the energy that allows the march on washington to start coming together. we will keep this demonstration nonviolent. it will be peaceful. it will be dignified and disciplined. and i think it will have a great impact. in my judgment, there was perhaps only one man or woman in america who could have put that march together, and it was bayard rustin. in any movement we need the cooperation of the 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 don t think it s needed. and furthermore, i think it s unconstitutional. segregationist senators like strom thurmond are attempting to trumpet the fact that bayard is
the south, they could do so no longer. once again showing open hostility towards the civil rights demonstrators. these people here are firmly opposed to these marches. moreover, they don t 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 hate-filled as have i seen in chicago. there was a growing feeling that king s movement wasn t working. he had lost a lot of support from whites and blacks. martin luther king is a good man. he s my brother. he s still like me. we re all catching hell. he s got his approaches to freedom. he s doing his best. and he s changing now too. he sees now that it seems to be impossible to do what he want to do. king was rapidly being
governor george wallace s direct confrontation with federal authorities and two negro students at the university of alabama is now believed to be only a very short time away. the two negroes, vivian malone and jimmy hood, reportedly are en route from birmingham to the campus. governor wallace reportedly about ready to make his appearance on campus. coming into it, nobody knows what s going to happen. the justice department doesn t know what wallace is going to do. wallace doesn t know whether he s going to be put in jail. as governor and chief magistrate of the state of alabama, i deem it to be my solid obligation and duty to stand before you representing the rights and sovereignty of this state and its peoples. and now being mindful of my duties and responsibilities under the constitution of the united states, the constitution of the state of alabama, and seeking to preserve and maintain the peace and dignity of this state and the individual
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 there s got to be several young people here who are like 5 years old, right? it s now becoming a possibility that that young man by the time
Transcripts for CNN The Sixties 20140707 04:56:45 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.