American Experience (1988) s19e01 Episode Script

1
THIS IS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION
OF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
MAJOR FUNDING FOR AMERICAN
EXPERIENCE WITH CAPTIONING
IS PROVIDED BY THE
ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION.
NATIONAL CORPORATE FUNDING
IS PROVIDED BY LIBERTY MUTUAL
AND THE SCOTTS COMPANY.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
IS ALSO MADE POSSIBLE
BY THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
AND BY:
FUNDING FOR THE RE-RELEASE
OF EYES ON THE PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE BY:
AND:
I GUESS OUR COURAGE
CAME OUT OF BECAUSE WE DIDN'
HAVE NOTHING,
THAT WE COULDN'T LOSE NOTHING.
BUT WE WANTED SOMETHING FOR
OURSELVES AND FOR OUR CHILDREN.
AND SO WE TOOK A CHANCE
WITH OUR LIVES.
Man:
WE MARCHED UP THE STEPS
WITH THIS CIRCLE OF SOLDIERS
WITH BAYONETS DRAWN.
AND WALKING UP THE STEPS
THAT DAY
WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGES
FEELINGS I'VE EVER HAD.
I FIGURED I HAD
FINALLY CRACKED IT.
Man:
MY FREEDOM IS VERY
MUCH ENTANGLED
WITH THE FREEDOM
OF EVERY OTHER MAN.
SO I'M FIGHTING FOR
MY OWN FREEDOM HERE.
Man:
ARE YOU SCARED?
YES, I'M VERY MUCH AFRAID
EVERYONE HERE IS.
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN ♪
OVER THE HILLS
AND EVERYWHERE ♪
Narrator:
IN A TEN-YEAR PERIOD,
IN THE 1950s AND 1960s,
AMERICA FOUGH
A SECOND REVOLUTION.
WHO'S THAT YONDER
DRESSED IN WHITE? ♪
Narrator:
IT WAS FOUGHT IN THE SOUTH
BY BLACK PEOPLE AND WHITE.
IT WAS FOUGHT IN THE STREETS,
IN CHURCHES, IN COURTS,
IN SCHOOLS.
IT WAS FOUGHT TO MAKE AMERICA
BE AMERICA FOR ALL ITS CITIZENS.
THESE WERE AMERICA'S
CIVIL RIGHTS YEARS.
GO TELL I
ON THE MOUNTAIN ♪
Reporter:
I TAKE IT THEN THA
YOU ARE ADVOCATING
NEGROES IN NEW YORK
TO STAY OUT OF THESE
NATIONAL CHAIN STORES?
OH, NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE.
I'M ADVOCATING
THAT AMERICAN CITIZENS
INTERESTED IN DEMOCRACY
SHOULD STAY OUT OF CHAIN STORES.
Choir:
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING
WITH MY MIND, LORD ♪
Woman:
I HAVE THOUGHT FOR A LONG TIME
THAT NEGROES SHOULD BE ALLOWED
TO SIT AT THE COUNTERS
WHERE WE ARE SERVED DOWNTOWN.
THIS IS JUST A PAR
OF MANY THINGS
THAT I THINK THEY SHOULD
BE ALLOWED TO DO.
ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH
ARE IN FAVOR OF SEGREGATION.
AND SUPREME COUR
OR NO SUPREME COURT,
WE ARE GOING TO MAINTAIN
SEGREGATED SCHOOLS
DOWN IN DIXIE.
WE'RE WILLING TO BE
BEATEN FOR DEMOCRA
AND YOU MISUSE DEMOCRACY
IN THE STREETS!
WHY DON'T YOU GET OU
IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA
AND GO ON?
IT'S NOT A MATTER
OF BEING IN FRON
OF THE CAMERA.
IT'S A MATTER
OF FACING YOUR SHERIFF
AND THEN HIDE YOUR BLOWS.
IT WAS A CLEAR ENGAGEMEN
BETWEEN THOSE WHO WISHED
THE FULLNESS OF THEIR
PERSONALITIES TO BE ME
AND THOSE THAT WOULD DESTROY US
PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY.
YOU DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THAT.
THIS IS WHAT MOVEMENT MEANT.
MOVEMENT MEANT THAT FINALLY
WE WERE ENCOUNTERING
ON A MASS SCALE
THE EVIL THAT HAD BEEN
DESTROYING US ON A MASS SCALE.
YOU DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THAT.
YOU CONTINUE TO ANSWER IT.
Crowd:
WE SHALL NOT,
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED ♪
JUST LIKE THE TREE THAT'S
STANDING BY THE WATER ♪
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED. ♪
I ALWAYS THINK OF WHAT MATTHEW,
JUNIOR, TOLD ME
WHEN HE CALLED
WHEN HE CALLED FROM THE JAIL.
HE SAID
HE SAID, "BE COOL, MOTHER."
(laughs )
AND THAT WAS VERY TRYING,
AND YET IT WAS AMUSING, TOO
HIS TELLING ME TO BE COOL
AT THIS POINT.
(men yelling )
Woman:
I BEEN IN THE STORM ♪
Martin Luther King, Jr.:
WE MUST COME TO SEE
THAT THE END WE SEEK
IS A SOCIETY AT PEACE
WITH ITSELF,
A SOCIETY THAT CAN LIVE
WITH ITS CONSCIENCE.
AND THAT WILL BE A DAY
NOT OF THE WHITE MAN,
NOT OF THE BLACK MAN.
THAT WILL BE THE DAY
OF MAN AS MAN.
Crowd:
WE ARE NOT AFRAID ♪
WE ARE NOT AFRAID ♪
Narrator:
IT WAS A HARD FIGH
CHALLENGING AMERICA'S
BASIC BELIEFS.
WHAT IS AN "INALIENABLE RIGHT"?
WHAT IS "EQUAL TREATMEN
UNDER THE LAW"?
WHAT IS "LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL"?
IT WAS A HARD FIGHT,
BUT THE PRIZE WAS FREEDOM
AND NO AMERICAN COULD
AFFORD TO LOSE.
Crowd:
WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY. ♪
I KNOW THE ONE THING
WE DID RIGHT ♪
WAS THE DAY
WE STARTED TO FIGHT ♪
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE ♪
HOLD ON, HOLD ON. ♪
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE ♪
HOLD ON. ♪
Narrator:
FOR MUCH OF THIS CENTURY,
AMERICA WAS SEGREGATED.
IT WAS OUR SOCIAL SYSTEM,
OUR WAY OF KEEPING
BLACKS AND WHITES APART.
BY CUSTOM AND BY LAW,
MOST BLACKS WERE SERVANTS,
LABORERS, TENANT FARMERS;
WENT TO SEPARATE,
POORER SCHOOLS,
LIVED IN SEPARATE,
POORER HOUSING.
SEGREGATION WAS THE
CONTEXT FOR BLACK LIVES
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY,
BUT ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTH
A COMPLETE ENVIRONMENT,
SOCIALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY.
LISTEN.
FOR A LONG TIME I HAD THE IDEA
THAT A MAN WITH WHITE SKIN
WAS SUPERIOR
BECAUSE IT APPEARED TO ME
THAT HE HAD EVERYTHING.
AND I FIGURED IF GOD
WOULD JUSTIFY THE WHITE MAN
HAVING EVERYTHING,
THAT GOD HAD PUT HIM
IN A POSITION TO BE THE BEST.
IF YOU'RE BORN
INTO A SYSTEM THAT'S WRONG,
WHETHER IT'S A SLAVE SYSTEM
OR WHETHER IT'S
A SEGREGATED SYSTEM,
YOU TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.
AND I WAS BORN INTO A SYSTEM
THAT WAS SEGREGATED
AND DENIED BLACKS
THE RIGHT TO VOTE
IT ALSO DENIED WOMEN
THE RIGHT TO VOTE
AND I TOOK IT FOR GRANTED.
NOBODY TOLD ME ANY DIFFERENT.
NOBODY SAID IT WAS
STRANGE OR UNUSUAL
OR WASN'T LIKE OTHER STATES.
Narrator:
SEGREGATION HAD ITS RULES
AND SOUTHERN BLACKS KNEW
THAT IF THEY DIDN'T OBEY THEM
IF THEY DIDN'T STEP ASIDE
TO LET A WHITE MAN PASS
OR IF A BLACK MAN LOOKED
TOO CLOSELY AT A WHITE WOMAN
THE SYSTEM COULD BE
ENFORCED BY VIOLENCE.
GROUPS LIKE THE KU KLUX KLAN
USED TERRORISM
TO UPHOLD WHITE SUPREMACY
AND WERE AN EVER-PRESEN
SYMBOL OF INTIMIDATION.
BUT THERE WERE ALWAYS BLACKS
WHO FOUGHT AGAINST SEGREGATION.
MANY MINISTERS
PREACHED EQUALITY,
AND BLACK UNIONS
AND ORGANIZATIONS
LIKE THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
FOR THE ADVANCEMEN
OF COLORED PEOPLE
WORKED FOR IT FOR DECADES
THROUGH SPEECHES,
DEMONSTRATIONS AND COURT CASES.
(newsreel music playing )
ALL AMERICAN NEWS BRINGS YOU
OUR PEOPLE'S CONTRIBUTIONS
TO AMERICA AND FREEDOM.
Narrator:
WORLD WAR II HAD
AN ENORMOUS IMPAC
ON BLACK HOPES FOR CHANGE.
BLACK AMERICANS FOUGHT AND DIED
IN A SEGREGATED U.S. ARMY.
BUT THEY SAW A LARGER,
UNSEGREGATED WORLD.
THEY SAW THEIR OWN POWER
AS THEY FOUGH
AND AS SOME WERE TRAINED
AS OFFICERS AND SPECIALISTS.
AND THEY CAME BACK
WITH A NEW SENSE OF THEMSELVES.
Man:
I SPENT THREE YEARS
OVERSEAS IN NEW GUINEA
AND I BECAME AN OFFICER
DURING THAT PERIOD.
I HAD BEEN EAGER TO
EXERCISE AUTHORITY,
SO WHEN WE GOT OUT,
IT WAS JUST ONE MORE STEP
TO SAY, "WELL, LOOK
WE AREN'T GOING
TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE."
Narrator:
THE SOUTH THEY CAME BACK TO
WAS DETERMINED TO RESIST CHANGE,
AND MOST OF THE NATION
WAS NOT READY TO HEAR
BLACK DEMANDS FOR JUSTICE.
THEN, IN THE EARLY 1950s,
AFTER YEARS OF CAREFULLY
PLANNED LITIGATION,
THE N.A.A.C.P. BROUGHT THESE
DEMANDS TO THE SUPREME COURT.
THE TEST CASES
WERE SET IN SCHOOLS.
ON MAY 17, 1954, THE SUPREME
COURT RULED UNANIMOUSLY
IN BROWN VS. BOARD
OF EDUCATION
THAT SEGREGATED SCHOOLS
WERE UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
IT CALLED INTO QUESTION
THE WHOLE SYSTEM OF SEGREGATION.
IT WAS QUITE A SHOCK
TO SOUTHERNERS
TO BE TOLD THAT THE WAY THEY HAD
BEEN RUNNING THEIR AFFAIRS
FOR MANY, MANY YEARS
WAS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE
TO THE NATION AS A WHOLE.
AND A GREAT MANY OF THE OLDER
CROWD OF WHITE SOUTHERNERS
FELT THAT THEY CAME
OF AN ANCESTRY
THAT WERE FOUNDERS
OF THE REPUBLIC
AND THEY KNEW THE CONSTITUTION
AND CUSTOMS AND LAWS
OF THE COUNTRY
AS WELL AS ANYBODY ELSE.
(demonstrators chanting )
Narrator:
THE SOUTH RESISTED DESEGREGATION
WITH LEGAL AND ILLEGAL DELAYS.
IT WOULD TAKE YEARS BEFORE
THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION
WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED
IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY.
BUT IT HAD ONE IMMEDIATE EFFECT.
I THINK THAT THE GREATES
IMPACT OF THE BROWN DECISION
WAS ON THE BLACK
COMMUNITY ITSELF.
IT WAS A STATEMEN
TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THAT THEY HAD A FRIEND,
SO TO SPEAK
THE SUPREME COURT.
AND SO IT EMBOLDENED
THE COMMUNITIES OF BLACKS
AROUND THE COUNTRY
TO MOVE FORWARD TO
SECURE THEIR OWN RIGHTS.
Narrator:
THE CHANGE BEGAN SLOWLY,
ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS.
BLACKS KNEW THEY COULD
STILL LOSE THEIR LIVELIHOOD
OR THEIR LIVES
IF THEY PUSHED WHITES TOO FAST.
BUT STEP BY STEP,
THE CHANGE BEGAN,
FIRST WITH SMALL ACTS
OF PERSONAL COURAGE.
IN SEPTEMBER 1955,
AN OLD MAN NAMED MOSE WRIGH
TOOK THAT REMARKABLE FIRST STEP.
HIS STORY STARTS A
THE TALLAHATCHIE RIVER
IN MONEY, MISSISSIPPI.
HERE THE BODY OF MOSE WRIGHT'S
NEPHEW, EMMETT TILL, WAS FOUND
WEIGHED DOWN IN THE WATERS.
TWO LOCAL MEN WERE ARRESTED
AND CHARGED WITH THE MURDER.
THEY WERE WHITE.
EMMETT TILL WAS BLACK.
TILL HAD COME DOWN FROM CHICAGO
TO VISIT HIS RELATIVES.
THIS IS MOSE WRIGHT.
I AM THE UNCLE
OF EMMETT LOUIS TILL.
SUNDAY MORNING, ABOUT 2:30,
SOMEONE CALLED AT THE DOOR
AND I SAID, "WHO IS IT?"
AND HE SAID,
"THIS IS MR. BRYANT.
I WANT TO TALK
WITH YOU AND THE BOY."
AND WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR,
THERE WAS A MAN STANDING
WITH A PISTOL IN ONE HAND
AND A FLASHLIGH
THE OTHER HAND.
AND HE ASKED ME, DID I HAVE
TWO BOYS THERE FROM CHICAGO.
I TOLD HIM I HAD.
AND HE SAID, "I WANTS THE BOY
THAT DONE ALL THAT TALK."
AND THEY MARCHED HIM TO THE CAR
AND THEY ASKED SOMEONE THERE,
WAS THIS THE RIGHT BOY,
AND THE ANSWER WAS, "YES."
AND THEY DROVE TOWARD MONEY.
AND I FOUND OUT ABOUT I
9:30 SUNDAY MORNING.
I WAS IN BED.
I GOT UP, CALLED MY MOTHER
WHEN I GOT THE NEWS,
BECAUSE EVERY DECISION
I HAD EVER MADE
OR EVERY CRACK THA
I HAD EVER BEEN IN,
IT TOOK HER TO GET ME OUT OF IT.
AND I TOOK THAT ONE
TO MAMA, TOO,
BECAUSE I DIDN'
KNOW WHAT TO DO.
MOTHER TOLD ME
TO COME RIGHT OVER
AND SHE WOULD STAR
MAKING CALLS.
AND I GOT OVER THERE
AS QUICKLY AS I COULD MAKE IT,
AND THAT WASN'T VERY LONG.
Narrator:
BY THIS TIME,
EVERYONE IN MONEY
KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED.
EMMETT TILL HAD BROKEN ONE
OF SEGREGATION'S RULES
HE TALKED FRESH
TO A WHITE WOMAN IN A STORE.
HE WAS ONLY 14,
HE WAS A NORTHERNER,
AND HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
WE WENT INTO THE STORE
TO BUY SOME CANDY.
BEFORE HE WENT IN, HE HAD SHOWED
THE BOYS AROUND HIS AGE
HE HAD SOME PICTURES
OF SOME WHITE KIDS
THAT HE HAD GRADUATED FROM
THAT WAS FEMALE AND MALE.
SO HE TOLD THE BOYS DOWN THERE,
GATHERED AROUND THE STORE
THERE MUST HAVE BEEN
ROUND ABOUT
MAYBE TEN TO 12
YOUNGSTERS AROUND THERE
THAT THE GIRLS
WAS HIS GIRLFRIEND, YOU KNOW.
SO ONE OF THE LOCAL BOYS SAID,
"HEY, THERE'S A GIRL
IN THAT STORE THERE.
I BET YOU WON'T GO IN THERE
AND TALK TO HER," YOU KNOW.
SO HE WENT IN THERE
TO GET SOME CANDY.
SO WHEN HE WAS LEAVING OUT THE
STORE, AFTER BUYING THE CANDY,
HE TOLD HER, HE SAID,
"BYE, BABY."
AND THE NEXT THING I KNOW,
ONE OF THE BOYS
CAME UP TO ME
AND SAID, "SAY, MAN,
YOU GOT A CRAZY COUSIN.
HE JUST WENT IN THERE AND
SAID 'BYE' TO THAT WHITE WOMAN."
AND THAT'S WHEN, UM, THIS MAN
I WAS PLAYING CHECKERS WITH,
THIS OLDER MAN I GUESS HE MUS
HAVE BEEN AROUND 60 OR 70
HE JUMPED STRAIGHT UP
AND SAID, "BOY, Y'ALL
BETTER GET OUT OF HERE."
SAY, "THAT LADY WILL COME
OUT OF THAT STORE
AND BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT."
WEDNESDAY, THE SHERIFF CAME
AND TOLD ME THEY HAD FOUND
A BODY AT PHILIPP
AND WANTED ME TO GO
AND IDENTIFY THE BODY,
WHICH I DID.
AND WE FOUND THE BODY.
IT DIDN'T HAVE ON
ANY CLOTHES AT ALL.
THE BODY WAS SO BADLY DAMAGED
THAT WE COULDN'T HARDLY
JUST TELL WHO HE WAS,
BUT HE HAPPENED TO HAVE ON
A RING WITH HIS INITIALS.
AND THAT CLEARED IT UP.
Narrator:
THE BODY WAS SHIPPED HOME
BACK NORTH TO CHICAGO
WHERE MAMIE TILL BRADLEY
INSISTED
ON AN OPEN-CASKET FUNERAL.
"SO ALL THE WORLD
CAN SEE," SHE SAID,
"WHAT THEY DID TO MY BOY."
Woman:
I AM AN OLD PILGRIM ♪
OF SORROW. ♪
AND I'M LEFT IN ♪
THIS WHOLE WIDE WORLD ♪
I'M LEFT IN THIS
WIDE WORLD ALONE. ♪
Narrator:
JET MAGAZINE SHOWED
TILL'S CORPSE--
BEATEN, MUTILATED,
SHOT THROUGH THE HEAD.
A GENERATION OF BLACK PEOPLE
WOULD REMEMBER THE HORROR
OF THAT PHOTO.
NO HOPE FOR TOMORROW. ♪
I BELIEVE THA
THE WHOLE UNITED STATES
IS MOURNING WITH ME.
AND IF THE DEATH OF MY SON CAN
MEAN SOMETHING
TO THE OTHER UNFORTUNATE PEOPLE
ALL OVER THE WORLD,
THEN FOR HIM
TO HAVE DIED A HERO
WOULD MEAN MORE TO ME THAN
FOR HIM JUST TO HAVE DIED.
Narrator:
ROY BRYANT, HUSBAND OF
THE WOMAN IN THE STORE,
AND J.W. MILAM,
HER BROTHER-IN-LAW,
WERE ARRESTED FOR THE
MURDER OF EMMETT TILL.
THE TRIAL WAS HELD IN
NEARBY SUMNER, MISSISSIPPI.
BLACK ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE
N.A.A.C.P. AND THE BLACK PRESS
WERE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED,
AND THEY WORKED HARD TO KEEP
THE CASE IN THE NEWS,
TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF
SOUTHERN RACISM FOR THE WORLD.
IT WAS BECAUSE IT WAS A BOY
THAT THEY WENT THERE.
THEY HAD TO PROVE
THAT THEY WERE SUPERIOR.
THEY HAD TO PROVE IT BY TAKING
AWAY A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S IN THE VIRUS,
IT'S IN THE BLOOD
OF THE MISSISSIPPIAN.
HE CAN'T HELP IT.
I'D LIKE FOR THE N.A.A.C.P.
OR ANY COLORED ORGANIZATION
ANYWHERE
TO KNOW THAT WE ARE HERE
GIVING ALL PARTIES A FREE TRIAL
AND INTEND TO GIVE A FAIR
AND IMPARTIAL TRIAL.
AND WE DON'T NEED THE HELP
OF THE N.A.A.C.P.
AND WE DON'T INTEND
FOR THEM TO HELP US.
WE NEVER HAVE ANY TROUBLE
UNTIL SOME OF OUR SOUTHERN
NIGGERS GO UP NORTH
AND THE N.A.A.C.P. TALKS TO THEM
AND THEY COME BACK HOME.
I HAD COVERED THE COURTS
IN MANY AREAS OF THIS COUNTRY,
BUT THE TILL CASE
WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
I MEAN, I JUS
DIDN'T GET THE SENSE
OF BEING IN A COURTROOM.
IT WAS, FIRST PLACE,
SEGREGATED.
THE BLACK PRESS SA
AT A BRIDGE TABLE
FAR OFF FROM THE COURT.
AND THE BOY'S MOTHER CAME DOWN.
THEY SAT HER THERE
AT THE BRIDGE TABLE WITH US.
PLUS THE UNITED STATES
CONGRESSMAN AT THAT TIME,
DIGGS HE CAME DOWN AND I WAS
THE ONE THAT GOT HIM IN,
BECAUSE THE SHERIFF
WOULDN'T LET HIM IN.
HE SAID TO THE DEPUTY
THAT HE CALLED OVER,
HE SAID, "THIS NIGGER HERE
SAID THERE'S A NIGGER OUTSIDE
"WHO SAYS
THAT HE'S A CONGRESSMAN
"AND HE HAS CORRESPONDED
WITH THE JUDGE
"AND THE JUDGE HAS TOLD HIM
TO COME ON DOWN
AND HE WOULD
LET HIM IN," HE SAID.
"BUT THE SHERIFF
WON'T LET HIM IN
SO HE'S SENDING
HIS CARD UP THERE."
SO THIS GUY SAID,
"A NIGGER CONGRESSMAN?"
AND HE SAID, "THAT'S
WHAT THIS NIGGER SAID."
"MY GOD, I HAVE NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE!"
THERE WAS, OF COURSE,
A LOT OF BUZZING
WHEN I ENTERED THE PLACE
AND WAS PLACED IN THAT AREA.
AND I THINK THE JUDGE
SAID SOMETHING ABOUT,
"YEAH, HAVE THAT BOY
COME ON UP HERE
AND SIT DOWN OVER HERE WITH
THESE NEWS REPORTERS," YOU KNOW.
(chuckling )
Reporter:
WHAT DO YOU INTEND
TO DO HERE TODAY?
TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS
THAT MIGHT THAT THE ATTORNEYS
MIGHT ASK ME TO ANSWER,
TO THE BEST
HOW DO YOU THINK
YOU COULD POSSIBLY
BE A HELP TO THEM?
JUST BY ANSWERING WHATEVER
QUESTIONS THAT THEY ASK ME.
I SEE.
Second man:
DO YOU HAVE
ANY EVIDENCE
BEARING
ON THIS CASE?
I DO KNOW THAT THIS IS MY SON.
Narrator:
THE DEFENSE ARGUED
THAT THE BODY FOUND TIED TO THE
COTTON GIN FAN IN THE RIVER
WAS SO DISFIGURED
THAT IT COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED
AS EMMETT TILL.
THE TRIAL TOOK
FIVE LONG, HOT DAYS.
BECAUSE OF THREATS TO HIS LIFE,
THE PROSECUTION'S
STAR WITNESS, MOSE WRIGHT,
WAS KEPT HIDDEN OUT OF STATE.
WILL YOU GO BACK
TO MISSISSIPPI TO TESTIFY
IN THE KIDNAP TRIAL?
SURE, SURE.
I'LL GO BACK, BECAUSE I PROMISED
THE SHERIFF I'D BE BACK.
SO IF I LIVE, I'M GOING
BACK TO TESTIFY.
AND AFTER THE TRIAL, WELL,
I'M THROUGH WITH MISSISSIPPI
FOREVER AND EVER.
THEY CAN HAVE MY PAR
OF MISSISSIPPI.
I'M THROUGH WITH IT.
AT THE TIME,
I REALLY DIDN'T REALIZE
HOW BRAVE MY GRANDFATHER
MOSE WRIGHT WAS, YOU KNOW.
BUT AFTER I GOT OLDER,
I REALIZED THA
HE WAS A BRAVE MAN.
HE WAS A MIGHTY BRAVE MAN
TO TRAVEL BACK DOWN THERE
AMONG ALL THOSE HOSTILE PEOPLES
AND TESTIFY,
AND GET UP IN COUR
AND POINT HIS FINGER
AT A WHITE MAN
AND ACCUSE HIM OF MURDER.
HE WAS CALLED UPON
TO TESTIFY AS TO
COULD HE SEE ANYBODY
IN THE COURTROOM
IDENTIFY ANYBODY
IN THAT COURTROOM
THAT HAD COME
TO HIS HOUSE THAT NIGH
AND GOT EMMETT TILL OUT.
HE STOOD UP, AND THERE WAS
A TENSION IN THE COURTROOM,
AND HE SAYS IN HIS BROKEN
LANGUAGE, "DAR HE."
Narrator:
"DAR HE" THERE HE IS.
OTHER BLACK WITNESSES
CAME FORWARD, TOO.
THEIR COURAGE MADE NO DIFFERENCE
IN SUMNER, MISSISSIPPI.
AS THE TRIAL ENDED,
A DEFENSE LAWYER TOLD THE JURY
HE WAS "SURE EVERY LAS
ANGLO-SAXON ONE OF YOU
HAS THE COURAGE
TO FREE THESE MEN."
IT TOOK THE JURY AN HOUR
TO FIND THE MEN NOT GUILTY.
Reporter:
HOW DO YOU
FOLKS FEEL
NOW THAT IT'S
ALL OVER?
ROY, HOW
ABOUT YOU?
I'M JUST GLAD IT'S OVER WITH.
J.W.?
I AM, TOO.
MRS.
BRYANT?
I FEEL
FINE.
HOW ABOUT YOU,
MRS. MILAM?
DID YOU EXPEC
THIS VERDICT?
WELL, I WAS HOPING FOR IT.
WELL, THE WHOLE TRIAL
WAS JUST A FARCE AND
BUT THE VERDICT WAS THE ONE THA
I HAD EXPECTED TO BE GIVEN.
Narrator:
MONTHS LATER,
ROY BRYANT AND J.W. MILAM
TOLD THEIR STORY
OF THE NIGHT OF AUGUST 28
FOR $4,000
TO REPORTER
WILLIAM BRADFORD HUIE.
MILAM WAS STARTLED
AT THE BELLIGERENT ATTITUDE
OR THE FACT THAT YOUNG TILL
DIDN'T APPEAR TO
BE AFRAID OF HIM.
HE'D GONE AND GOTTEN HIM
OUT OF BED
AND HAD HIM
IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCK
AND YOUNG TILL NEVER REALIZED
THE DANGER HE WAS IN.
I'M QUITE SURE
THAT HE NEVER THOUGH
THESE TWO MEN WOULD KILL HIM.
AND OR MAYBE HE'S JUS
IN SUCH A STRANGE ENVIRONMENT,
HE DOESN'T, REALLY JUST DOESN'
KNOW WHAT HE'S UP AGAINST.
AND IT SEEMS
TO A RATIONAL MIND TODAY,
IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE THA
THEY COULD HAVE KILLED HIM.
BUT J.W. MILAM LOOKED UP
AT ME AND SAID,
"WELL, WHEN HE TOLD ME ABOU
THIS WHITE GIRL HE HAD,"
HE SAYS, "MY FRIEND, THAT'S WHA
THIS WAR IS ABOUT DOWN HERE NOW.
"THAT'S WHAT WE GO
TO FIGHT TO PROTECT.
AND HE SAYS, "I JUST LOOKED
AT HIM, AND I SAID,
'BOY, YOU AIN'T GONNA NEVER
SEE THE SUN COME UP AGAIN.'"
Narrator:
FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN HISTORY,
LYNCHING HAD BEEN
AN ORDINARY STORY.
RACE KILLINGS WERE
DOWN BY THE 1950s,
BUT OVER THE YEARS,
THERE HAD BEEN MORE THAN
500 DOCUMENTED LYNCHINGS
IN MISSISSIPPI ALONE.
AND THE FACT THAT EMMETT TILL,
A YOUNG BLACK MAN,
COULD BE FOUND FLOATING DOWN
A RIVER IN MISSISSIPPI,
AS INDEED MANY HAD BEEN DONE
OVER THE YEARS,
JUST SET IN CONCRETE
THE DETERMINATION
OF PEOPLE TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND I THINK WE SAID BACK THERE
THAT REALLY, ONLY GOD
ONLY THE BOOKS IN HEAVEN
CAN KNOW HOW MANY NEGROES
HAVE COME UP MISSING
AND DEAD AND KILLED
UNDER THE SYSTEM
IN WHICH WE LIVED.
Narrator:
IN MISSISSIPPI,
A FEW BLACK PEOPLE
STOOD UP TO THE SYSTEM.
BUT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH.
THEIR CHALLENGE WAS
EASILY BEATEN BACK.
THREE MONTHS LATER,
IN ALABAMA,
WHEN MANY STOOD TOGETHER,
THE CHALLENGE WOULD BE STRONG.
IT STARTED WITH A WOMAN NAMED
ROSA PARKS IN MONTGOMERY.
Man:
MONTGOMERY IN 1955
WAS A TYPICAL SOUTHERN CITY.
WE ARE CALLED "THE CRADLE
OF THE CONFEDERACY."
AND THERE IS A TRADITION
IN MONTGOMERY OF
HAVING THE CARRYING OU
THE OLD CONFEDERATE SOUTH
TYPE OF THINGS
THE STARS-AND-BARS FLAGS
IT WAS A TOTALLY
SEGREGATED COMMUNITY.
THE DEPARTMENT STORES
HAD WHITE WATER FOUNTAINS
AND COLORED WATER FOUNTAINS.
WE HAD SEPARATE TAXIS.
YOU HAD BLACK TAXIS
AND YOU HAD WHITE TAXIS.
Narrator:
AND MONTGOMERY, LIKE ALL OF
THE SOUTH, HAD SEGREGATED BUSES.
IN INTERSTATE BUSES LIKE THIS
ONE AND IN CITY BUSES,
THE WHITES SAT IN THE FRONT,
THE BLACKS IN BACK.
IF MORE WHITES GOT ON,
THE BLACKS HAD TO GIVE THEM
THE MIDDLE AND BACK SEATS, TOO.
ON DECEMBER 1, 1955,
ROSA PARKS REFUSED TO GIVE UP
HER SEAT TO A WHITE PASSENGER.
THE FRONT SEATS WERE OCCUPIED
AND THE ONE MAN,
A WHITE MAN, STANDING.
AT THIS POINT THE DRIVER
ASKED US TO STAND UP
AND LET HIM HAVE THOSE SEATS,
AND WHEN NEITHER NONE OF US
MOVED AT HIS FIRST WORDS,
HE SAID, "Y'ALL MAKE I
LIGHT ON YOURSELVES
AND LET ME HAVE THOSE SEATS."
AND WHEN THE POLICEMEN
APPROACHED ME,
ONE OF THEM SPOKE AND ASKED ME
IF THE DRIVER HAD ASKED ME
TO STAND.
I SAID, "YES."
HE SAID, "WHY DON'T YOU
STAND UP?"
I SAID, "I DON'T THINK
I SHOULD HAVE TO STAND UP."
AND I ASKED HIM, I SAID,
"WHY DO YOU PUSH US AROUND?"
HE SAID, "I DO NOT KNOW,
BUT A LAW IS A LAW,
AND YOU ARE UNDER ARREST."
MRS. PARKS WAS FORMERLY
MY SECRETARY IN THE N.A.A.C.P.
IN THE LOCAL BRANCH
FOR ABOUT 12 YEARS.
SHE ALSO WORKED WITH ME
WHEN I WAS STATE PRESIDEN
OF THE N.A.A.C.P.
AND SHE ALSO ASSISTED ME
IN THE BROTHERHOOD OF
SLEEPING CAR PORTERS.
AND IF THERE EVER WAS A WOMAN
WHO WAS DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE,
ROSA PARKS WAS THAT WOMAN.
Narrator:
THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME
A BLACK PERSON HAD DEFIED THE
BUS SEGREGATION IN MONTGOMERY.
IT WAS NOT MRS. PARKS' FIRS
TIME; IT WAS HER FIRST ARREST.
E.D. NIXON WENT TO THE POLICE
STATION TO BAIL HER OUT.
I SAID, "MISS PARKS,
WITH YOUR PERMISSION,
WE CAN BREAK DOWN SEGREGATION
ON THE BUS WITH YOUR CASE."
I SAID, "I'M CONVINCED
THAT WE CAN DO IT."
I SAID, "IF I WASN'T CONVINCED,
I WOULDN'T BOTHER YOU BY IT."
SHE ASKED HER MOTHER
WHAT SHE THOUGHT ABOUT I
AND SHE SAID, "I'LL GO
ALONG WITH MR. NIXON."
ASKED HER HUSBAND HE SAID,
"I'LL SUPPORT IT."
SHE SAID, "THAT'S FINE."
Narrator:
E.D. NIXON
AND OTHER BLACK LEADERS
CALLED FOR A ONE-DAY
BUS BOYCOTT.
IN SOME CITIES IT WOULD
HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE
TO ORGANIZE 40,000
PEOPLE IN TWO DAYS,
BUT BLACK MONTGOMERY
HAD A CORE OF ACTIVISTS
IN THE WOMEN'S POLITICAL
COUNCIL,
AND THEY DISTRIBUTED
THESE BOYCOTT NOTICES
ALL OVER THE CITY.
I CALLED EVERY PERSON
WHO WAS IN EVERY
SCHOOL AND EVERY PLACE
WHERE WE HAD PLANNED TO BE
AT THAT
HAVE SOMEBODY AT THAT SCHOOL
OR WHEREVER IT WAS,
AT A CERTAIN TIME,
THAT I WOULD BE THERE
WITH MATERIALS
FOR THEM TO DISSEMINATE.
I DIDN'T GO TO BED THAT NIGHT.
I CUT THOSE STENCILS,
I RAN OFF 35,000 COPIES.
THE BUS PASSED RIGHT DOWN
IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE, YOU KNOW,
AND I GOT UP TO SEE IT,
AND SEVERAL BUSES PASSED.
BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO SEE
HOW MANY BUSES WAS EMPTY
AND THEY WERE TOTALLY EMPTY.
Narrator:
THE ONE-DAY BOYCOT
WAS A SUCCESS.
THAT NIGHT, A MOBILIZED
BLACK COMMUNITY
TURNED OUT FOR A MEETING A
THE HOLT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
AND VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
TO CONTINUE THE BOYCOTT.
THE PREACHERS WERE
PREACHING AS I CAME IN
I WAS ABOUT TWO MINUTES LATE
COMING IN
AND THEY WERE PREACHING, AND
THAT AUDIENCE WAS SO ON FIRE.
THE PREACHER WOULD
GET UP AND SAY,
"DO YOU WANT YOUR FREEDOM?"
AND THEY'D SAY, "YEAH!
YEAH, I WANT MY FREEDOM."
"ARE YOU FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING?"
"YEAH, GO AHEAD, GO AHEAD."
OVERWHELMINGLY.
I DON'T KNOW
IF THERE WAS ONE VOTE
THAT SAID, "NO, DON'T CONTINUE."
THE PEOPLE WANTED
TO CONTINUE THAT BOYCOTT.
THEY HAD BEEN TOUCHED
BY THE PERSECUTION,
THE HUMILIATION THAT MANY
OF THEM HAD ENDURED ON BUSES.
AND THEY VOTED FOR I
UNANIMOUSLY,
AND THAT MEAN
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.
YOU SEE, WHEN I FIRS
STARTED FIGHTING,
I WAS FIGHTING TO KEEP, SO THA
THE CHILDREN WHO CAME BEHIND ME
WOULDN'T SUFFER THE SAME THING
I SUFFERED.
THEN THE NIGHT OF THE BUS
BOYCOTT ON DECEMBER THE FIFTH,
I HAD BEEN FIGHTING LIKE THA
FOR ALL THESE YEARS.
I SAID, "TONIGH
I CHANGE MY MIND."
I SAID, "HELL, I WANT TO ENJOY
SOME OF THIS STUFF MYSELF."
AND MAN, YOU OUGHT TO HAVE HEARD
PEOPLE HOLLER.
Narrator:
THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
AT HOLT STREET CHURCH
WAS A NEW PREACHER IN TOWN,
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
HE WAS ONLY 26 AND WAS
ALMOST UNKNOWN
OUTSIDE HIS OWN CONGREGATION.
KING WASN'T SURE
HE SHOULD ACCEP
WHEN HIS FELLOW MINISTERS AND
OTHER LEADERS ASKED HIM TO HEAD
THE NEW MONTGOMERY IMPROVEMEN
ASSOCIATION AND THE BOYCOTT,
BUT THEY WANTED HIM IN PAR
BECAUSE HE WAS NEW
IN MONTGOMERY.
THE REVEREND KING
WAS A YOUNG MAN,
A VERY INTELLIGENT YOUNG MAN.
HE HAD NOT BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH
FOR THE CITY FATHERS
TO PUT THEIR HAND ON HIM.
MARTIN SAID,
"WELL, UM YOU KNOW,
"I'M NOT SURE I'M THE BES
PERSON FOR THIS POSITION
"SINCE I'M NEW IN THE COMMUNITY,
"BUT IF NO ONE ELSE
IS GOING TO SERVE,
"YOU KNOW, SOMEONE HAS TO DO I
AND I'D BE GLAD TO
I'D BE GLAD TO TRY TO DO IT."
AND OF COURSE, I GUESS EVERYBODY
THEN ASSURED HIM THEY WANTED HIM
SO HE CAME HOME VERY
EXCITED ABOUT THE FAC
THAT HE HAD TO GIVE
THE KEYNOTE SPEECH THAT NIGH
AT THE MASS MEETING.
HE ONLY HAD 20 MINUTES
TO PREPARE HIS SPEECH.
WE, THE DISINHERITED
OF THIS LAND,
WE WHO HAVE BEEN
OPPRESSED SO LONG,
ARE TIRED OF GOING THROUGH
THE LONG NIGHT OF CAPTIVITY
AND NOW WE ARE REACHING OU
FOR THE DAYBREAK OF FREEDOM
AND JUSTICE AND EQUALITY.
(cheering and applause )
THE ONLY WEAPON THAT WE HAVE
IN OUR HANDS THIS EVENING
IS THE WEAPON OF PROTEST
Crowd:
YES!
King:
THAT'S ALL.
AND CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY
THIS IS THE GLORY OF AMERICA
WITH ALL OF ITS FAULTS.
AND WE ARE NOT WRONG.
WE ARE NOT WRONG
IN WHAT WE ARE DOING.
IF WE ARE WRONG,
THE SUPREME COUR
OF THIS NATION IS WRONG.
(applause )
IF WE ARE WRONG,
THE CONSTITUTION OF
THE UNITED STATES IS WRONG.
Crowd(applauding):
YES!
King:
IF WE ARE WRONG,
GOD ALMIGHTY IS WRONG.
(loud cheering and applause )
Man:
WE HAD NEVER SEEN
A CROWD LIKE THAT BEFORE.
IT TOOK 15 MINUTES
BEFORE THE PEOPLE WOULD SIT DOWN
AND BECOME QUIE
AND LET US BEGIN THE MEETING.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THE NAME
OF THE FIRST SONG THAT WE SANG,
AND IT WAS "WHAT A FELLOWSHIP,
WHAT A JOY DIVINE,
LEANING ON
THE EVERLASTING ARMS."
Congregation:
WHAT A FELLOWSHIP,
WHAT A JOY DIVINE ♪
LEANING ON
THE EVERLASTING ARMS. ♪
Narrator:
BEFORE THE BOYCOTT,
TWO-THIRDS OF THE BUS
RIDERS WERE BLACK.
AFTER DECEMBER 5,
THERE WERE ALMOST NO BLACKS
AT THE SEGREGATED BUS STOPS
OR ON THE BUSES.
THEY WALKED AND THEY
CREATED A COMPLEX SYSTEM
THAT USED PRIVATE CARS TO CARRY
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE EACH DAY.
WE ASKED FOR PERSONS
WHO HAD CARS
AND WOULD VOLUNTARILY PUT THEM
IN THE TRANSPORTATION POOL
TO LET US KNOW
AND WHAT TIME
THEY COULD BE USED.
AND IN THAT WAY WE COULD KNOW
WHEN WE WOULD HAVE CARS
AND WHERE THEY HAD TO
GO TO PICK UP PEOPLE.
PEOPLE WOULD CALL IN AND SAY,
"I'M OUT HERE ON CLOVERDALE ROAD
ON SUCH-AND-SUCH A BLOCK,
AND I'LL BE READY A
SUCH-AND-SUCH A TIME."
BUT THIS WAS BEING DONE
ALL THROUGH THE DAY.
AND WE WOULD KNOW WHAT TIME THEY
WERE SUPPOSED TO BE PICKED UP
AND WHERE THEY WERE.
IT WAS REALLY SURPRISING,
BECAUSE WE THOUGHT, WELL,
MAYBE SOME OF THE PEOPLE
WOULD CONTINUE TO RIDE THE BUS.
BUT AFTER ALL, THEY HAD BEEN
MISTREATED
AND BEEN MISTREATED
IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS
UNTIL I GUESS THEY WERE TIRED,
D THEY JUST DECIDED
THAT THEY JUST WOULDN'T RIDE.
Narrator:
THE BLACK COMMUNITY WAS
INSPIRED BY ITS OWN SUCCESS.
THEY HELD MEETINGS WITH
THE MAYOR AND THE BUS COMPANY
AND FOUND THEY COULD STAND UP
TO THE CITY COMMISSIONERS.
AT FIRST WE DIDN'T EVEN
ASK FOR DESEGREGATION.
WE ONLY ASKED FOR A MORE HUMANE
SYSTEM OF SEGREGATION
ON THE BUSES.
ANWHEN THE OPPOSITION
REFUSED TO GRANT THAT,
THEN WE REALIZED THAT THEY
WOULDN'T GRANT ANYTHING ANYWAY,
SO WE MIGHT AS WELL ASK FOR, YOU
KNOW, COMPLETE DESEGREGATION.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WENT FOR
AND WE REALIZED WE HAD TO
GO FOR BROKE, SO TO SPEAK.
Narrator:
BY THIS TIME,
THE BOYCOTT HAD LASTED LONGER
THAN ANYONE EXPECTED.
A WAVE OF VIOLENCE STARTED
SHOTS FIRED AT BUSES,
BOMBS THROWN AT MARTIN KING'S
HOME AND E.D. NIXON'S HOME.
Interviewer:
YOU'VE HAD SOME
RATHER PERSONAL
AND TRYING
EXPERIENCES YOURSELF.
ARE YOU AFRAID?
NO, I'M NOT.
MY ATTITUDE IS THA
THIS IS A GREAT CAUSE,
IT IS A GREAT ISSUE
THAT WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH,
AND THAT THE CONSEQUENCES
FOR MY PERSONAL LIFE
ARE NOT PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT.
IT IS THE TRIUMPH OF THE CAUSE
THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT.
AND I HAVE ALWAYS FELT THA
ULTIMATELY ALONG THE WAY OF LIFE
AN INDIVIDUAL MUST STAND UP
AND BE COUNTED
AND BE WILLING
TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES,
WHATEVER THEY ARE.
AND IF HE IS FILLED WITH FEAR,
HE CANNOT DO IT.
WE THOUGHT THAT YOU COULD
JUST SHAME AMERICA.
"SO NOW AMERICA,
LOOK AT YOUR PROMISES
"AND LOOK AT HOW YOU'RE TREATING
YOUR POOR NEGRO CITIZENS.
YOU OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED
OF YOURSELF."
BUT, YOU KNOW,
YOU CAN'T SHAME SEGREGATION.
YOU CAN'T, UH RATTLESNAKES
DON'T COMMIT SUICIDE.
BALL TEAMS DON'
STRIKE THEMSELVES OUT.
YOU'VE GOT TO PUT THEM OUT.
Narrator:
THE NIGHTLY MASS MEETINGS
IN CHURCH
WERE THE BACKBONE
OF THE BOYCOTT.
Coretta King:
THE MASS MEETINGS USUALLY
WERE ATTENDED BY THE MAIDS
AND COOKS AND JANITORS
AND PEOPLE WHO REALLY
USED THE BUSES A LOT.
AND THEY WOULD BE THERE SINGING
AND PRAYING FOR HOURS SOMETIMES
BEFORE THE PROGRAM
ACTUALLY STARTED,
THE MAIN PAR
OF THE MASS MEETING.
Audience:
WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS ♪
GOING ON BEFORE ♪
CHRIST THE ROYAL MASTER ♪
Gilmore:
I ATTENDED JUS
ABOUT ALL OF THEM.
I WAS REALLY
VERY INTERESTED IN I
BECAUSE YOU COULD GO
AND YOU COULD LEARN
ABOUT SO MANY THINGS
THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW EXIS
AND SO MANY PEOPLE
WOULD TELL YOU
HOW THEY WERE BEING MISTREATED
AND THEY WERE GLAD
THAT THEY WERE ABLE
TO COME UP AND NOT HAVE
TO TAKE THE SAME TREATMENTS
THAT THEY WAS, HAD TAKEN
AND WAS AFRAID TO ADMIT.
THE FEAR LEFT.
THE FEAR THAT HAD SHACKLED US
ACROSS THE YEARS
ALL LEFT SUDDENLY
WHEN WE WERE
IN THAT CHURCH TOGETHER.
DR. ABERNATHY WOULD
SPEAK FIRST USUALLY.
AND HE HAD THE ABILITY
TO REALLY MAKE THEM LAUGH
AND MAYBE MAKE THEM CRY SOME.
HE REALLY KNEW
HOW TO, YOU KNOW,
KIND OF GET THEM IN THE MOOD.
THIS SHOW
IS YOUR SHOW.
(audience shouts )
NOT ONLY IS THIS SHOW THE SHOW
OF NEGROES IN MONTGOMERY,
BUT THIS IS THE SHOW
OF NEGROES ALL OVER AMERICA.
AND THEN I WANT TO GO
A LITTLE FARTHER THAN THA
AND TELL YOU THAT TRULY
THIS SHOW IS THE SHOW OF
ALL FREEDOM-LOVING PEOPLE
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
(wild cheering )
Coretta King:
I GUESS YOU'D CALL I
A KIND OF FOLKSY QUALITY.
HE WAS ABLE TO DO THA
BECAUSE THAT WAS
A PART OF HIS STYLE,
WHEREAS WITH MARTIN,
HE WAS MORE, UM
I ESS WHAT YOU WOULD
CONSIDER, UH FORMAL.
AND HE WOULD COME ALONG
WITH A VERY
THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE.
LET ME URGE YOU TO BE
SANE AND RATIONAL.
EVENTUALLY SEGREGATION
IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
WILL PASS AWAY EVENTUALLY.
AND I THINK WE SHOULD START NOW
PREPARING FOR THE INEVITABLE.
AND LET US,
WHEN THAT MOMENT COMES,
GO INTO THE SITUATIONS
THAT WE CONFRON
WITH A GREAT DEAL OF DIGNITY,
SANITY AND REASONABLENESS.
IT'S VERY HARD FOR A ORDINARY
PERSON TO DESCRIBE
REVEREND KING'S SPEAKING ABILITY
BECAUSE HE WAS SUCH
AN OUTSTANDING MAN.
HE COULD HE COULD MAKE YOU
FEEL WHAT HE WAS SAYING
AS WELL AS HEARING
WHAT HE WAS SAYING.
HE WAS SINCERE AND DEDICATED.
HE COULD LIFT YOU OUT YOUR SEAT.
YOU COULDN'T, YOU COULDN'T
YOU COULDN'
JUST BE QUIET, LOOK LIKE.
IT WAS SUCH A STIRRING THING
THAT IT WOULD AFFECT YOU.
IT'D JUST GO RIGHT THROUGH YOU.
SO I CAN'T SAY
MUCH MORE THAN THA
BECAUSE IT'S SUCH
A STIMULATING THING.
AND HE WAS CARRIED AWAY,
LOOK LIKE, WITH HIS OWN SPEECH.
DR. KING SPOKE WITH A NEW VOICE.
NOT ONLY WAS IT A NEW MOVEMENT,
BUT IT WAS A NEW VOICE
THAT YOU MUST LOVE;
YOU MUST NOT HATE
THE PEOPLE WHO HATE
OR WHO ACT LIKE THEY HATE YOU.
YOU MUST AND THE BEST THING
TO MAKE OUT OF YOUR ENEMY
IS A FRIEND.
SO THIS HAD A VERY PROFOUND
EFFECT UPON NOT ONLY BLACKS
BUT WHITES AT THIS TIME.
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PERMI
THE N.A.A.C.P. TO CONTROL
YOUR STATE.
(cheering )
Narrator:
AS THE BOYCOTT ENTERED
ITS SECOND MONTH,
THE WHITE COMMUNITY'S
POSITION HARDENED.
THERE WERE WHITES WHO WERE
SYMPATHETIC TO THE BOYCOTT,
BUT MANY MORE WERE NOT.
A SEGREGATIONIST GROUP CALLED
THE WHITE CITIZEN'S COUNCIL
HELD HUGE RALLIES AND VASTLY
INCREASED ITS MEMBERSHIP,
BECOMING THE LARGES
ORGANIZATION
IN WHITE MONTGOMERY.
THEY TARGETED ANYONE,
BLACK OR WHITE,
WHO SUPPORTED DESEGREGATION.
90% OF THE WHITE PEOPLE
IN ALABAMA
ARE FOR SEGREGATION, BUT IN THE
LAST FEW YEARS, WE HAVE HAD
QUITE A NUMBER
OF "BACKSLIDERS," YOU MIGHT SAY,
THAT FOR POLITICAL REASONS,
TO FURTHER THEIR
POLITICAL AMBITIONS,
HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GARNER
THE NEGRO VOTE
AND WOULD DO MOST ANYTHING
TO GET THAT VOTE.
THE CITIZEN'S COUNCIL IS OUT TO
UTTERLY DESTROY THOSE PEOPLE.
THE THING THAT KEPT THE WHITES
GOING WAS SEGREGATION
WAS THE OLD WAY.
DON'T BREAK THE OLD WAY,
DON'T BREAK THIS FABRIC.
DON'T BREAK DOWN SEGREGATION.
DON'T TAKE THIS AWAY,
THIS OLD SOUTH.
DON'T TAKE BACK THE THINGS
THAT WE'VE ALWAYS KNOWN
AND THAT WE FOUGHT A WAR
OVER THESE THINGS
AND THAT OUR FOREFATHERS
WOULD HAVE US DO THIS.
Narrator:
DESPITE THE PRESSURE,
THE BUSES REMAINED EMPTY.
THE BLACK LEADERS DECIDED
THE BOYCOTT MIGHT WEAKEN
IF THEY DIDN'T RESPOND QUICKLY
TO THE VIOLENCE.
THEY FILED SUI
IN FEDERAL COURT,
CLAIMING THAT BUS SEGREGATION
WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
WHITE OFFICIALS RETALIATED
BY INDICTING ALMOS
90 BLACK LEADERS
UNDER AN OLD ANTI-BOYCOTT LAW.
THE TACTIC BACKFIRED.
SUDDENLY, THE NATIONAL PRESS
WAS VERY INTERESTED IN THE STORY
AND IN THE ELOQUEN
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
WE STILL FEEL THAT WE ARE RIGH
AND THAT WE STAND WITHIN
OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
IN THE PROTEST.
WE STILL ADVOCATE NONVIOLENCE
WITH PASSIVE RESISTANCE
AND STILL DETERMINED
TO USE THE WEAPON OF LOVE.
Woman:
JESUS IS WITH ME. ♪
WHOA, YES ♪
Narrator:
ARMED WITH THE WEAPON
OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE,
MONTGOMERY'S BLACKS
KEPT WALKING,
MONTH AFTER MONTH AFTER MONTH.
Man:
HOW MANY MILES DO
YOU THINK YOU'VE WALKED?
OH, ABOUT SEVEN, EIGHT MILES
A DAY
MAYBE LONGER, FURTHER THAN THA
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW,
GOING AND COMING
IT MADE A GREAT DEAL, DISTANT.
EVER TEMPTED
TO TAKE A RIDE FROM
, UH-UH, NO,
BUT IF SOMETIME WE WOULD
BE OUT ON THE ROAD COMING HOME,
WELL, THERE'D BE A WHITE LADY
COME ALONG AND PICK US UP
AND CARRY US SO FAR.
AND WE WOULD THANK HER FOR IT,
WE WOULD BE VERY GLAD,
AND WE WOULD OFFER HER PAY,
BUT SHE WOULDN'T TAKE IT.
THE STRANGE THING THAT HAPPENED
WAS A KIND OF A PLAY BETWEEN
WHITE WOMEN AND BLACK WOMEN.
THE MAYOR OF THE TOWN
ISSUED AN ORDER
SAYING IF THE WHITE WOMEN
WOULD JUST STOP CARRYING
THEIR MAIDS BACK AND FORTH
THAT THE BOYCOT
WOULD BE ENDED.
AND SO, I DON'T SAY ALL OF THEM,
BUT SOME OF THEM REPLIED
AND SAID,
"WELL, IF HE WANTS TO COME OU
AND DO MY COOKING AND LAUNDRY
AND NURSE THE CHILDREN
AND CLEAN UP, HE CAN."
SO THE WHITE WOMEN WEN
AND GOT THEM IN THE CAR.
THEY SAID THEY DID IT BECAUSE
THE BUS HAD BROKEN DOWN
OR ANY EXCUSE YOU COULD
POSSIBLY THINK OF.
WELL, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY
THAT THERE WERE MANY
SYMPATHETIC WHITES
WHO KNEW THAT THE SYSTEM
WAS WRONG
AND THEY WOULD DO WHAT THEY
COULD TO HELP TO CORRECT IT.
Choir:
OH, JESUS IS WITH ME ♪
JESUS IS WITH ME, OH YEAH ♪
WHEN I NEED HIM MOST ♪
JESUS IS WITH ME ♪
JESUS IS WITH ME, OH YEAH ♪
WHEN I NEED HIM MOST ♪
WE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES
SOME OF THE YOUNG WHITES
WOULD COME ALONG
AND THEY WOULD SAY,
"NIGGER, DON'T YOU KNOW
IT'S BETTER TO RIDE THE BUS
THAN IT IS TO WALK?"
AND WE WOULD SAY, "NO, CRACKER,
NO, WE'D RATHER WALK."
(laughing )
Choir:
ALL OF MY WORKING DAY. ♪
Narrator:
APRIL 1956 THE BOYCOT
WAS FOUR MONTHS OLD.
IN OTHER STATES,
LAWSUITS AND BLACK PRESSURE
WERE BREAKING DOWN
BUS SEGREGATION,
BUT NOT IN ALABAMA.
WE EXPECT THE CITY BUS LINES
OF MONTGOMERY
AND THE PEOPLE OF MONTGOMERY
TO CONTINUE TO OBEY ALL
SEGREGATION LAWS AS WRITTEN.
I HAVE THIS DAY ISSUED ORDERS
TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE
AND THE POLICE DEPARTMEN
TO CONTINUE TO MAKE ARRESTS
IN ALL VIOLATIONS WITH REFERENCE
TO THE SEGREGATION LAWS.
SEVERAL SOUTHERN CITIES,
INCLUDING RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS,
DALLAS, TEXAS, AND OTHERS
HAVE ENDED SEGREGATION
ON CITY BUSES
AND WHITE AND NEGRO PASSENGERS
RODE TOGETHER ON FRONT SEATS
WITHOUT INCIDENTS,
MISHAPS OR DISTURBANCES.
THE PUBLIC OFFICIALS
OF THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY
AND OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA
INTEND TO OBEY
THE SEGREGATION LAWS
OF THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY
AND WE, THE NEGRO CITIZENS
OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA,
DO NOW, AND WILL CONTINUE,
TO CARRY ON OUR MASS PROTEST
(wild cheering )
Narrator:
JUNE 1956 SIX MONTHS.
THERE HAD BEEN BOYCOTTS BEFORE
IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA,
THREE YEARS BEFORE;
EVEN IN MONTGOMERY ITSELF,
50 YEARS BEFORE.
NONE HAD LASTED SO LONG,
WITH SO MUCH SUPPORT.
IN TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA,
ANOTHER BOYCOTT STARTED.
IT WAS SO EFFECTIVE THAT THE BUS
COMPANY WAS FORCED
TO SHUT DOWN OPERATIONS.
IT WAS CLEAR THE BOYCOTTS HUR
THE BUS COMPANIES, BUSINESSES
AND THE CITIES.
IT WAS NOT CLEAR IF THEY
COULD END SEGREGATION.
SEPTEMBER 1956 NINE MONTHS.
THE KLAN IN MONTGOMERY
HELD A SERIES OF
HIGHLY VISIBLE RALLIES.
(horn honking )
THEY WANT TO THROW WHITE
CHILDREN AND COLORED CHILDREN
INTO THE MELTING PO
OF INTEGRATION
OUT OF WHICH WILL COME
A CONGLOMERATED MULATTO,
MONGREL CLASS OF PEOPLE!
BOTH RACES WILL BE DESTROYED
IN SUCH A MOVEMENT.
(crowd cheering )
Narrator:
MANY IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WERE FRIGHTENED,
BUT THEY KEPT WALKING
TEN MONTHS, ELEVEN MONTHS.
THE BOYCOTT'S SECOND CHRISTMAS
WAS APPROACHING.
DOWNTOWN STORES WERE HURT,
BUT NEITHER THE CITY NOR
THE MARCHERS WOULD COMPROMISE.
ON NOVEMBER 13, 1956,
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT BROKE
THE DEADLOCK,
RULING UNANIMOUSLY THA
MONTGOMERY'S BUS SEGREGATION
WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
THAT DAY, THE KU KLUX KLAN
RODE AND WALKED THE BLACK
NEIGHBORHOODS AGAIN.
THIS TIME, THE BLACKS JUS
WATCHED, UNMOVED AND UNAFRAID.
THE DECISION RENDERED BY
THE SUPREME COURT YESTERDAY
WAS A VICTORY.
BUT IT WASN'T A VICTORY
FOR COLORED FOLKS.
DON'T MAKE THAT VICTORY
THAT SMALL.
IT WASN'T A VICTORY FOR
50,000 NEGROES IN MONTGOMERY.
IT WASN'T MERELY A VICTORY FOR
16 MILLION NEGROES OF AMERICA.
THAT WAS A VICTORY FOR
JUSTICE AND GOODWILL.
NOW WHAT WILL BE
OUR MODE OF ACTION
IN THE LIGHT OF THIS DECISION?
AFTER THINKING THROUGH
THIS QUESTION VERY SERIOUSLY,
THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
OF THE MONTGOMERY
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
RECOMMENDS THAT THE 11-MONTH-OLD
PROTEST AGAINST THE CITY BUSES
WILL BE CALLED OFF
AND THAT THE NEGRO CITIZENS
OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA,
WILL RETURN TO THE BUSES
ON A NON-SEGREGATED BASIS.
(applause and cheering )
ARE YOU READY FOR THE QUESTION?
Crowd:
YES!
ALL IN FAVOR, LET IT BE KNOWN
BY STANDING ON YOUR FEET.
IT SEEMS THAT IT IS
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
(applause and cheering )
Azbell:
BECAUSE YOU GET TO UNDERSTAND
THAT GOD IS WITH YOU,
THAT GOD CAN TAKE CARE OF YOU
AND THAT THIS IS GOD'S WAY,
AND YOU ARE THERE TO DO IT.
NOW, I THINK THAT'S A SENSE
OF DRIVE.
THAT'S WHAT MANY PEOPLE
DON'T UNDERSTAND
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
BACK IN THE DEEP SOUTH
THAT HERE I AM
THAT THIS IS MY DUTY.
I'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING.
AND GOD IS WITH ME.
AND IF GOD IS WITH ME,
HOW CAN YOU LOSE,
LEANING ON THE EVERLASTING ARM?
Man:
OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CITY ♪
OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CITY ♪
OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CITY ♪
WHEN THE BUS BOYCOTT WAS OVER,
THE PEOPLE JUST THE BLACKS
GOT ON THE BUS
TO SIT ON THE FRONT SEA
JUST TO SHOW OFF.
AND THEY HAD A LOT OF FUN,
SITTING ON THE FRONT SEAT,
RIDING TO THE COLLEGE OR RIDING
AWAY FROM THE COLLEGE.
NOBODY SAT IN THE BACK THEN,
BECAUSE ALL OF THEM
SAT ON THE FRONT.
IT WAS A JUBILATION.
IT WAS A JOY.
OH, OH, OH, OH,
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ♪
OH ♪
OH, LORD,
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CITY ♪
Robinson:
WE HAD WON SELF-RESPECT.
WE HAD FORCED THE WHITE MAN
TO GIVE WHAT WE KNEW WAS A PAR
OF OUR OWN CITIZENSHIP.
AND SO WE HAD WON BACK.
AND IF YOU HAVE NEVER
HAD THE FEELING,
TO FEEL THAT THIS IS NO
THE OTHER MAN'S COUNTRY
AND YOU ARE AN ALIEN IN IT,
BUT THAT THIS IS
YOUR COUNTRY, TOO,
THEN YOU DON'T KNOW
WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
BUT IT IS A HILARIOUS FEELING
THAT JUST GOES ALL OVER YOU,
THAT MAKES YOU FEEL THA
AMERICA IS A GREAT COUNTRY
AND WE'RE GOING TO DO MORE
TO MAKE IT GREATER.