truth will rise again. How long . Not long. Because no lie can live forever. How long . Not long because all of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. How long . Not long. Because mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord. Glory hallelujah, glory hallelujah, glory hallelujah, glory hallelujah. This too will march on. 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Once the Voting Rights act was passed and people got the right to vote, they stopped sitting in and started voting. And that turned out to be much more effective. The number of blacks who began voting across the south, the number of black Office Holders at the local level, the state level, at the congressional level, one of the greatest changes in american society. This is what James Meredith intends to do for the next two weeks, march along the highways of mississippi, a state where he is one of the most hated men alive. His purpose, meredith hopes to encourage unregistered negroes along the way to qualify as voters. He also by his very presence hopes to dispel some of the fear negroes have in the south. In 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights act, youd have thought anything was possible. But then very quickly after that, things start to fall apart. As James Meredith was walking along the highway, a gunman stepped out of the woods and just blasted him with a shotgun. Meredith was taken to a memphis hospital under police guard. His blood still remains on the highway. Once he was shot, then there had to be some response by the movement. They had to show that the segregationists cant win that way. They got together and decided to continue the march. Stokely carmichael and Martin Luther king. Stokely carmichael was very much unlike the National Group in terms of his perspective. We feel that we must continue this march right now, that it is urgent to do it. And we will be calling on people of good will from all over the nation to join us in this march. Martin luther king was almost at the level of sainthood. Stokely carmichael understood that he needed that symbol in order to provide legitimacy for what he was trying to do. We want to put president johnson on the spot. He called a conference two days ago to fulfill these rights. We want those rights fulfilled. They cannot be fulfilled with words. Words cannot stop bullets. And we need action and we need it now from the federal government. No more questions, gentlemen. All right. We have the march. The most impressive thing about this march on mississippi is a developing coalition among civil rights leaders. There are reports of differences between leaders, and they are true. But their organizations have always been divided. A split among them is nothing new. Put them all together on march on a highway in mississippi, and frictions emerge because of personal competition and individual ego. Our sweat and blood built mississippi, and we got to take it over because we deserve to have it. Thats what we are working for. Stokely carmichael started expressing the goal now is black people exercising power. Let me say first that this march is nonviolent. It is a nonviolent expression of our determination to be free. This is a principle of the march, and certainly we intend to keep this march nonviolent. Mr. Carmichael, are you as committed to the nonviolent approach as dr. King is . No, im not. Why arent you . I just dont see this as a way of life. I never have. And i also realize that no one in this country is asking the White Community in the south to be nonviolent. And that in a sense is giving them a free license to go ahead and shoot us at will. If there was a symbol of white anger at negro protest in the north this summer, it was cicero, illinois, a town chosen by dr. Martin luther king as the Pressure Point in his open housing drive. Dr. King takes the Civil Rights Movement north to chicago. And the issue is housing. The northern scene was a far more complicated scene and did not have the advantage of the jim crow law. It was one thing for northern liberals when the issue was integration in selma. Its quite a different thing when it was in cicero. If lets say 10 or 20 families moved into cicero, which is a town of 70,000 . Theyd get killed. It was the beginning of serious white backlash against the entire Civil Rights Movement. The nation suddenly learned what it should have known, that racial prejudice was not just a southern problem, it was nationwide. Whites in the north could comfort themselves by pointing a finger at the south, they could do so no longer. Once again showing open hostility. These people here are firmly opposed to these marches. Moreover, they dont see where they serve any useful purpose. Most of the National Press categorizes chicago as a defeat for king. I can say that i have never seen even in mississippi and alabama mobs as hostile and as hatefilled as have i seen in chicago. There was a growing feeling that kings movement wasnt working. He had lost a lot of support from whites and blacks, Martin Luther king is a good man. He is my brother. He is still like me. Were all catching hell. Hes got his approaches of freedom. He is doing his best. And he is changing now too. He sees now that it seems to be impossible to do what he want to do. King was rapidly being eclipsed by a younger and much more militant faction of the black power movement. We are not going to let these white people come into our neighborhoods and kill us. Were going to put every cracker in atlanta on his knees. There was a lot of disunity because the only thing that had really kept the black Community Together ironically was segregation. Once that has been overcome, then the question is what do you want . I would like for all of us to believe in nonviolence, but im here to say tonight that if every negro in the United States turns against nonviolence, im going to stand up as a lone voice and say this is the wrong way. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. Purina pro plan can help him drachieve it. My mom works at ge. Driving rock metal music stops music resumes music stops music resumes [announcer] purina pro plans bioavailable formulas deliver optimal nutrient absorption. [whistle] purina pro plan. Nutrition that performs. I think there is a realization in this country that black power is not just a mere slogan, nationally or internationally. It is real that black people can come together and start determining for their lives how theyre going to live and controlling their economic and political lives. So it means you have to build a movement so strong in this country that if one black man is touched, every black man will rise up and let this country know theyre not going to tolerate. You talk about loving these honkies to death. During these rebellions, you have to stop looking and start shooting. Black power. The issue is one that moves across civil rights, moves across poverty. We get this explosion of violence. You have the watts riots. Then subsequently riots in newark, in detroit. The riots spring to the fore the problems of inner city life. A consequence of a generation of neglect in americas urban centers thinking happened on 12th street in detroit in july. Next time it could happen downtown or in your town. When you stood on the Lincoln Memorial, you said i had a dream. Did that dream envision the federal government preventing the society doing for the negroes that what you think had to be done . It was a high moment, a great watershed moment. But i must confess that that dream that i had that day has turned into a nightmare. Now im not one to lose hope. I keep on hoping. I still have faith in the future. But ive had to analyze many things over the last few years, and i would say over the last few months ive gone through a lot of soulsearching and agonizing moments. And some of the old optimism was a little superficial. And now it must be tempered with a solid realism. And i think the realistic fact is that we still have a long, long way to go. Martin luther king jr. Was killed tonight in memphis, tennessee, shot in the face as he stood on the balcony of his hotel room. Martin was gone. And the main part of everything was over. And we knew that the movement would never be the movement as it was, but then the things that we had lived and really fought for was one. I just want to do gods will, and he has allowed me to go up to the mountain. Ive looked over and ive seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but i want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. So im happy tonight. Im not worried about anything. Im not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord. There were many kinds of sacrifices made for freedom. Most liberation struggle is trying to bring about a better world and a better society. We had to give everything we had to the movement. We accepted a way of peace as a way of life to wear nonviolence as way of life, as a way of living. We forged an agenda in the mind of the country. The movement begins with montgomery, becomes the sitin campaign, the freedom ride, the birmingham campaign, the mississippi summer, the selma to montgomery march. History will record that those singular cumulative acts of courage transformed the south. Transformed the country. We wanted to change america, make america better, not just for our generation, but for generation yet unborn. All of the civil rights, all the marches, all the people who have died in the civil rights struggle will have died in vain if once the opportunity, once the doors are open, no one is prepared for it. I know theres got to be several young people here who are like 5 years old, right . Its now becoming a possibility that that young man by the time he is 50 could be running for the president of the United States. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com in 1992, there were more than 75 suspicious fires set in seattle, washington during a sixmonth period of time. All appeared deliberately set. It was the biggest arson case in american history, solved with behavioral profiling, hypnosis and the piece of art. On the night of august 9th, 1992, firefighters outside seattle,