American Experience (1988) s20e03 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:
WHAT DR. KING GAVE US,
WHAT STOKELY CARMICHAEL GAVE US,
WHAT MALCOLM X GAVE,
WHAT EVERYBODY GAVE US
WHETHER YOU
AGREED WITH THEM OR NO
THE ENERGY OF THAT TIME
AND THE GOALS THAT WE WERE
ALL ASPIRING TO, I THINK,
IS WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOU
AT ITS BEST.
AT ITS WORST, IT WAS
WHEN WE DID NOTHING.
BLACK PEOPLE ARE DISSATISFIED.
THEY'RE DISSATISFIED NOT ONLY
WITH THE WHITE MAN,
BUT THEY'RE DISSATISFIED
WITH THESE NEGROES
WHO HAVE BEEN SITTING
AROUND HERE
POSING AS LEADERS
AND SPOKESMEN FOR BLACK PEOPLE
AND ACTUALLY MAKING
THE PROBLEM WORSE
INSTEAD OF MAKING
THE PROBLEM BETTER.
GONNA LAY DOWN
MY SHUFFLIN' SHOES ♪
DOWN BY THE RIVER'S SHORE ♪
AND I AIN'T GONNA
SHUFFLE NO MORE! ♪
I'M TIRED OF MARCHING!
I'M TIRED OF MARCHING
FOR SOMETHING
THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN
MINE AT BIRTH.
(shouting):
WE WANT KING! WE WANT KING!
WE WANT KING! WE WANT KING!
WE WANT KING!
(shot fired )
MANY DAYS I WOULD COME HOME
AND I WOULD THINK
ABOUT ALL THE LIBERALS
THAT GOT ON THE BUSES
AND WENT SOUTH WHEN
FOR SIT-INS AND BOYCOTTS
IN THE SOUTH.
AND I REALLY WOULD
COME HOME AND WONDER, YOU KNOW,
WHERE WERE THEY NOW?
Man:
EVERYBODY'S GO
A RIGHT TO LIVE ♪
EVERYBODY'S GO
A RIGHT TO LIVE ♪
Narrator:
BY THE MID-1960s,
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
HAD CHANGED THE LAWS
THAT DIVIDED US BY RACE.
BUT THE STRUGGLE FOR UNITY
WAS FAR FROM DONE.
JUST BECAUSE I'M WHITE
DOESN'T MEAN
THAT THE 14th AMENDMEN
DOESN'T APPLY TO ME EITHER!
I AM WHITE AND I WANT MY RIGHTS!
(applause and cheering )
WE LOOK AT MISS AMERICA,
WE SEE WHITE,
WE LOOK AT MISS WORLD,
WE SEE WHITE,
WE LOOK AT MISS UNIVERSE,
WE SEE WHITE.
EVEN TARZAN, THE KING
OF THE JUNGLE
IN BLACK AFRICA HE'S WHITE!
BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL
FREE HUEY! ♪
SET OUR WARRIOR FREE
FREE HUEY! ♪
BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL
FREE HUEY! ♪
THE BLACK PANTHERS PREACH,
EVERY DAY, HATE.
KILL WHITEY, KILL THE POLICE,
KILL THE PIGS.
HATE, HATE, HATE
THAT'S ALL YOU HEAR FROM THEM.
WE DON'T HATE NOBODY
BECAUSE OF THEIR COLOR.
WE HATE OPPRESSION.
WE HATE MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE
IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE HATE THE GROSS UNEMPLOYMEN
THAT EXISTS IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE HATE BLACK MEN
BEING TOOKEN OFF
INTO THE MILITARY SERVICE.
Reporter:
SERGEANT, YOU'VE JUST RECENTLY
RETURNED FROM VIETNAM.
WOULD YOU TELL US HOW IT FEELS
TO HAVE TO COME FROM
ONE ZONE OF COMBA
IN A FOREIGN LAND
TO ONE IN
YOUR OWN LAND?
IT'S NOT A GOOD FEELING,
NOT ONE I'M KIND OF PROUD OF.
Man:
WE STAND ON THE EVE
OF A BLACK REVOLUTION, BROTHERS.
MASSES OF OUR PEOPLE
ARE IN THE STREETS.
THE REBELLIONS THAT WE SEE
ARE MERELY DRESS REHEARSALS
FOR THE REVOLUTION
THAT'S TO COME.
ARE YOU GOING TO LIVE
OUTSIDE OF THE AMERICAN CULTURE
OR ARE YOU GOING
TO LIVE WITHIN IT?
AS LONG AS YOU STAY IN AMERICA,
YOU'VE GOT TO CONFORM.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
Narrator:
THIS TELEVISION SERIES
CHRONICLES A PERIOD OF HISTORY
WHEN OUR NATION STOOD
AT A RACIAL CROSSROADS,
A TIME WHEN AMERICANS
STRUGGLED TO DEFINE
WHAT WAS TRULY MEANT BY
"LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL."
IT WAS A TIME
FOR ANGER AND FEAR,
A TIME WHEN A GAIN FOR BLACKS
WAS SOMETIMES SEEN
AS A LOSS FOR WHITES.
ARE THE PEOPLE OF CLEVELAND
WILLING TO VOTE
FOR A CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR
WHO HAS THE BEST QUALIFICATIONS,
BUT WHOSE SKIN DOES
HAPPEN TO BE BLACK?
WE PICK OUR LIPSTICKS BY COLOR,
SOMETIMES OUR DRESSES,
BUT WE DON'T VOTE THAT WAY.
WE STUDY THE CANDIDATES.
Narrator:
IT WAS ALSO A TIME FOR TRIUMPH,
A TIME WHEN VICTORY
BLURRED THE COLOR LINE,
A TIME WHEN ONCE AGAIN,
AMERICA STRUGGLED TO BE AMERICA
FOR ALL OF ITS CITIZENS.
WHEN WE COME TOGETHER,
WHAT TIME IS IT?
Crowd:
NATION TIME!
WHEN WE RESPECT EACH OTHER,
WHAT TIME IS IT?
Crowd:
NATION TIME!
WHEN WE GET OUR SELF-CONFIDENCE,
WHAT TIME IS IT?
(chanting:)
IT'S NATION TIME!
Man:
"IT'S NATION TIME,
IT'S NATION TIME!"
YOU COULD HEAR REVERBERATING
ALL THOSE PRIOR STRUGGLES
FROM THE '40s AND THE '30s
AND THE '50s AND THE '60s.
I MEAN, IT CAME TO BE FULFILLED
IN THAT MOMENT OF CRYING
THAT "IT'S NATION TIME NOW!"
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. ♪
Man:
LESS THAN TWO PERCEN
OF THE NEGRO PEOPLE IN HARLEM
HAVE TAKEN AN ACTIVE PAR
IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE.
WE OBSERVE THAT THERE
HAVE BEEN OTHER GROUPS
THE NATIONALISTS HAVE BEEN
OUT ON THE STREETS,
THE MUSLIMS HAVE BEEN
OUT ON THE STREETS,
BUT THE N.A.A.C.P.,
UP TO THIS POINT,
HAS NOT BEEN OUT THERE
WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE AT.
ALL OVER AMERICA
THERE'S NOT ONE BLACK CITIZEN
IN THE UNITED STATES!
I DEFY DR. BUNCHE OR
MARTIN LUTHER KING TO TELL ME
THAT THEY'RE CITIZENS
OF THIS NO-GOOD COUNTRY,
BECAUSE INTEGRATION
WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
YOU'LL NEVER,
AS LONG AS YOU LIVE,
INTEGRATE INTO THE WHITE
MAN'S SYSTEM!
Narrator:
IN THE EARLY 1960s,
ON INNER-CITY STREET CORNERS
IN THE NORTH,
MANY GROUPS COMPETED
FOR THE HEARTS AND MINDS
OF BLACK AMERICA.
ALL PRAISE IS DUE TO ALLAH.
EVERYBODY IN HARLEM
IS A MUSLIM.
Narrator:
ONE OF THE GROUPS ATTRACTING
THE LARGEST CROWDS
WAS THE NATION OF ISLAM.
WE, TOO, HAVE BEEN TAUGH
BY THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
THAT WE WERE STRIPPED
OF EVERYTHING WE HAD
AND BEEN CAS
INTO THE FIERY FURNACE
A LAND WHERE THEY'VE BEEN MAKING
IT HOT AS HELL FOR US
FOR 400 YEARS!
Narrator:
THE NATION OF ISLAM WAS
A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION.
ITS APPROACH TO TEACHING
BLACK PRIDE AND SELF-RELIANCE
OFTEN PROVOKED CONTROVERSY.
IN MAJOR CITIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
THE NATION BUILT TEMPLES
FOR PRAYER,
ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES TO
ENCOURAGE ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE
IN BLACK COMMUNITIES
AND CREATED SCHOOLS
TO EDUCATE ITS CHILDREN.
MEMBERS OF THE NATION OF ISLAM
WERE SOMETIMES REFERRED TO
AS BLACK MUSLIMS.
THEIR GOD WAS ALLAH AND HIS
MESSENGER WAS ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.
THE SO-CALLED AMERICAN NEGRO
HAVE TO BE
COMPLETELY RE-EDUCATED.
HE HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY
MADE OVER AGAIN.
AND THE CONDITION
THAT HE IS NOW IN,
HE'S NOT FIT FOR SELF.
AND ISLAM GIVES HIM
THAT QUALIFICATION
THAT HE CAN FEEL PROUD
AND DOES NOT FEEL ASHAMED
TO BE CALLED A BLACK MAN
OR A MEMBER OF THE BLACK NATION.
Narrator:
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
SUCCESSFULLY REHABILITATED
MANY CONVICTS AND DRUG ADDICTS,
TEACHING DISCIPLINE
AND SELF-RESPECT.
Man:
I QUIT TAKING DRUGS IN 1958
AFTER I HEARD THE PROGRAM OF
THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.
THIS IS THE ONLY THING
THAT EVER GAVE ME
THE INSPIRATION OR THE STRENGTH
NOT TO USE NARCOTICS.
HE OPENED THE DOOR FOR ME
TO SHOW ME
THAT SOME OF THE GOOD THINGS
OF THIS EARTH COULD BE MINE
WITH JUST A LITTLE EFFOR
AND FOLLOWING HIM.
THAT'S RIGHT.
THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
DOESN'T CONDEMN THE VICTIM.
HE GOES TO WORK ON THE VICTIM.
Narrator:
ONE OF THE CONVERTS
WAS MALCOLM X,
WHO WOULD SOON TRANSFORM
THE NATION OF ISLAM.
HE WAS BORN MALCOLM LITTLE.
HIS FATHER WAS AN ORGANIZER
FOR BLACK NATIONALIS
MARCUS GARVEY.
AFTER THE FATHER'S
VIOLENT DEATH,
WHICH MANY BELIEVED
TO BE A LYNCHING,
AND THE SUBSEQUENT BREAKUP
OF HIS FAMILY,
THE YOUNG MALCOLM DRIFTED
INTO A LIFE OF DRUGS AND CRIME.
IN 1946, HE WAS
CONVICTED OF BURGLARY
AND SENTENCED
TO TEN YEARS IN PRISON,
WHERE HE WAS INTRODUCED TO THE
TEACHINGS OF ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.
AFTER HIS RELEASE,
HE BECAME A MUSLIM MINISTER
AND THROUGH
STREET-CORNER RALLIES,
BROUGHT MANY NEW MEMBERS
INTO THE NATION OF ISLAM.
THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
TEACHES US THAT IT IS TIME
FOR YOU AND ME TO STAND UP
FOR OURSELVES.
IT IS TIME FOR YOU AND ME
TO SEE FORURSELVES.
IT IS TIME FOR YOU AND ME
TO HEAR FOR OURSELVES.
AND IT IS TIME FOR YOU AND ME
TO FIGHT FOR OURSELVES.
WE DON'T NEED ANYBODY TODAY
SPEAKING FOR US,
SEEING FOR US OR
FIGHTING FOR US.
WE'LL FIGHT OUR OWN BATTLES
WITH THE HELP OF OUR GOD.
Man:
SO THE FIRST TIME I ACTUALLY SAW
HIM WAS IN THE MOSQUE IN HARLEM
ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS HE
PREACHED ONE OF HIS SERMONS.
AN HE DESCRIBED HOW WE
AS BLACK FOLKS SMELLED.
HE DESCRIBED HOW WE LOOKED.
HOW DESCRIBED HOW WE FELT.
THEN HE DESCRIBED WHAT CAUSED US
TO FEEL THAT WAY:
"THE CHAINS OF SLAVERY ARE
STILL IN YOUR MINDS
"AND IN YOUR HEADS
"AND YOU LOOK AT THE WHITE MAN
AND YOU LOVE HIM.
"THAT'S WHAT YOU
"YOU HATE THE FACT THAT HE
LET YOU GO FROM SLAVERY.
"YOU WANT TO GO BACK THERE.
"BUT NO, THE HONORABLE
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD IS HERE NOW
"AND WE'RE GOING
TO CHANGE ALL THAT.
"THE RIGHTEOUS BLACK MAN
IS ON THE SCENE,
"AND WE'RE NOT GOING
TO BE SATISFIED WITH YOU
"AND YOUR SHUCKING AND JIVING.
THE TIME HAS COME."
Narrator:
IN 1959, THE MEDIA DISCOVERED
THE NATION OF ISLAM.
WHILE CITY OFFICIALS,
STATE AGENCIES, WHITE LIBERALS
AND SOBER-MINDED NEGROES
STAND IDLY BY,
A GROUP OF NEGRO DISSENTERS
IS TAKING TO STREET CORNERS,
STEPLADDERS, CHURCH PULPITS,
SPORTS ARENAS
AND BALLROOM PLATFORMS
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
TO PREACH A GOSPEL OF HATE
THAT WOULD SET OFF
A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION
IF IT WERE PREACHED
BY SOUTHERN WHITES.
LOU LOMAX, A REPORTER I'D NEVER
HEARD OF, CAME TO MY OFFICE,
TOLD ME ABOUT SOMETHING CALLED
THE BLACK MUSLIMS.
I'D NEVER HEARD OF THEM.
WOULD WE BE INTERESTED
IN DOING A BROADCAST,
A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THEM?
I SUGGESTED THAT YEAH, WE MIGHT.
LET'S LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM.
ONE OF THE CONDITIONS
OF OUR DOING THE BROADCAST,
HE SAID, WAS THAT THEY WILL NO
TALK TO A WHITE REPORTER.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I THINK
MY COLOR HAS EVER BEEN
IN MY FAVOR
RATHER THAN AGAINST ME,
BUT ON THE WHOLE, I WOULD SAY
THAT THIS ASSIGNMEN
WAS A LITTLE ROUGH.
Narrator:
ASSIGNED A WHITE CAMERA CREW,
LOMAX FILMED THIS RALLY
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
THE PROGRAM INCLUDED
A PERFORMANCE OF A PLAY
BY LOUIS X CALLED THE TRIAL,
IN WHICH WHITES ARE TRIED
FOR THEIR OFFENSES
AGAINST BLACKS.
Louis X (Louis Farrakhan):
I CHARGE THE WHITE MAN,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
OF THE JURY,
WITH BEING THE GREATES
MURDERER ON EARTH!
I CHARGE THE WHITE MAN
WITH BEING THE GREATEST LIAR
ON EARTH!
I CHARGE THE WHITE MAN
WITH BEING THE GREATES
TROUBLEMAKER ON EARTH!
SO THEREFORE, LADIES AND
GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY,
I ASK YOU, BRING BACK A VERDIC
OF "GUILTY AS CHARGED"!
WHEN LOU LOMAX CAME BACK
WITH THE FILM OF THE RALLY,
THE BLACK MUSLIM RALLY,
I WAS SIMPLY STUNNED.
I MEAN, HERE WAS
THIS AUDITORIUM OVERFLOWING,
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE,
ABOUT AN ORGANIZATION
I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT;
I FOUND IT DIFFICUL
TO CREDIT WHEN I SAW IT.
Lomax:
HAVE YOU EVER
BEEN ACCUSED, SIR,
OF PREACHING HATE?
YES.
DO YOU THINK YOU
ARE PREACHING HATE?
NO.
WHAT ARE YOU
PREACHING, SIR?
THE TRUTH.
THEY CALL MR. MUHAMMAD
A HATE TEACHER
BECAUSE HE MAKES YOU
HATE DOPE AND ALCOHOL.
THEY CALL MR. MUHAMMAD
A BLACK SUPREMACIS
BECAUSE HE TEACHES YOU AND ME
NOT ONLY THAT WE'RE
AS GOOD AS THE WHITE MAN,
BUT BETTER THAN THE WHITE MAN.
(crowd cheering and applauding )
YEAH, BETTER THAN THE WHITE MAN!
YOU ARE BETTER
THAN THE WHITE MAN!
AND THAT'S NOT SAYING ANYTHING.
YOU NOWHERE
JUST TO BE EQUAL WITH HIM.
WHO IS HE TO BE EQUAL WITH?
YOU LOOK AT HIS SKIN.
YOU CAN'T COMPARE YOUR SKIN
WITH HIS SKIN.
WHY, YOUR SKIN LOOK LIKE GOLD
BESIDE HIS SKIN!
(wild cheering and applause )
YOU FIND, YOU FIND
THAT OLD PALE THING
LAYING OUT IN THE SUN,
TRYING TO GET TO LOOK LIKE YOU.
THAT OLD PALE THING.
Narrator:
IN 1963, MALCOLM X BECAME
NATIONAL SPOKESMAN
FOR THE NATION OF ISLAM.
YOU FIND HIM USING MAN TAN,
TRYING TO LOOK LIKE YOU.
(cheering and applause )
THAT OLD PALE THING!
Woman:
I WAS STANDING ON THE ISLAND
THERE, LOOKING AT HIM.
AND MY FRIEND SAID,
"I'M GOING BACK TO THE OFFICE.
WE'RE GOING BACK."
AND I SAID, "I'M GOING TO STAY,
BECAUSE I LIKE THE RAIN."
THERE WAS THIS KIND
OF QUIET DRIZZLE
THAT WAS HAPPENING THERE.
I HOPE YOU'RE NO
GETTING TOO WET.
Crowd:
NO! NO!
AND I LOOKED UP
AND LOOKED AROUND,
DETERMINED NOT TO LOOK AT HIM,
DETERMINED NOT TO LISTEN.
BUT HE STARTED TO TALK
AND I FOUND MYSELF MORE
AND MORE LISTENING TO HIM.
AND I BEGAN TO NOD MY HEAD AND
SAY, "YEAH, THAT MAKES SENSE."
YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BOATS
OR AIRPLANES
BRINGING DRUGS
INTO THIS COUNTRY.
THE WHITE MAN BRINGS IT IN.
THE WHITE MAN
BRINGS IT TO HARLEM.
THE WHITE MAN MAKES YOU
A DRUG ADDICT.
THE WHITE MAN THEN
PUTS YOU IN JAIL
WHEN HE CATCHES YOU USING DRUGS.
(applause )
WE'RE TRAPPED IN A VICIOUS CYCLE
OF POVERTY, OF IGNORANCE,
OF APATHY, OF DISEASE,
AND OF DEATH.
AND THEY HAVE THESE OLD
UNCLE TOM NEGRO LEADERS
COMING TO HARLEM,
TELLING YOU AND ME THA
TIMES ARE GETTING BETTER.
YOUR TIMES WILL NEVER GET BETTER
UNTIL YOU MAKE THEM BETTER!
(applause )
WHEN HE CAME OFF THE STAGE,
I JUMPED OFF THE ISLAND,
WALKED UP TO HIM.
AND OF COURSE WHEN I GOT TO HIM,
THE BODYGUARDS MOVED IN FRONT,
AND HE JUST PUSHED THEM AWAY.
AND I WENT IN FRONT OF HIM
AND EXTENDED MY HAND AND SAID,
"I LIKED SOME OF WHAT YOU SAID.
"I DIDN'T AGREE
WITH ALL THAT YOU SAID,
BUT I LIKED SOME
OF WHAT YOU SAID."
AND HE LOOKED AT ME, HELD MY
HAND IN A VERY GENTLE FASHION,
AND SAYS, "ONE DAY
YOU WILL, SISTER."
Narrator:
AS HIS REPUTATION GREW,
MALCOLM X BEGAN TO WRITE
A BOOK WITH ALEX HALEY.
Haley:
WHEN I BEGAN
TO INTERVIEW MALCOLM
FOR THE BOOK
THAT WOULD LATER BE CALLED
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF MALCOLM X,
HE WOULD TALK
ABOUT THE GREATER GLORIES
OF MR. ELIJAH MUHAMMAD,
HIS LEADER,
AND ABOUT THE NATION OF ISLAM,
AND THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE
HE WOULD TALK ABOUT.
AND FINALLY I BEGAN,
VERY DELICATELY AS I COULD,
TO SAY TO HIM, "MR. MALCOLM,
THIS BOOK IS TO BE ABOUT YOU,
"SO I KNOW ABOUT THEM,
YOU'VE TOLD ME.
"I'VE WRITTEN WITH YOU
ABOUT THEM,
BUT WE NEED NOW
TO GO INTO YOUR LIFE."
AND HE WOULD ALWAYS GET,
FIRST, TESTY ABOUT IT.
AND THEN HE GOT DISTINCTLY
ANNOYED ABOUT I
AND FINALLY, HE WOULD GET ANGRY.
I SAID, "MR. MALCOLM,
COULD YOU TELL ME SOMETHING
ABOUT YOUR MOTHER?"
AND I WILL NEVER, EVER FORGE
HOW HE STOPPED
ALMOST AS IF HE WAS SUSPENDED,
LIKE A MARIONETTE.
AND HE SAID, "I REMEMBER
"THE KIND OF DRESSES
SHE USED TO WEAR.
THEY WERE OLD AND
FADED AND GRAY."
AND THEN HE WALKED SOME MORE.
AND HE SAID, "I REMEMBER
"HOW SHE WAS ALWAYS
BENT OVER THE STOVE
TRYING TO STRETCH
WHAT LITTLE WE HAD."
AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING,
THAT NIGHT, OF HIS WALKING.
HE WALKED THAT FLOOR
UNTIL JUST ABOUT DAYBREAK.
Narrator:
LARGELY IGNORING
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD,
THE MEDIA FOCUSED ON MALCOLM X,
CONTRASTING HIM
WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
AND IT IS A MESSAGE WHICH SAYS
THAT I AM CONVINCED
THE MOST POTENT WEAPON AVAILABLE
TO OPPRESSED PEOPLE
AS THEY STRUGGLE
FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE
IS THE WEAPON OF NONVIOLENCE.
WE'RE NONVIOLENT WITH PEOPLE
WHO ARE NONVIOLENT WITH US.
(applause )
BUT WE ARE NOT NONVIOLEN
WITH ANYONE WHO IS
VIOLENT WITH US.
MALCOLM X REPRESENTED
A DIFFERENT BRAND OF LEADERSHIP.
MANY OF US THAT GREW UP
IN THE SOUTH
HAD BEEN DEEPLY INFLUENCED
BY THE CHURCH,
BY THE PREACHING
OF BLACK MINISTERS,
BUT ALSO BY THE MESSAGE,
THE PHILOSOPHY,
THE TEACHING
OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.,
THE PHILOSOPHY AND
THE DISCIPLINE OF NONVIOLENCE.
WE SAW MALCOLM AS SOMEONE,
IN A SENSE, FROM THE OUTSIDE,
COMING FROM THE NORTH TO TELL US
THAT THERE WAS A DIFFERENT WAY,
A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
AND I THINK MANY
OF US IN THE SOUTH
HAD SOME RESERVATIONS ABOUT IT.
MARTIN AND THE REGULAR
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS
WERE PRESENTING TO AMERICA OUR
BEST FACE, OUR NONVIOLENT FACE,
OUR DESIRE TO BE INCLUDED
INTO AMERICAN SOCIETY.
WE WANTED TO SHOW THE WORLD
THAT WE HAD NO EVIL INTENTIONS
AGAINST ANYBODY.
WE JUST WANTED TO BE INCLUDED.
BUT THEY ALSO UNDERSTOOD
THAT AMERICA,
IN SPITE OF OUR REASSURANCES,
WOULD BE FRIGHTENED AND HESITAN
TO OPEN THE DOORS
TO BLACK FOLKS.
SO MALCOLM AS THE OUTSIDER,
AS THE MAN
THEY THOUGHT REPRESENTED
THE POSSIBILITIES OF VIOLENCE
WAS THE COUNTER
THAT THEY COULD USE.
THEY WOULD SAY
TO THE POWERS THAT BE,
"LOOK, HERE'S MARTIN LUTHER KING
AND ALL THESE GUYS
"WE ARE NONVIOLENT.
"NOW, OUTSIDE THE DOOR,
IF YOU DON'T DEAL WITH US,
IS THE OTHER BROTHER,
AND HE AIN'T LIKE US."
ONE WHITE MAN NAMED LINCOLN
SUPPOSEDLY FOUGHT THE CIVIL WAR
TO SOLVE THE RACE PROBLEM,
AND THE PROBLEM IS STILL HERE.
THEN ANOTHER WHITE MAN NAMED
KENNEDY CAME ALONG
RUNNING FOR PRESIDEN
AND TOLD NEGROES WHAT ALL
HE WAS GOING TO DO FOR THEM
IF THEY VOTED FOR HIM, AND THEY
VOTED FOR HIM 80%.
HE'S BEEN IN OFFICE NOW
FOR THREE YEARS,
WHEN POLICE DOGS WERE BITING
BLACK WOMEN AND BLACK CHILDREN
AND BLACK BABIES
IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA,
THAT KENNEDY TALKED
ABOUT WHAT HE COULDN'T DO
BECAUSE NO FEDERAL LAW
HAD BEEN VIOLATED.
AND AS SOON AS THE NEGROES
EXPLODED
AND BEGAN TO PROTECT THEMSELVES
AND GOT THE BEST OF THE CRACKERS
IN BIRMINGHAM,
THEN KENNEDY SEN
FOR THE TROOPS.
AND THERE WAS NO HE DIDN'
HAVE ANY NEW LAW
WHEN HE SENT FOR THE TROOPS
WHEN THE NEGROES ERUPTED
THAN HE HAD AT THE TIME
WHEN WHITES WERE ERUPTING.
Narrator:
IN NOVEMBER 1963,
JOHN F. KENNEDY
WAS ASSASSINATED.
IN THE MIDS
OF NATIONAL MOURNING,
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
SUSPENDED MALCOLM X
FOR HIS COMMENTS
ON THE PRESIDENT'S DEATH.
THIS CAME ABOUT AS A RESUL
OF STATEMENTS IN THE PRESS
INDICATING OR TRYING TO IMPLY
THAT HE HAD REJOICED
OVER THE ASSASSINATION
OF PRESIDENT JOHN KENNEDY.
A STATEMENT THAT BROTHER MALCOLM
HAD SAID AT THE TIME
WAS THAT IT WAS A CASE OF THE
CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST.
HE HAD BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG
THAT THE VIOLENCE,
THAT WHOLE VIOLENT ATMOSPHERE
THAT HAD BEEN CREATED
AS A RESULT OF THE MOVEMEN
AND BY THE GOVERNMEN
NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS
IN THIS CASE, KENNEDY WAS
PRESIDENT AT THE TIME
THEY HAD CREATED
A WHOLE ATMOSPHERE OF VIOLENCE
AND FINALLY THIS VIOLENCE HAD
REACHED THE WHITE HOUSE.
Narrator:
THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN MALCOLM X
AND THE NATION OF ISLAM
RAPIDLY DETERIORATED.
DURING THE 90 DAYS
THAT I HAVE BEEN SILEN
I HAVE COME
TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT I CAN BEST HELP SPREAD
THE SOLUTION AND THE DIAGNOSIS
THAT THE HONORABLE
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD GIVES
OF THE SO-CALLED NEGRO PROBLEM
IN THIS COUNTRY
BY CONTINUING TO REMAIN
OUT OF THE NATION OF ISLAM
AND WORKING ON MY OWN
WITHOUT RESTRICTION
IN THE WAY THAT I THINK
I BEST KNOW HOW.
HE FELT THAT HE WAS
NOW A BIG MAN BEFORE THE PUBLIC
AND THIS SEEMED TO HAVE
BEEN HIS DESIRE.
HE WANTED TO BE SEEN AND HEARD.
HE WANTED TO EXALT HIMSELF
ABOVE HIS TEACHER.
THE NATION OF ISLAM,
AS IT IS GUIDED SPIRITUALLY
BY THE HONORABLE
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD,
DOESN'T INVOLVE ITSELF
IN POLITICS IN ANY FORM.
BECAUSE OF ITS FAILURE
TO BECOME ACTIVELY INVOLVED
IN THE STRUGGLE
OF THE NEGROES OVERALL,
MANY PERSONS IN THE PAS
HAVE DRIFTED AWAY FROM I
AND ARE NOW BECOMING
INVOLVED WITH US
IN AN ACTIVE EFFORT TO WORK
WITH OTHER GROUPS
TOWARD SOLVING THE POLITICAL,
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EVILS
THAT AFFLICT OUR PEOPLE.
Narrator:
MALCOLM X NOW ADVANCED HIS OWN
PROGRAM FOR BLACK AMERICANS.
SALAAM ALAIKUM.
Narrator:
HE FORMED THE ORGANIZATION
OF AFRO-AMERICAN UNITY,
DEDICATED TO THE PHILOSOPHY
OF BLACK NATIONALISM.
WHICH MEANS THAT THE BLACK MAN
SHOULD CONTROL
THE POLITICS
OF HIS OWN COMMUNITY
AND CONTROL THE POLITICIANS WHO
ARE IN HIS OWN COMMUNITY.
MY PERSONAL ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY
IS ALSO BLACK NATIONALISM,
WHICH MEANS THAT THE BLACK MAN
SHOULD HAVE A HAND
IN CONTROLLING THE ECONOMY OF
THE SO-CALLED NEGRO COMMUNITY.
HE SHOULD BE DEVELOPING
THE TYPE OF KNOWLEDGE
THAT WILL ENABLE HIM TO OWN
AND OPERATE THE BUSINESSES
AND THEREBY BE ABLE
TO CREATE EMPLOYMEN
FOR HIS OWN PEOPLE,
FOR HIS OWN KIND.
Narrator:
MALCOLM X MADE
TWO TRIPS TO AFRICA,
INCLUDING A PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA
TO BECOME AN ORTHODOX MUSLIM.
HIS MEETINGS
WITH AFRICAN LEADERS
TO SEEK THEIR SUPPOR
ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION
OF THE U.S. JUSTICE
AND STATE DEPARTMENTS.
Malcolm X:
WELL, MY PURPOSE HERE IS
TO REMIND THE AFRICAN
HEADS OF STATE
THAT THERE ARE
22 MILLION OF US IN AMERICA
WHO ARE ALSO
OF AFRICAN DESCEN
AND TO REMIND THEM ALSO
THAT WE ARE THE VICTIMS
OF AMERICA'S COLONIALISM
OR AMERICAN IMPERIALISM,
AND THAT OUR PROBLEM IS NO
AN AMERICAN PROBLEM,
IT'S A HUMAN PROBLEM.
IT'S NOT A NEGRO PROBLEM,
IT'S A PROBLEM OF HUMANITY.
IT'S NOT A PROBLEM
OF CIVIL RIGHTS,
BUT A PROBLEM
OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
WHAT HE ULTIMATELY WAS AIMING
FOR AT A FOREIGN POLICY LEVEL
WAS TO HAVE THE U.S. GOVERNMEN
HAVE TO DEFEND ITS INACTION
IN TERMS OF THE RACIST ATTACKS
THAT WERE GOING ON AT THAT TIME,
TO DEFEND ITS ACTIONS BEFORE THE
U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
AND TAKE I
BEFORE THE WORLD COURT.
Reporter:
ARE YOU PREPARED
TO GO INTO THE UNITED
NATIONS AT THIS POIN
AND ASK THAT CHARGES
BE BROUGHT AGAINS
THE UNITED STATES
FOR ITS TREATMEN
OF AMERICAN NEGROES?
OH, YES.
(applause )
PLEASE
THE AUDIENCE WILL HAVE
TO BE QUIET.
YES, THE AS I POINTED OU
DURING MY TRAVELING,
THAT NATIONS LOOK AFRICAN
NATIONS AND ASIAN NATIONS
AND LATIN AMERICAN NATIONS
LOOK VERY HYPOCRITICAL
WHEN THEY STAND UP
IN THE UNITED NATIONS
CONDEMNING THE RACIST PRACTICES
OF SOUTH AFRICA
AND THAT WHICH IS PRACTICED
BY PORTUGAL IN ANGOLA
AND SAY NOTHING IN THE U.N.
ABOUT THE RACIST PRACTICES
THAT ARE MANIFEST EVERY DAY
AGAINST NEGROES IN THIS SOCIETY.
ARE YOU
PREPARED TO WORK
WITH SOME
OF THE LEADERS
OF THE OTHER CIVIL
RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS
TOWARD THIS END?
CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY.
WE WILL WORK WITH ANY GROUPS,
ORGANIZATIONS OR LEADERS
IN ANY WAY
AS LONG AS IT'S GENUINELY
DESIGNED TO GET RESULTS.
Narrator:
MALCOLM X RECEIVED MANY THREATS.
BUT AN ATTEMPTED POISONING
IN AFRICA MADE HIM BELIEVE
THE DANGER WENT BEYOND
THE NATION OF ISLAM.
ON DECEMBER 3, 1964,
HE TOOK PART IN THIS DEBATE
IN OXFORD, ENGLAND.
AND I LIVE IN A SOCIETY
WHOSE SOCIAL SYSTEM
IS BASED UPON THE CASTRATION
OF THE BLACK MAN,
WHOSE POLITICAL SYSTEM IS BASED
ON CASTRATION OF THE BLACK MAN,
AND WHOSE ECONOMY IS BASED UPON
THE CASTRATION OF THE BLACK MAN.
THEY CAME UP WITH WHAT THEY CALL
A CIVIL RIGHTS BILL IN 1964
SUPPOSEDLY TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEM
AND AFTER THE BILL WAS SIGNED,
THREE CIVIL RIGHTS WORKERS
WERE MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD.
CIVIL RIGHTS BILL
DOWN THE DRAIN.
NO MATTER HOW MANY BILLS PASS,
BLACK PEOPLE IN THAT COUNTRY
WHERE I'M FROM
STILL, OUR LIVES ARE NO
WORTH TWO CENTS.
WELL, ANY TIME YOU LIVE
IN A SOCIETY
SUPPOSEDLY BASED UPON LAW
AND IT DOESN'
ENFORCE ITS OWN LAW
BECAUSE THE COLOR OF A MAN'S
SKIN HAPPENS TO BE WRONG,
THEN I SAY THOSE PEOPLE
ARE JUSTIFIED
TO RESORT TO ANY MEANS NECESSARY
TO BRING ABOUT JUSTICE
WHERE THE GOVERNMEN
CAN'T GIVE THEM JUSTICE.
(loud applause )
Narrator:
MALCOLM X'S INFLUENCE
WAS STRONG AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE,
ESPECIALLY FOR SOME MEMBERS
OF THE STUDENT NONVIOLEN
COORDINATING COMMITTEE.
SO, MANY PEOPLE IN SNCC WHO
DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHO MALCOLM WAS
BEGAN TO SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE.
SO HERE IN SNCC, IT BECAME
MALCOLM X IS HAVING AN EFFEC
WHERE YOU DON'T EVEN THINK
HE'S HAVING AN EFFEC
SO PEOPLE BEGAN TO LOOK CLOSER.
OF COURSE, THE CLOSER THEY
LOOKED AT MALCOLM X
THE QUICKER THEY GOT HOOKED
ON MALCOLM X.
Narrator:
EARLY IN 1965, SNCC AND
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING
JOINED FORCES
FOR A VOTING RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
IN SELMA, ALABAMA.
WHEN SNCC INVITED MALCOLM X
TO SPEAK IN SELMA,
HE REAFFIRMED HIS WILLINGNESS
TO SUPPORT OTHER
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS.
AND I THINK THAT THE PEOPLE
IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD
WOULD DO WELL TO LISTEN
TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING
AND GIVE HIM WHAT HE'S ASKING
FOR AND GIVE IT TO HIM FAS
BEFORE SOME OTHER FACTIONS
COME ALONG
AND TRY TO DO IT ANOTHER WAY.
WHAT HE'S ASKING FOR IS RIGHT,
THAT'S THE BALLOT.
AND IF HE CAN'T GET I
THE WAY HE'S TRYING TO GET IT,
THEN IT'S GOING TO BE GOTTEN
ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
Narrator:
ON FEBRUARY 14, 1965
MALCOLM X'S HOME WAS BOMBED AS
HE AND HIS FAMILY SLEPT INSIDE.
Reporter:
HAD YOU HAD ANY THREATS
OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS?
UH, HAD ANY THREATS?
THAT'S ALL I GET IS THREATS.
I GET NOT LESS THAN SIX OR SEVEN
THREATENING PHONE CALLS
EVERY DAY.
AND THE PHONE RANG
AND I PICKED IT UP
IT WAS A MORNING, A SATURDAY
MORNING, AS I RECALL
AND THIS VOICE CAME ON
AND STARTED TALKING.
AND I'M WONDERING, "WHO IS IT?"
I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND,
I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THE VOICE.
AND FINALLY SOMETHING HE SAID
MADE ME REALIZE
WITH A GREAT SHOCK,
MY SHOCK, THAT WAS MALCOLM X.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
OUR WHOLE ACQUAINTANCE OF YEARS
I REALLY DIDN'T PERCEIVE
WHO HE WAS.
THE THING WAS,
HE WAS UNDER SUCH PRESSURE
THAT IT WAS AS IF IT HAD
CONSTRICTED HIS VOCAL CORDS.
HE JUST FELT, I GUESS, AS NEAR
DESPERATE AS I EVER SAW HIM,
BECAUSE AGAIN HERE'S THE IMAGE
OF THE FEARSOME,
INDOMITABLE MALCOLM X,
BUT BOTTOM LINE WAS HE WAS
A FATHER AND HE WAS A HUSBAND
AND HIS WIFE AND HIS DAUGHTERS
WERE IMPERILED
AND WHAT COULD HE DO ABOUT IT?
Malcolm X:
MY HOUSE WAS BOMBED.
IT WAS BOMBED BY THE BLACK
MUSLIM MOVEMEN
UPON THE ORDERS
OF ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.
Narrator:
BUT WITHIN THE WEEK
MALCOLM X EXPRESSED DOUBT THA
THE MUSLIMS WERE RESPONSIBLE.
HE PLANNED TO SPEAK AGAIN
THE FOLLOWING SUNDAY
AT THE AUDUBON BALLROOM.
I WAS GOING TO THE AUDUBON
THAT DAY.
HAD BEEN OUT THE NIGH
BEFORE READING.
HAD GOTTEN LAZY AND HAD SAID
SIMPLY, "AH, I'LL GO NEXT WEEK."
AND SO I PROCEEDED TO GO
INTO THE KITCHEN,
PUT SOME COFFEE ON,
TURN ON THE RADIO.
IN MY LITTLE APARTMENT THERE
I HAD A LITTLE BLACK-AND-WHITE
KITCHEN TABLE
WITH THESE LITTLE BLACK CHAIRS.
AND I HAD THIS LITTLE BLACK
RADIO ON THAT TABLE.
AND I CLICKED THE RADIO ON.
AS I STOOD THERE THINKING
ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED
THE NIGHT BEFORE,
TURNED TOWARDS THE STOVE
TO PICK UP MY COFFEE
AND A FLASH CAME THROUGH
ON THE STATION
AND SAID MALCOLM HAD
BEEN ASSASSINATED.
Narrator:
MALCOLM X WAS KILLED BY 16
GUNSHOTS FIRED AT CLOSE RANGE.
HE WAS 39 YEARS OLD.
AND MY CHILDREN WERE CRYING,
"WHAT'S GOING ON?
WHAT'S GOING ON?
ARE THEY GOING TO SHOOT US?"
AND I JUST KNEW
THEY HAD SHOT HIM.
AND THAT NIGHT WE WEN
INTO THE HARLEM COMMUNITY
TO WALK AND MINGLE
WITH THE PEOPLE.
THERE WAS A KIND
OF SENSE OF LOSS
AND AS WE PASSED PEOPLE,
SOME WHO WERE EVEN STRANGERS,
WE WOULD STOP
AND GREET EACH OTHER
AND SAY WHAT THIS MAN
HAD MEANT TO US.
HE WAS A MASTER TEACHER.
AND THERE IS NO GREATER LOSS
TO A COMMUNITY
THAN THE LOSS
OF A MASTER TEACHER.
Narrator:
DURING THE NEXT THREE DAYS,
20,000 PEOPLE ENDURED
SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES
TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO MALCOLM X.
Davis:
WHEN THE FUNERAL WAS OVER
AND MALCOLM WAS STRIPPED
OF HIS WESTERN CLOTHES,
AND THEN THE MUSLIMS CAME
AND DRESSED HIM
FOR PROPER MUSLIM BURIAL.
THEY HAD A SERVICE.
WE WENT OUT TO ARDSLEY,
THE CEMETERY,
AND WHEN WE GOT THERE,
THE PROFESSIONAL GRAVEDIGGERS
WERE STANDING THERE
WITH THEIR SHOVELS,
BUT SOME OF THE BLACK BROTHERS
SAID, "NO, UH-UH.
"WE CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT.
"WE DIG THIS GRAVE.
WE COVER THIS BROTHER
WITH DIRT."
AND IT WAS A MOVING MOMENT,
AND I WAS PROUD
AT THAT MOMENT TO BE BLACK
AND PROUD THAT MY COMMUNITY
AND PEOPLE,
NO MATTER WHAT HAD BEEN SAID
BY THE OUTSIDE WORLD,
SAID TO THE BROTHER, "WE LOVED
AND RESPECTED AND ADMIRED YOU."
AND SO WE BURIED HIM,
AND THERE IT IS.
Choir:
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING
WITH MY MIND ♪
SET ON FREEDOM ♪
Narrator:
MALCOLM X HAD
A FAR-REACHING EFFEC
ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
IN THE SOUTH, THERE HAD BEEN
A LONG TRADITION
OF SELF-RELIANCE.
MALCOLM X'S IDEAS NOW TOUCHED
THAT TRADITION.
WITH MY MIND
SET ON FREEDOM ♪
Narrator:
IN 1965, THE STUDENT NONVIOLEN
COORDINATING COMMITTEE
LAUNCHED NEW STRATEGIES
TO CHALLENGE WHITE CONTROL
OF SOUTHERN POLITICS.
OUR DIRECTION WAS CLEAR: A
HEAVY EMPHASIS ON NATIONALISM
AS STRONG AS MALCOLM HAD IT,
AS STRONG AS WE COULD GET IT.
Narrator:
CARMICHAEL AND OTHER SNCC
MEMBERS BEGAN A VOTER DRIVE
IN LOWNDES COUNTY, ALABAMA,
KNOWN AS "BLOODY LOWNDES"
FOR ITS VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACKS.
ALTHOUGH 80% OF THE POPULATION
WAS BLACK,
THERE WERE NO BLACK
ELECTED OFFICIALS.
ECONOMICALLY DEPENDEN
ON WHITE PLANTATION OWNERS,
MANY WERE AFRAID TO JOIN
CIVIL RIGHTS EFFORTS.
AND NONE HAD BEEN ALLOWED
TO REGISTER TO VOTE
UNTIL EARLY 1965.
NOW, IN THIS COUNTRY,
IT SAYS MAJORITY RULES.
WE ARE 80% OF THE MAJORITY
WE ARE IN THIS COUNTY,
AND WE HAVE THE RIGH
TO RULE THIS COUNTY.
WE HAVE THE RIGH
TO RULE THIS COUNTY,
AND WE'RE GOING TO RULE IT.
I DON'T CARE HOW POOR WE ARE
AND HOW BLACK WE ARE,
WE'RE GOING TO GOVERN
THIS COUNTY.
STOKELY CARMICHAEL
AND COURTLAND COX
AND OTHERS WHO GO
TOGETHER TOLD US
ACCORDING TO THE ALABAMA LAW
IF WE DIDN'T LIKE
WHAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
WAS DOING IN OUR COUNTY
OR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY,
WE COULD FORM OUR OWN
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
AND IT COULD BECOME
A POLITICAL PARTY.
("Dixie" playing )
Carmichael:
GEORGE WALLACE WAS THEN THE HEAD
OF THE ALABAMA DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
THE ALABAMA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
WAS RACIST.
ITS SYMBOL AT THAT TIME
HAD A WHITE ROOSTER
AND IT HAD THE WORDS
OF WHITE SUPREMACY.
THAT WAS THE OFFICIAL EMBLEM
OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
OF ALABAMA.
SO HERE IT WOULD BE EASY
FOR US TO TELL OUR PEOPLE,
"HEY, LOOK, THIS PARTY'S NOT FOR
US WE NEED OUR OWN PARTY."
Narrator:
THE NEW POLITICAL PARTY
WAS NAMED
THE LOWNDES COUNTY
FREEDOM ORGANIZATION,
BUT IT BECAME BETTER KNOWN
BY THE SYMBOL IT CHOSE
A BLACK PANTHER.
WHEN WE CHOSE THAT SYMBOL,
THE BLACK PANTHER,
MANY OF THE PEOPLE
IN OUR COUNTY
STARTED SAYING WE WERE VIOLEN
DURING THAT TIME.
NOW YOU'VE GOT A VIOLENT GROUP
IN LOWNDES COUNTY
WHO ARE GOING TO START KILLING
WHITE FOLKS.
BUT IT WASN'T THAT.
IT WAS JUST A SYMBOL
TO OUR ORGANIZATION,
THAT WE WAS HERE TO STAY
AND WE WERE GOING TO DO WHATEVER
NEEDED TO BE DONE TO SURVIVE.
EVERYBODY WAS EXCITED,
BECAUSE THEY SAID,
"WELL, THEY HAVE THE ROOSTER
"WHICH REPRESENTS
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY;
"THE ELEPHANT, WHICH
REPRESENTS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY;
WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A BLACK CA
TO REPRESENT US?"
EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW A CAT LOOK.
AND WE WERE EXCITED,
BECAUSE WE KNEW
THAT IF A PERSON COULDN'T READ
AND WRITE,
THEY SURE KNEW THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A CAT, AN ELEPHAN
AND A ROOSTER.
Narrator:
SNCC WENT DOOR TO DOOR
AND FARM TO FARM,
EXPLAINING TO FIRST-TIME VOTERS
THE RULES FOR TAKING PAR
IN THE LOWNDES COUNTY PRIMARY.
Carmichael:
THE LAW SAYS THAT YOU
CAN'T VOTE IN OURS
AND ALSO VOTE
IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY,
WHICH HAS TO BE HELD
ON THE SAME DAY,
ACCORDING TO THE LAW.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO VOTE
IN ONE AND NOT THE OTHER.
SO IF YOU WANT TO VOTE
FOR OUR CANDIDATES
FOR SHERIFF, TAX ASSESSOR,
TAX COLLECTOR,
CORONER AND THE SCHOOL BOARD,
THEN YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR US.
Narrator:
ON MAY 3, 1966,
LOWNDES COUNTY BLACKS VOTED
FOR THE FIRST TIME
SINCE THE END OF RECONSTRUCTION.
SOME VOTED AS DEMOCRATS
IN THE HAYNEVILLE COURTHOUSE.
SEVERAL BLOCKS AWAY,
THE LOWNDES COUNTY FREEDOM
ORGANIZATION HELD ITS PRIMARY
ON THE GROUNDS
OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
VOTERS FOR THE INDEPENDENT PARTY
WERE INTRODUCED TO CANDIDATES
FOR SEVEN OFFICES,
INCLUDING SHERIFF,
BEFORE CASTING THEIR BALLOTS.
EVEN WITH THE EVER-PRESEN
THREAT OF VIOLENCE,
900 BLACK VOTERS SHOWED UP THA
DAY TO VOTE FOR THE PANTHER.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THA
THE BLACK PEOPLES IN THIS COUNTY
CAME TOGETHER TO MAKE CHOICE
OF THEIR OWN CANDIDATES
FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.
IT WAS IMPORTANT ALSO BECAUSE
OF THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLES
THAT TURNED OU
TO THAT ELECTION THAT DAY
AND VOTED FOR THEIR CANDIDATES
AND FELT THAT THEY HAD DONE
SOMETHING FOR THEMSELVES
TO START MAKING
THE KIND OF CHANGES
THEY WANTED TO SEE HAPPEN
IN THE SYSTEM.
Narrator:
11 DAYS LATER,
STOKELY CARMICHAEL,
REPRESENTING THE NEW MILITANCY
WITHIN SNCC,
DEFEATED JOHN LEWIS
AS NATIONAL CHAIRMAN.
IF YOU TOOK A CLEAR LOOK
AT JOHN LEWIS,
HE LOOKED MORE LIKE
A YOUNG MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A COUP.
PEOPLE WERE SAYING THAT WE NEED
SOMEONE WHO WILL STAND UP
WE NEED SOMEONE WHO WILL STAND
UP TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
IT WAS CLEAR THAT HE HAD BEEN
ALIENATED FROM THE SNCC STAFF.
SO THE VOTE AGAINST HIM
REPRESENTED THAT.
IT REPRESENTED THE CLEAR INSIGH
OF THE SNCC ORGANIZERS
THAT UNDERSTOOD THA
THE QUESTION OF MORALITY
UPON WHICH KING'S ORGANIZATION
DEPENDED TO BRING ABOUT CHANGES
IN THE COMMUNITY
WERE NOT POSSIBLE.
THE SNCC PEOPLE HAD
SEEN RAW TERROR
AND THEY UNDERSTOOD PROPERLY
THIS RAW TERROR HAD NOTHING
TO DO WITH MORALITY,
BUT HAD TO DO CLEARLY
WITH POWER.
Narrator:
IT HAD BEEN ALMOST A YEAR
SINCE CONGRESS PASSED
THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
BUT WHITE RESISTANCE
REMAINED STRONG.
IN MISSISSIPPI ALONE,
MORE THAN 300,000 BLACKS
WERE NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE.
JAMES MEREDITH,
THE FIRST BLACK PERSON
TO ENROLL AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI,
WAS DETERMINED
TO CHANGE ALL THAT.
ON JUNE 5, 1966, MEREDITH
LEFT MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE,
PREPARED TO WALK 220 MILES
TO JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI.
HE CALLED I
A MARCH AGAINST FEAR.
Meredith:
TO POINT OUT AND CHALLENGE,
IF NECESSARY, THIS ALL-PERVASIVE
AND OVERRIDING FEAR
THAT'S SO MUCH A PART OF THE
DAY-TO-DAY LIFE OF THE NEGRO
IN THIS COUNTRY AND
ESPECIALLY IN MISSISSIPPI.
Narrator:
ON THE SECOND DAY OF HIS MARCH,
JAMES MEREDITH WAS SHO
FROM AMBUSH.
WE, AS YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN
GREATLY CONCERNED
ABOUT THE SHOOTING
OF JAMES MEREDITH.
WE HAVE EXPRESSED THAT
Narrator:
LEADERS OF MAJOR CIVIL RIGHTS
ORGANIZATIONS
RUSHED TO MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE,
WHERE JAMES MEREDITH
WAS HOSPITALIZED.
THEY VOWED TO CONTINUE
THE MARCH FOR HIM.
King:
AND SOMETHING NEEDS
TO BE DONE
TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT WE'RE
NOT GOING TO BE STOPPED,
WE'RE NOT GOING
TO BE INTIMIDATED.
Narrator:
FROM THE START,
THERE WAS CONFLICT.
IF WE'RE GOING TO BE FREE,
WE WILL HAVE TO SUFFER
FOR THAT FREEDOM,
WE WILL HAVE
TO SACRIFICE FOR IT.
I'M NOT GOING TO BEG THE WHITE
MAN FOR ANYTHING THAT I DESERVE.
I'M GOING TO TAKE IT!
I'M GOING
TO TAKE IT!
WE NEED POWER.
WE NEED POWER!
THAT'S WHAT WE NEED!
WE NEED POWER
JUST LIKE ANYBODY ELSE.
I THINK IT WAS MORE
OF A YOUTH MOVEMEN
IN ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS
ASSERTING THEMSELVES
FAR MORE THAN IT WAS COMPETITION
AMONG LEADERS THEMSELVES.
IT WAS A CLASH OF IDEAS, NO
QUESTION ABOUT A CLASH OF IDEAS.
Narrator:
THE LEADERS BEGAN MARCHING
AT THE POINT WHERE MEREDITH
HAD BEEN SHOT.
MISSISSIPPI STATE TROOPERS
FORCEFULLY PREVENTED THEM
FROM MARCHING
ON THE ROAD SURFACE.
CARMICHAEL, ANGERED BY THIS
ROUGH HANDLING,
STEPPED FORWARD TO RETALIATE,
BUT DR. KING RESTRAINED HIM.
Carmichael:
WE'VE GOT TO REALIZE
THAT WHITE FOLK
IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
AIN'T NOTHING BUT A BUNCH
OF RACISTS,
AND THE ONLY PEOPLE
WHO CAN STOP THEM
ARE THE BLACK FOLK
IN MISSISSIPPI.
(crowd cheering )
NOW, WE'VE GOT TO MAKE
THIS MARCH OUR MARCH.
THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE MARCH
FOR THE BLACK PEOPLE
IN MISSISSIPPI.
AND THE ONLY WAY WE CAN
MAKE THAT OUR MARCH
IS TO GO INTO EVERY LITTLE PLACE
AND GET EVERY BLACK MAN
AND BLACK WOMAN, BLACK BOY
AND BLACK GIRL OU
WHO'S NOT AFRAID,
AND LET'S MARCH
AND LET'S MAKE THIS
OUR MISSISSIPPI.
IT'S GOING TO BE
OUR MISSISSIPPI.
Narrator:
IN SWELTERING HEAT, THE MARCHERS
WALKED ALONG HIGHWAY 51,
STOPPING IN TOWNS ALONG THE WAY
TO REGISTER NEW VOTERS.
Reporter:
HOW LONG HAVE YOU
WAITED TO REGISTER?
OH, LONG TIME,
LONG TIME.
HOW MANY YEARS?
HOW OLD ARE YOU?
I'M 106 YEARS OLD
AND NINE MONTHS.
I NEVER FOOLED WITH THINGS
YOU'RE GETTING A
AND I DON'T MESS
WITH THEM NOW.
Reporter:
HOW DO YOU FEEL, SIR?
ME? I FEEL GOOD.
(crowd applauds )
Crowd:
HIP, HIP, HOORAY!
HIP, HIP, HOORAY!
ONE MORE TIME.
HIP, HIP, HOORAY!
I SAID FREEDOM'S
GOT A SHOTGUN ♪
OH, YEAH! ♪
I SAID FREEDOM'S
GOT A SHOTGUN ♪
OH, YEAH! ♪
AND FREEDOM'S GONNA SHOOT IT ♪
OH, YEAH! ♪
AT THOSE SEGREGATED BIGOTS ♪
OH, YEAH! ♪
I SAID FREEDOM'S
GOT A SHOTGUN ♪
OH, YEAH! ♪
SO LET'S NA, NA, NA,
NA, NA, NA, NA, HEY! ♪
(Wilson Pickett singing
"Land of a Thousand Dances" )
I NEED SOMEBODY TO HELP ME
SAY IT ONE TIME ♪
Narrator:
20 MISSISSIPPI STATE TROOPERS
PROVIDED SOME PROTECTION
BUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE MARCH
THAT NUMBER WAS REDUCED TO FOUR.
GOVERNOR PAUL JOHNSON ANNOUNCED
HE WASN'
"GOING TO WET-NURSE
A BUNCH OF SHOWMEN."
Man:
YOU WHITE NIGGER!
Narrator:
AS JAMES MEREDITH RECOVERED
FROM HIS WOUNDS,
THE THREAT OF ANOTHER ATTACK
AGAINST THE MARCHERS
WAS AN EVER-PRESENT CONCERN.
YANKEE GO HOME!
THERE WAS A NEW SENSE OF ANXIETY
THAT WE WERE BECOMING INVOLVED
IN SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HAVE
CONSEQUENCES SOMETHING REAL.
IT WASN'T AN ACADEMIC EXERCISE.
Narrator:
AS THE MARCHERS CAMPED
EACH NIGHT,
THEY WERE PROTECTED
BY AN ORGANIZATION
KNOWN AS THE DEACONS FOR DEFENSE
AND JUSTICE.
ARE ANY OF
THEM ARMED?
WELL, UH, I WOULD THINK SO.
WHAT DO
THEY CARRY?
WELL, IT DEPENDS
.38s, .45s, M-2s.
ARE THEY PREPARED
OR TRAINED
TO USE THEM?
YES, THEY ARE.
I'M TIRED OF VIOLENCE.
I'VE SEEN TOO MUCH OF IT.
I'VE SEEN HATE ON THE FACES OF
TOO MANY SHERIFFS IN THE SOUTH.
(applause )
AND I'M NOT GOING TO LE
MY OPPRESSOR DICTATE TO ME
WHAT METHOD I MUST USE.
Narrator:
SNCC PLANNED TO ISSUE
A DRAMATIC CALL
AS THE MARCH APPROACHED
GREENWOOD, MISSISSIPPI.
WILLIE RICKS WAS SENT OUT AHEAD
AS THE ADVANCE SCOUT.
SOMETIMES HE COULD HAVE
AS MANY AS 20 TO 40
AS WE GREW BIGGER EVEN 20 TO
40 PEOPLE UNDER HIS DIRECTION
TO SPREAD OUT.
AND HIS TASK WAS TO TAKE THEM,
SPREAD THEM OUT TO PLANTATIONS,
SPEAK TO THE SHARECROPPERS,
TELL THEM THE MARCH
WAS COMING THROUGH,
BUT TO THROW OUT BLACK POWER
AND TO GIVE LITTLE BLACK POWER
SPEECHES TO GET THE REACTION.
I THINK ABOUT THREE NIGHTS
BEFORE GREENWOOD
BECAUSE SNCC WAS DECIDING
WHERE'S THE BEST PLACE
FOR US TO LAUNCH IT
ABOUT THREE NIGHTS BEFORE
GREENWOOD,
I REMEMBER ABOUT 2:00
IN THE MORNING,
RICKS CAME BACK
AND WAS GIVING A REPORT,
AND CLEVE SELLERS WAS SITTING
NEXT TO ME, I REMEMBER.
AND RICKS WAS SAYING,
"WE OUGHT TO DROP IT NOW.
"THE PEOPLE ARE READY FOR IT.
I SAID IT THE OTHER DAY
AND THEY DROPPED THEIR HOES."
AND I SAID TO CLEVE, I SAID,
"YOU SENT THE WRONG MAN OU
"BECAUSE WE NEED
A CLEAR ANALYSIS HERE
AND THIS MAN IS GIVEN
TO EXAGGERATIONS."
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Marchers:
BLACK POWER!
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
BLACK POWER!
WHEN DO YOU WANT IT?
NOW!
RICKS HAD EVERYBODY PRIMED.
HE SAID, "JUST GE
TO YOUR SPEECH.
"WE'RE GOING
AGAINST 'FREEDOM NOW.'
"WE'RE GOING FOR 'BLACK POWER.'
"DON'T HIT TOO MUCH
ON 'FREEDOM NOW'
BUT HIT THE NEED FOR POWER."
SO WE BUILT UP
ON THE NEED FOR POWER
AND BEFORE I GOT THERE, RICKS
WAS SAYING, "HIT THEM NOW."
AND I KEPT SAYING,
"GIVE ME TIME, GIVE ME TIME."
WHEN WE FINALLY GOT IN,
WE DROPPED "BLACK POWER,"
WELL, OF COURSE
THEY HAD BEEN PRIMED
AND THEY RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY.
BUT I MYSELF, TO BE HONEST,
I DIDN'T EXPECT THA
ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE.
WE WANT BLACK POWER.
WE WANT BLACK POWER.
WE WANT BLACK POWER.
Group:
BLACK POWER!
Carmichael:
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Group:
BLACK POWER!
WE WANT BLACK POWER.
WE WANT BLACK POWER.
BLACK POWER!
THAT'S WHA
WE'RE GONNA GET.
UNTIL FINALLY EVERYONE TOGETHER
WAS THUNDERING "BLACK POWER,
BLACK POWER."
AND THAT WAS CHILLING,
THAT WAS FRIGHTENING.
IT SCARED PEOPLE BECAUSE
THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND
THEY COULD NOT SUBTRAC
VIOLENCE FROM POWER.
THEY COULD ONLY SEE POWER
AS A VIOLENT INSTRUMEN
ACCOMPANYING IT.
IT WAS EMPTY RHETORIC.
IT WAS NOT A MESSAGE.
AND THE STUDENT NONVIOLEN
COORDINATING COMMITTEE
HAD A RICH HISTORY
OF BEING INVOLVED
IN PROGRAMMATIC EFFORTS,
AND NOT JUST THE USE OF SLOGANS.
IT WAS AT THAT POINT,
DURING THAT MARCH
THAT I MADE A DECISION
TO LEAVE THE STUDENT NONVIOLEN
COORDINATING COMMITTEE.
THE CAUSE OF BLACK EQUALITY WILL
BE DECIDED BY BLACK PEOPLE
Narrator:
THE MEDIA SAW THE CALL
FOR BLACK POWER
AS A MAJOR SHIF
IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
Man:
THERE WAS A TENDENCY,
I THOUGHT, TO OVERPLAY IT.
THERE WERE A LOT OF NEW
REPORTERS,
REPORTERS WHO WERE NEW
TO THIS BEAT,
WHO WERE COMING IN FROM A LO
OF PAPERS AROUND THE COUNTRY
AS THE MARCH BEGAN
TO PICK UP MOMENTUM
AND AS THIS BLACK POWER THEME
BEGAN TO GET SOME PUBLICITY.
THE SECOND REASON WAS
THAT THE THEME WAS NEVER
REALLY CLEARLY ARTICULATED
OR AT LEAST WHAT IT MEAN
WAS NEVER CLEARLY DEFINED.
AND SO IT WAS OPEN TO VERY BROAD
INTERPRETATIONS.
AND THERE WERE SOME WHITES,
FOR THEIR OWN REASONS,
WHO WANTED TO TAKE THIS
AS A SIGNAL OF REAL BLACK
HOSTILITY AND ENMITY.
Man:
HEY, HEY, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
WHITE MAN GOT TO GO.
Group:
HEY, HEY, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
HONKY GOT TO GO.
HEY, HEY, WHAT DO YOU KNOW
AND THE STRATEGY COMING
OUT OF BLACK POWER FROM SNCC WAS
THAT BLACKS SHOULD ORGANIZE
WITH BLACKS
AND WHITES SHOULD ORGANIZE
WITH WHITES.
SNCC TOOK THE POSITION
THAT IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE
A MARCH IN MISSISSIPPI,
IT SHOULD BE A MARCH
THAT'S INDIGENOUS,
MEANING THAT MISSISSIPPIANS
SHOULD BE INVOLVED
AND WE SHOULD NOT CALL OUT THE
LIBERAL ARMIES FROM THE NORTH
TO COME IN AND ASSIS
WITH THAT MARCH.
SO WE MOVED ON TO WORK
WITH WHITES
ON ISSUES THAT WE FEL
WE SHOULD WORK WITH.
IN THE NEXT YEAR, THAT WAS NO
CIVIL RIGHTS, THAT WAS VIETNAM.
King:
ON THE OTHER HAND, I WAN
TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I
Narrator:
AS THE MARCH NEARED CANTON,
MISSISSIPPI,
REPORTERS PLAYED UP
THE DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN MARTIN LUTHER KING
AND STOKELY CARMICHAEL.
King:
LET ME SAY FIRST THA
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, I'M NOT.
I DON'T SEE I
AS A WAY OF LIFE
I NEVER HAVE.
I ALSO REALIZE THA
NO ONE IN THIS COUNTRY
IS ASKING THE
WHITE COMMUNITY
IN THE SOUTH
TO BE NONVIOLEN
AND THAT, IN A SENSE, IS
GIVING THEM A FREE LICENSE
TO GO AHEAD AND
SHOOT US AT WILL.
(whistle blows )
Narrator:
THE MARCHERS BEGAN TO SET UP
THEIR TENTS FOR THE NIGH
ON THE GROUNDS OF AN ALL-BLACK
SCHOOL IN CANTON, MISSISSIPPI.
PERMISSION TO USE THE SCHOOL
GROUNDS HAD BEEN GRANTED
BY THE BLACK SCHOOL BOARD,
BUT WAS LATER REVOKED
BY WHITE CITY OFFICIALS.
IF YOU CONTINUE DOING SO,
YOU WILL BE PLACED UNDER ARREST.
WE DON'T WAN
ANYBODY TO MOVE.
THE TIME FOR RUNNING
HAS COME TO AN END.
(cheering )
YOU TELL THEM WHITE FOLK
IN MISSISSIPPI
THAT ALL THE SCARED NIGGERS
ARE DEAD!
(cheering )
YOU TELL THEM THEY SHO
ALL THE RABBITS.
THEY'RE GOING TO DEAL
WITH THE MEN.
WHAT DO WE WANT?
Crowd:
BLACK POWER!
BLACK POWER!
Narrator:
MISSISSIPPI STATE TROOPERS
WHO HAD ONCE BEEN ASSIGNED
TO PROTECT THE MARCHERS
NOW TOOK ANOTHER STANCE.
I WANT TO GET THIS OVER,
BECAUSE THIS IS IMPORTANT.
WE'RE GOING TO STICK TOGETHER.
IF NECESSARY, WE ARE WILLING
TO FILL UP ALL OF THE JAILS
IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
AND I DON'T BELIEVE
THEY HAVE ENOUGH JAILS
TO HOLD THE PEOPLE
IF THEY TRY TO ARREST US.
(canisters exploding )
(siren )
IT WAS LIKE A SCENE OF HELL
WITH SMOKE RISING AND PEOPLE
VOMITING AND CRAWLING AROUND
AND CHOKING AND CRYING.
AND THEN THERE WAS
A KIND OF AN EERIE SILENCE
AND THE ONE THING YOU COULD
HEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN
WAS THE "THUD, THUD, THUD" SOUND
AND WHAT IT WAS WAS
THE MISSISSIPPI TROOPERS
KICKING PEOPLE ON THE GROUND,
OR HITTING THEM
WITH THEIR RIFLE BUTTS.
NOTHING'S GOING TO HAPPEN;
WE'RE GOING TO THE CHURCH.
WE GOT TO WORRY
ABOUT THE PEOPLE.
LEAVE HIM ALONE.
MOVE ON TO THE CHURCH.
(all talking at once )
Reporter:
HOW WERE
YOU HURT?
THEY HIT ME IN THE CHES
WITH A CANISTER.
Ricks:
IT WAS WHITE POWER.
FREEDOM! FREEDOM!
GOT TO HAVE BLACK POWER!
OH, DEEP IN MY HEART ♪
Narrator:
DESPITE THE TEAR GAS
AND BEATINGS,
THE MARCHERS REMAINED
NONVIOLENT,
BUT VOICES IN THE NIGH
TOLD OF THE RAGE
THAT MANY WERE FEELING.
Man:
WHITEY GOT TO GO!
WHITEY GOT TO GO!
WHITEY GOT TO GO!
("I'll Be There"
by the Four Tops )
NOW, IF YOU FEEL
THAT YOU CAN'T GO ON ♪
BECAUSE ALL OF YOUR HOPE
IS GONE ♪
UNTIL HAPPINESS
IS JUST AN ILLUSION ♪
AND YOUR WORLD AROUND
IS CRUMBLIN' ♪
Narrator:
ON JUNE 26, THE MARCH ENTERED
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI.
ALONG THE ROUTE,
4,000 NEW VOTERS WERE ADDED
TO MISSISSIPPI VOTING ROLLS
SINCE MEREDITH FIRST BEGAN
HIS MARCH AGAINST FEAR
22 DAYS EARLIER IN MEMPHIS.
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 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. ♪
THERE IS NOTHING MORE DANGEROUS
THAN TO BUILD A SOCIETY
WITH A LARGE SEGMENT OF PEOPLE
IN THAT SOCIETY
WHO FEEL THAT THEY HAVE
NO STAKE IN IT,
WHO FEEL THAT THEY HAVE
NOTHING TO LOSE.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE A STAKE
IN THEIR SOCIETY
PROTECT THAT SOCIETY,
BUT WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE IT,
THEY UNCONSCIOUSLY
WANT TO DESTROY IT.
Narrator:
AUGUST 1965
BLACK RESIDENTS IN WATTS,
A LOS ANGELES NEIGHBORHOOD,
TOOK TO THE STREETS IN ANGER.
THE UPRISING LASTED SIX DAYS
AND LEFT 34 PEOPLE DEAD.
WATTS WAS A CHALLENGE
TO THE NATION,
AND TO THE NONVIOLENT PHILOSOPHY
OF MARTIN LUTHER KING.
AND FOR THE RESPEC
OF DR. KING THAT WE HAVE
HERE, I SAY THIS:
SURE, WE LIKE
TO BE NONVIOLENT,
BUT WE UP HERE
IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA
WILL NOT TURN
THAT OTHER CHEEK!
Narrator:
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
KING LED
HAD WON A MAJOR VICTORY
DAYS EARLIER
WHEN PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON
SIGNED THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
BUT OUTSIDE THE SOUTH,
LITTLE HAD CHANGED;
ANGER WAS BUILDING.
IT WAS TIME FOR KING
AND HIS STAFF TO MOVE NORTH.
GOIN' TO CHICAGO,
SORRY, BUT I CAN'T TAKE YOU. ♪
Narrator:
THEIR FIRST TARGET:
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, THE
SECOND LARGEST CITY IN AMERICA.
A FOURTH OF CHICAGO'S RESIDENTS
WERE BLACK.
DESPITE A DECADE OF PROTES
AND SOME SUCCESSES,
MANY FACED PROFOUND
POVERTY AND DISCRIMINATION.
Woman:
WHEN I FIRST HEARD THAT DR. KING
WAS GOING TO COME TO CHICAGO,
I WAS ELATED.
I SAID, "OH, MY GOSH,
CHICAGO'S GOING TO GET INVOLVED
"IN ALL OF THIS, YOU KNOW,
"DR. KING HAS GOT A POWERFUL
FOLLOWING, A POWERFUL MESSAGE,
"AND HE'S GOING TO BRING I
TO CHICAGO
TO HELP WITH THE MOVEMENT HERE
HE'S SURE NEEDED."
WHEN WE WENT TO CHICAGO,
WE WERE TRYING TO SEE
WOULD NONVIOLENCE WORK
IN THE NORTH
AND WHAT ELEMENTS
OF NONVIOLENCE WOULD WORK:
VOTER REGISTRATION,
MARCHES AND DIRECT ACTION;
COULD WE END SLUMS
AND CREATE GOOD HOUSING?
COULD WE CREATE JOBS
AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES?
Narrator:
A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN IN CHICAGO
MIGHT PROVIDE A MODEL
FOR COMBATTING PROBLEMS
THROUGHOUT THE NORTH.
OTHER CITIES
HAD BEEN CONSIDERED,
BUT SOME BLACK LEADERS REFUSED
TO WORK WITH KING AND HIS STAFF.
CHICAGO'S CIVIL RIGHTS
LEADERS WELCOMED THEM.
WE HAVE LOOKED FORWARD
TO OUR COMING TO CHICAGO
WITH GREAT AND EAGER
ANTICIPATION.
AND AS WE HAVE SAID IN THE PAST,
WE ARE HERE
TO STUDY THE CONDITIONS
AS THEY RELATE THEMSELVES
IN HOUSING, JOBS
AND THE WHOLE SCHOOL QUESTION.
Narrator:
CHICAGO OFFICIALS WERE CAUTIOUS.
ED MARCINIAK GREETED KING
ON BEHALF OF THE CITY.
Marciniak:
THAT WELCOME WAS, I THINK,
BOTH GENUINE
AND PART OF A STRATEGY.
THE STRATEGY WAS, HERE WAS A MAN
COMING TO A CITY HE DIDN'T KNOW,
TO A CITY WHOSE
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
WITH WHICH HE WAS NOT FAMILIAR.
HE WAS DEALING WITH PEOPLE
BASICALLY WHO WERE NONPOLITICAL,
SUSPICIOUS OF THE POLITICAL
ESTABLISHMENT,
AND SO THE ADVICE AND COUNSEL
THAT HE WOULD BE GETTING
WOULD BE, BY AND LARGE,
ADVICE THAT DIDN'T COME THROUGH
THE NORMAL POLITICAL CHANNELS.
Narrator:
CHICAGO WAS
THE POLITICAL DOMINION
OF MAYOR RICHARD J. DALEY
ONE OF THE MOS
POWERFUL MEN IN AMERICA.
DALEY'S INFLUENCE EXTENDED INTO
THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Crowd:
WE LOVE OUR MAYOR,
OH, YES WE DO ♪
Narrator:
FOR 11 YEARS
DALEY HAD RUN THE NEIGHBORHOODS
AND CITY WARDS OF CHICAGO
THROUGH A POLITICAL MACHINE
BUILT ON PATRONAGE.
SOME BLACKS WERE INCLUDED
IN THE MACHINE,
BUT MANY SAW DALEY
AS THE POWER BEHIND
THE SYSTEM THAT LOCKED THEM OUT.
(crowd cheering )
Woman:
THE DALEY MACHINE WAS
WELL, I GUESS
I COULD DO THAT BES
BY TRYING TO DESCRIBE
MAYOR DALEY.
HE SEEMED TO MANY
TO BE OMNIPOTENT.
HE TOOK A MACHIAVELLI
APPROACH TO GOVERNMENT.
HE WAS IN CONTROL, HE WAS
STRONG, DEMANDING AND RUTHLESS.
DALEY HAD BLACKS ON HIS STAFF
AND BLACK OFFICIALS,
AND SOME BLACK MINISTERS
WHO MARCHED
WITH DR. KING IN THE SOUTH
WENT TO SCHOOL
WITH HIM AT MOREHOUSE,
BUT ON DALEY'S PLANTATION,
THEY HAD PRESS CONFERENCES
AND URGED DR. KING
TO LEAVE CHICAGO,
SAYING, "THERE IS NO PLACE
FOR YOU HERE."
IT REALLY BROKE HIS HEAR
TO SEE SOME OF HIS CLASSMATES
TURN ON HIM IN CHICAGO.
Narrator:
THE MAYOR HIMSELF HAD SUPPORTED
THE CAMPAIGN FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
IN THE SOUTH.
NOW DALEY KEPT WATCH
AS KING'S ORGANIZATION
AND LOCAL CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS
FORMED THE CHICAGO
FREEDOM MOVEMENT.
IN JANUARY 1966, THEY LAUNCHED
A NONVIOLENT WAR ON SLUMS.
Woman:
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE GET OFFENDED
WHEN YOU SAY "SLUMS,"
BUT WE HAVE TO REALIZE
THAT IT'S NOT JUST SOMETHING
THAT YOU CAN SEE IN A COMMUNITY.
IT'S THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T SEE
THAT MAKE THAT SLUM.
SO WE GOT TO DO SOMETHING
ABOUT THESE PROBLEMS
AND THE ONLY WAY WE CAN DO
SOMETHING ABOUT I
IS TO BE TOGETHER, SEE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO BE TOGETHER,
WE'RE GOING TO GE
SOMETHING DONE HERE,
NOT ONLY IN EAST GARFIELD PARK,
NOT ONLY IN LAWNDALE,
NOT ONLY IN CHICAGO,
BUT WE'RE GOING TO GET THINGS
DONE IN NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA.
EVERY STATE WE GOT, WE'RE GOING
TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE.
Narrator:
MANY OF CHICAGO'S
BLACK RESIDENTS
WERE TRAPPED IN DECAYING
AND SEGREGATED NEIGHBORHOODS.
THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS
HAD BEEN THE POINT OF ENTRY
FOR SOUTHERN BLACKS RECRUITED
TO WORK IN NORTHERN INDUSTRIES.
OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS HAD WORKED
THEIR WAY OUT OF SLUMS.
STRICT SEGREGATION
LOCKED BLACKS IN.
RENTS WERE HIGH,
SERVICES WERE NEGLECTED.
WHEN I MOVED INTO THE BUILDING
ON 3400 MADISON,
IT WAS PREDOMINANTLY WHITE.
AND WHEN BLACKS STARTED
MOVING INTO THAT BUILDING,
THEN IT SEEMED LIKE WHITE PEOPLE
JUST MOVED OUT OVERNIGHT,
THEY WOULD THERE
AND THE SERVICES STARTED
TO GO DOWN.
HE STOPPED PAINTING,
HE STOPPED DOING ANY REPAIRS
AND THINGS IN THE BUILDING.
Woman:
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
WHAT'S YOUR NAME?
Woman in window:
MY NAME IS MRS. WEEMS.
Man:
YEAH, SEE WE'RE TRYING
TO GET SOME MEETINGS TOGETHER
WITH THE PEOPLE IN THIS BUILDING
SO WE CAN DEAL WITH SOME
OF THE PROBLEMS AROUND HERE.
Woman in window:
WELL, UH, JUST A MINUTE,
LET ME COME DOWN.
Man:
ALL RIGHT, YOU COME ON DOWN.
I WORK FOR
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING.
Dunlap:
SO I SORT OF MADE
MYSELF AN ORGANIZER.
I STARTED TALKING
WITH THE TENANTS
THAT WERE IN THE BUILDING
ABOUT HOLDING THEIR RENT.
SO I GOT ONLY
ABOUT SEVEN OF THEM
TO SAY THAT THEY WOULD WORK
WITH ME AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.
THE OTHERS, I FELT, THAT WANTED
TO WORK WITH ME BUT WERE AFRAID
BECAUSE THEY WERE
ON FIXED INCOMES,
PARTICULARLY PUBLIC ASSISTANCE,
AND THEY WERE AFRAID
THAT THE LANDLORD WOULD
GET THEIR CHECKS CUT OFF.
(crowd singing protest songs )
Narrator:
OPPOSITION TO THE MAYOR
COULD BE COSTLY.
DALEY'S POLITICAL MACHINE
CONTROLLED CITY SERVICES
AND HAD INFLUENCE OVER
PUBLIC HOUSING AND WELFARE.
THE MAYOR USED THAT POWER
AGAINST THE CHICAGO
FREEDOM MOVEMENT.
(crowd continues singing
protest songs )
Woman:
HE OWNED THAT SYSTEM,
RICHARD J. DALEY DID,
AND I REMEMBER THE INSPECTORS
WERE GOING FROM DOOR TO DOOR
TO THOSE OF US THAT WERE
PARTICIPATING
WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING,
AND THEY CAME TO MY HOUSE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE
HARASSED AT THAT LEVEL
INSPECTORS FOR VIOLATIONS
THAT THEY COULDN'T FIX.
SO WHEN YOU GOT A VIOLATION,
WHO DID YOU HAVE TO GO TO?
YOU HAD TO GO TO ONE OF DALEY'S
MEN TO FIX FIX THE CODE
OR ELSE, YOU KNOW,
YOU WERE FINED.
WHEN KING ACTUALLY CAME TO TOWN,
DALEY RECEIVED HIM POLITELY.
AND THEN EVERY TIME DR. KING
OR THE MOVEMEN
WOULD RAISE AN ISSUE
DALEY WOULD INSTITUTE
SOME KIND OF RESPONSE OR PROGRAM
TO SHOW THAT THE MOVEMEN
WASN'T NEEDED
AND THAT THE CITY
WAS ON TOP OF THE PROBLEM.
THIS WAS PARTICULARLY TRUE IF
IT HAD TO DO WITH CITY SERVICES.
IF DR. KING WOULD GO TO
AS HE DID TO THE WEST SIDE
AND HELP TO SHOVEL OU
THE FILTH IN AN APARTMEN
IN A VERY DIRTY,
RUNDOWN SECTION OF TOWN,
WHY, THE NEXT DAY
THE GARBAGE TRUCKS WOULD ARRIVE
AND THE PLACE
WOULD BE ALL CLEANED UP.
AND IT IS TRUE, IN THE MINDS
OF THE PEOPLE AND THE PRESS,
IT BECAME HARD TO SEE
DALEY AS SOME KIND OF ENEMY
BECAUSE HE WOULD ALWAYS RESPOND.
WE'D LIKE TO KNOW
WHERE PLACES ARE RUNDOWN
OR IT'S A HAZARD TO HUMAN LIFE.
THE FIRE DEPARTMEN
WANTS TO KNOW IF A BUILDING
IS IN SUCH SHAPE
THAT IT'S A DANGER TO LIFE
OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN IT.
AND THEY CAN BE OF GREAT HELP
IN GIVING US THIS INFORMATION.
IT WAS CLEAR, I THINK,
TO US AT THE TIME
THAT WHAT THE CHICAGO
FREEDOM MOVEMENT WANTED
WAS A WAY TO GET A CONFRONTATION
WITH CITY HALL.
AND OUR PURPOSE WAS TO SEE IF
WE COULD AVOID A CONFRONTATION,
TO DEFUSE ANY ISSUE THAT MIGH
PRECIPITATE A CONFRONTATION.
WE WERE NOT BIRMINGHAM; WE WERE
NOT SELMA; WE WERE CHICAGO.
WE SHALL OVERCOME ONE DAY,
WE SHALL OVERCOME ♪
Narrator:
KING HAD CHOSEN CHICAGO
AS THE PROVING GROUND
FOR A NONVIOLEN
CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
BUT SIX MONTHS HAD GONE BY
AND THERE WERE NO
VICTORIES IN SIGHT.
ON JULY 10, 1966,
THE FREEDOM MOVEMEN
HELD A RALLY AT SOLDIER FIELD.
SOME WERE QUESTIONING
THE STRATEGY OF NONVIOLENCE.
KING ARGUED IN ITS DEFENSE.
King:
WE ASSEMBLE HERE TODAY
TO MARCH TO CITY HALL
TO DEMAND REDRESS
OF OUR LEGITIMATE GRIEVANCES.
I WANT EVERY ONE OF YOU HERE
TO MARCH WITH US TODAY.
BY THE THOUSANDS, WE WILL MARCH
THERE IN A FEW MINUTES
AND MAKE OUR GREAT WITNESS.
I'M STILL CONVINCED
THERE'S NOTHING MORE POWERFUL
TO DRAMATIZE AND EXPOSE
A SOCIAL EVIL
THAN THE TRAMP, TRAMP
OF MARCHING FEET.
WE SHALL ALL HAVE PEACE,
LORD, LORD, ONE DAY ♪
YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH,
PEACE IN OUR HEARTS! ♪
Narrator:
IN SWELTERING HEAT, 5,000 MARCH
WITH KING TO CITY HALL.
HE TAPED A LIST OF DEMANDS
TO THE DOOR
CALLING FOR CITY ACTION
TO END DISCRIMINATION.
THE FOLLOWING DAY, MOVEMEN
LEADERS MET WITH THE MAYOR.
THE TALKS REACHED AN IMPASSE.
WELL, I ASKED FOR THEIR ANSWER
TO THE SOLUTION OF
ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS,
AND THEY HAD NO SOLUTION.
THEY HAD THE RECITATION
OF THE PROBLEM, BUT I SAID,
"WELL, HOW DO YOU ELIMINATE
THE SLUM AND BLIGHT OVERNIGHT?
WHAT WOULD YOU MEN DO THA
WE HAVEN'T DONE IN CHICAGO?"
NO SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS
WERE MADE.
WE REQUESTED, FOR INSTANCE,
A POLICE OR A CIVILIAN
REVIEW BOARD.
AND THAT, AGAIN,
NO COMMITMENT WAS MADE.
IN THE HOUSING AREA,
NO COMMITMENTS WERE MADE.
AND FOR THIS REASON
WE WILL HAVE TO MOVE
RIGHT ON WITH OUR PROGRAM,
OUR ACTION PROGRAM
TO DRAMATIZE THESE ISSUES
AND TO BRING IT SQUARELY
BEFORE NOT ONLY THE ATTENTION
BUT THE CONSCIENCE
OF THE CHICAGO COMMUNITY.
NOWHERE TO RUN TO, BABY,
NOWHERE TO HIDE ♪
GOT NOWHERE TO RUN TO, BABY,
NOWHERE TO HIDE ♪
Narrator:
A DAY LATER, THE MOVEMENT'S
PLANS WERE INTERRUPTED.
THE OPPRESSIVE JULY HEA
HAD FUELED GROWING TENSION
IN THE CITY.
WHEN OFFICIALS CLOSED FIRE
HYDRANTS IN A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD
TEMPERS FLARED.
LEADERS OF THE FREEDOM
MOVEMENT MOBILIZED QUICKLY;
THE FUTURE OF THEIR NONVIOLEN
CAMPAIGN WAS AT STAKE.
Man:
DR. KING AND I
AND ANDY, UH DROVE AROUND
TRYING TO PERSUADE,
PARTICULARLY YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE,
THAT THEY WERE, ONE,
NOT HELPING THE PROBLEM.
WE UNDERSTOOD THEIR FRUSTRATION,
WE WERE TRYING TO ADDRESS I
AND FIND AVENUES FOR THAT ENERGY
AND FRUSTRATION AND ANGER
TO BE CHALLENGED
IN A CONSTRUCTIVE WAY.
AND THAT THE MOS
DANGEROUS SITUATION
WAS THAT THE POLICE
WOULD OVERREAC
AND THEY WOULD, IN FACT,
BE PHYSICALLY HURT OR DAMAGED
OR END UP IN JAIL.
Narrator:
THE BATTLE ON THE STREETS
CONTINUED FOR FOUR DAYS.
TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED.
BUT CHICAGO WAS SPARED
THE DEVASTATION
THAT HAD HIT WATTS
A YEAR EARLIER.
SOME CREDITED KING
AND THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT;
MAYOR DALEY FELT OTHERWISE.
Marciniak:
THE MAYOR DID FEEL THA
THERE WAS NO NEED FOR OUTSIDERS
TO STIR UP THE TROOPS
IN CHICAGO.
AND THEREFORE I THINK HIS
NATURAL INCLINATION WAS TO SAY,
"WELL, WE HAVE NEVER
HAD THESE THINGS BEFORE.
"NOW THEY'RE HAPPENING.
"WHAT'S THE EXPLANATION?
"IT MUST BE THESE EVENTS
AND THESE PEOPLE
"AND THE WAY THEY'RE DOING
THINGS THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE RIOTING
THAT TOOK PLACE."
WE ARE TRYING TO CONDUC
A NONVIOLENT MOVEMENT HERE
IN CHICAGO.
AND WE ARE GOING ON
WITH THAT PROGRAM.
BUT WE NEED SUPPORT,
AND THERE'S NO POIN
IN THE POWER STRUCTURE
AND ANYBODY ELSE SAYING
THAT BECAUSE WE ARE PEACEFULLY
GOING AROUND
TRYING TO CHANGE CONDITIONS
THAT WE ARE THE CAUSE
OF THE RIOTS.
THAT'S DISHONEST; IT IS UNTRUE;
IT IS UNFAIR TO SAY I
TO THE PUBLIC
BECAUSE WE HAVE STOOD
UP FOR NONVIOLENCE
WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS.
AND THOSE WHO WILL MAKE THIS
PEACEFUL REVOLUTION IMPOSSIBLE
WILL MAKE A VIOLEN
REVOLUTION INEVITABLE.
AND WE'VE GOT TO GET THIS OVER.
I NEED HELP.
I NEED SOME VICTORIES.
I NEED SOME CONCESSIONS
TO TAKE BACK.
(applause )
Narrator:
WITHIN DAYS, LEADERS OF THE
FREEDOM MOVEMENT SHIFTED FOCUS.
THEY TOOK THEIR PROTEST OUT OF
THE SLUMS THAT CONTAINED BLACKS
AND INTO THE WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS
THAT EXCLUDED THEM.
Man:
THERE WERE PATTERNS
OF SEGREGATION AND
DISCRIMINATION CLEAR PATTERNS.
FOR AN EXAMPLE
THERE WERE NO SIGNS
THAT SAID,
"BLACKS CANNOT LIVE HERE."
BUT IT WAS WHITE ONLY,
AND IT WAS OBVIOUSLY WHITE ONLY.
AND THERE WERE REASONS
WHY IT WAS WHITE
NOT BECAUSE BLACKS CHOSE NO
TO LIVE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES;
IT'S BECAUSE THEY WERE
SYSTEMATICALLY DENIED
PRIMARILY BY
THE REAL ESTATE AGENT.
Protesters:
KUMBAYA, MY LORD, KUMBAYA ♪
Narrator:
PROTESTERS CHARGED REALTORS,
BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES
WITH BLOCKBUSTING.
WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS
WERE TARGETED;
HOMEOWNERS WERE PRESSURED
TO SELL LOW AND FLEE
AND HOMES WERE RESOLD
TO BLACKS AT A PREMIUM.
WITHIN MONTHS,
AREAS WERE CHANGED
FROM ALL WHITE TO ALL BLACK
AND CITY AND FINANCIAL
SERVICES DECREASED.
THE WHITE PEOPLE
DIDN'T MAKE MONEY.
THE BLACK PEOPLE
DIDN'T MAKE MONEY.
THE REAL ESTATES MADE MONEY.
AND THEY DO I
BECAUSE OF THAT.
THEY CAN MOVE THE BLACKS
INTO MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE
NEIGHBORHOODS,
THEY CAN MOVE THE WHITES OU
OF MIDDLE-CLASS NEIGHBORHOODS
INTO THE SUBURBS.
THEY MAKE THE MONEY
WE DON'T MAKE ANYTHING.
BUT THEY PROPAGATE THE IDEA
THAT BECAUSE BLACKS MOVE
INTO WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS
YOUR HOUSE VALUES
ARE GOING TO GO DOWN.
(crowd chanting
and talking loudly )
Narrator:
FREEDOM MOVEMENT VOLUNTEERS
CROSSED THE LINE
THAT DIVIDED
BLACK AND WHITE CHICAGO.
THEY BEGAN MARCHING
INTO ALL-WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS.
(onlookers shouting )
TELL THEM NIGGERS
TO GO HOME!
McDermott:
THIS NEIGHBORHOOD WAS CONVINCED
THAT WE WERE THERE TO TAKE AWAY
THEIR MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION,
THEIR HOMES, AND THE BEAUTY
OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND AS WE WALKED DEEPER
AND DEEPER INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
YOU HAD A GREA
SENSE OF ISOLATION:
"WOULD I EVER GET OUT OF HERE?"
AND THE EXPRESSIONS
OF ANGER AND HATE,
THE SWASTIKAS WHICH WERE
HELD UP JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
AND IT SHOWED THE PROBLEM.
AFTER ALL, THE POIN
WAS TO SHOW THE PROBLEM
TO SHOW THE FEAR, TO SHOW THE
REJECTION, TO SHOW THE HATE
TO SHOW THE PROBLEM THAT WE WERE
TRYING TO SOLVE.
(crowd yelling )
Jackson:
IT WAS SAID
THAT YOU COULD NOT EXPOSE
SEGREGATION IN THE NORTH
BECAUSE IT WAS SUBTLE.
THE FACT IS,
IT WAS EVERYTHING EXCEPT SUBTLE.
IT WAS DYNAMIC, IT WAS REAL,
BLATANT, UGLY, VIOLENT.
I WAS HIT THREE TIMES.
WERE ANY OF YOUR
OTHER PEOPLE HIT?
I DON'T KNOW.
HOW MANY OF YOUR
PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED?
I DON'T KNOW.
(crowd shouting, screaming )
Narrator:
THREE DAYS OF MARCHING
EXPOSED WHITE RESISTANCE
AND HEIGHTENED BLACK SKEPTICISM
ABOUT THE USE OF NONVIOLENCE.
Dunlap:
I WAS SICK THAT SUNDAY.
BUT WHEN I WATCHED IT ON TV
I GOT ANGRY, I GOT SAD,
I GOT UPSET.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I WATCH
THAT KIND OF HOSTILITY
AND THAT KIND OF PREJUDICE
THAT I DID NOT UNDERSTAND
SO I JUST COULDN'T SEE
WHY THEY WOULD DO THAT.
AND LOOKING AT THAT,
I SAID, "GEE, I'M NO
AS NONVIOLENT AS I THINK I AM."
ESPECIALLY AND DR. KING
WANTED US TO BE NONVIOLENT.
BECAUSE IF I HAD BEEN THERE
AND THEY HAD THREW THOSE
ROTTEN EGGS AND HAD SPIT ON ME
I THINK I WOULD HAVE
JUST HIT BACK.
WE'VE SENT NEGROES
IN LARGE NUMBERS
TO THE REAL ESTATE OFFICES
IN GAGE PARK.
EVERY TIME NEGROES WENT IN,
THE REAL ESTATE AGENT SAID,
"OH, I'M SORRY, WE DON'T HAVE
ANYTHING LISTED.
NOW, YOU CAN FIND
SOMETHING SOMEWHERE ELSE"
AND IT WAS ALWAYS BACK
IN THE GHETTO,
BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING.
AND THEN SOON AFTER THA
WE SENT SOME OF OUR FINE
WHITE STAFF MEMBERS
INTO THOSE SAME REAL
ESTATE OFFICES
AND THE MINUTE
THE WHITE PERSON GOT IN
THEY OPENED THE BOOKS "OH,
YES, WE HAVE SEVERAL THINGS.
NOW, WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT?"
(applause )
(crowd shouting )
Narrator:
ON AUGUST 5, THE MARCHERS
RETURNED TO THE SOUTHWEST SIDE.
MAYOR DALEY HAD SEN
1,200 POLICE OFFICERS.
THEY ESTIMATED
THE MOB AT 5,000.
Crowd:
WE WANT KING! WE WANT KING!
WE WANT KING! WE WANT KING!
WE WANT KING! WE WANT KING!
Young:
NOW, IN THE SOUTH WE FACED MOBS
BUT IN THE SOUTH
IT WOULD BE A COUPLE OF HUNDRED,
OR EVEN 50 OR 75.
THE VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTH ALWAYS
CAME FROM A RABBLE ELEMENT.
BUT THESE WERE WOMEN AND
CHILDREN AND HUSBANDS AND WIVES
COMING OUT OF THEIR HOMES,
BECOMING A MOB.
AND IN SOME WAYS,
IT WAS FAR MORE FRIGHTENING.
(shouting and explosions )
Young:
THERE WAS JUST A RAIN OF ROCKS
AND CHERRY BOMBS
SO YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.
Lafayette:
THEN MARTIN LUTHER KING
WAS STRUCK ON THE HEAD.
AND I REMEMBER THE REACTION
EVERYBODY HAD.
THEY ALL SURGED FORWARD
AND THE MARCH WAS STOPPED.
EVERYBODY SAID, "HALT, WAIT."
AND I REMEMBER
JESSE JACKSON RUNNING IN,
BECAUSE HE WAS RIGHT NEAR
MARTIN LUTHER KING
AND HE HELD MARTIN LUTHER KING'S
HEAD DOWN BECAUSE WE KNEW
HE WOULD BE THE TARGE
OF ANY KIND OF PERSONAL ATTACK.
AND WE TRIED TO REGROUP
OURSELVES.
I REMEMBER THE TENSION THA
PEOPLE HAD
AND I WE FELT COMPLETELY
SURROUNDED.
Narrator:
THE MARCHERS REMAINED
NONVIOLENT,
BUT MANY WERE ANGRY.
Jefferson:
DR. KING WAS ONLY TRYING
TO SAY TO AMERICA,
TRYING TO SAY TO GAGE PARK,
"WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS."
I AM A CITIZEN OF THIS CITY.
I'M A BLACK AMERICAN.
I HAVE A RIGHT TO MOVE
WHEREVER I WANT TO MOVE
IF I HAVE THE MONEY
TO MOVE THERE.
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THAT,
YOU KNOW?
AND I THINK
THAT'S WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT.
IT WAS THAT I DARE
ONE PART OF THIS SOCIETY
TO SAY THAT YOU CAN'T MOVE
WHEREVER YOU WANT TO MOVE.
I THINK THAT WAS
THE ANGER THAT WAS IN US.
THERE'S A POSSIBILITY
THAT WE MIGHT GET ARRESTED.
Narrator:
ACTING ON HIS OWN, JESSE JACKSON
ANNOUNCED A MARCH INTO CICERO,
A WHITE SUBURB KNOWN
FOR RACIAL HOSTILITY.
HIS CHALLENGE CAUGH
BOTH CITY OFFICIALS
AND MOVEMENT LEADERS OFF GUARD.
IS ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL,
OR ANY ONE LEADER
OR ANY ONE GROUP OF LEADERS
WORTH THE PERPETUATION
OF THE HISTORICAL DEPRIVATION
OF NEGRO PEOPLE?
THAT'S THE QUESTION
THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
AND I HAVE COUNTED UP THE COSTS:
MY LIFE, BEVEL'S LIFE,
EVEN DR. KING'S LIFE
OVER AND AGAINST A GENERATION
AND THE CONTINUATION
OF A KIND OF SIN
THAT'S GOING TO INTERNALLY
DISRUPT THIS COUNTRY
AND POSSIBLY THIS WORLD.
I'VE COUNTED THE COSTS!
I'M GOING TO CICERO!
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT CICERO
MEANT TO PEOPLE IN CHICAGO.
YOU DON'T GO UNDER
THE VIADUCT, HONEY,
BECAUSE IF YOU DO,
YOU MAY NOT GET BACK.
CICERO WAS ON THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE VIADUCT.
AND YOU DIDN'T WALK
THROUGH CICERO ALONE.
YOU DIDN'T LET YOUR CAR
BREAK DOWN IN CICERO
AND GET OUT TO CHANGE A TIRE.
Narrator:
15,000 BLACKS WORKED IN CICERO.
NONE LIVED THERE.
THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD
ONES THAT WORK HERE
BUT STILL WE DON'T WANT TO MIX
WITH THEM, TO LIVE WITH THEM.
Reporter:
WHY? YOU WORK
WITH THEM
BUT I DON'T WAN
TO LIVE WITH THEM.
BECAUSE I MOVED OUT OF A
NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WAS COLORED.
EVERYBODY THAT LIVES WITH
THE COLORED HAS TO MOVE.
BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT SAFE WALKING
THE STREETS AT NIGHT.
NEGROES HAVE A RIGHT TO MOVE IN
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.
THE ONLY THING IS,
WHAT KIND OF A NEGRO?
THE CICERO COMMUNITY
HAS BEEN A VERY HOSTILE
COMMUNITY TO BLACKS FOR YEARS
EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER.
AND I LOOKED FORWARD TO THE TIME
THAT I COULD MARCH DOWN
THOSE STREETS
IN DEFIANCE
OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE THERE.
Man:
THERE WAS A LOT OF FEAR
IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY
AND SOME PARTS
OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE SOME
SORT OF BIG RACIAL EXPLOSION.
THERE WERE A LOT OF DEMANDS
ON THE PART OF THE CITIZENS,
PARTICULARLY THE WHITE CITIZENS,
ON MAYOR DALEY
TO STOP THE MARCHES.
THERE WERE SOME DEMANDS ON
THE PART OF THE BLACK LEADERSHIP
TO MARTIN LUTHER KING
TO STOP THE MARCHES.
SO YOU SEE, EVERYBODY
WANTED A WAY OUT.
BOTH SIDES WANTED A WAY OUT.
Narrator:
RELIGIOUS LEADERS LED THE CALL
FOR A CITYWIDE SUMMI
THAT WOULD STOP THE MARCHES.
KING AGREED TO NEGOTIATE,
BUT HE VOWED TO CONTINUE
MARCHING
UNTIL A SETTLEMENT WAS REACHED.
King:
I DON'T MIND SAYING
TO CHICAGO, OR TO ANYBODY,
I'M TIRED OF MARCHING.
I'M TIRED OF MARCHING
FOR SOMETHING
THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN
MINE AT BIRTH.
I DON'T MIND SAYING
TO YOU TONIGHT
(applause )
I DON'T MIND SAYING
TO YOU TONIGH
THAT I'M TIRED OF THE TENSIONS
SURROUNDING OUR DAYS.
I DON'T MIND SAYING
TO YOU TONIGH
THAT I'M TIRED OF LIVING EVERY
DAY UNDER THE THREAT OF DEATH.
I HAVE NO MARTYR COMPLEX.
I WANT TO LIVE AS LONG AS
ANYBODY IN THIS BUILDING TONIGH
AND SOMETIMES I BEGIN TO DOUB
WHETHER I'M GOING
TO MAKE IT THROUGH.
I MUST CONFESS I'M TIRED.
(applause )
Narrator:
KING AND HIS STAFF HAD HOPED
THEIR CAMPAIGN IN CHICAGO
WOULD SERVE AS A MODEL
FOR OTHERS IN THE NORTH.
BUT THEIR WORK IN CHICAGO HAD
FAILED TO WIN SUPPOR
INCLUDING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMEN
AND NORTHERN LIBERALS.
IT WAS TIME TO MOVE ON.
Young:
THE S.C.L.C. WENT TO CHICAGO
TO SEE IF NONVIOLENCE
WOULD WORK IN THE NORTH
AND SO WE WERE DOING
A NUMBER OF THINGS;
THE MARCHES WERE ONLY ONE.
BUT CHICAGO WAS SO MUCH BIGGER
THAN ANY CITY THAT WE'D
WORKED IN IN THE SOUTH.
WE KNEW WE COULDN'
DO THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME
AND THAT WE COULDN'
SUSTAIN AN AGGRESSIVE MOVEMEN
AS LONG AS
YOU KNOW, MUCH LONGER.
SO WE WERE TRYING
TO FIND A WAY TO WIND IT UP.
WE REACHED THE POINT IN WHICH
WE THOUGHT THAT WE HAD ACHIEVED
NOT EVERYTHING WE WANTED,
BUT EVERYTHING WE COULD ACHIEVE.
AND THERE WERE THOSE
WHO DISAGREED WITH THAT.
BUT WE HAD THE BURDEN
OF DECISION.
WE MADE THE BEST ONE WE COULD
AS HONESTLY AS WE COULD
WITH ALL THE SUSPICIONS
THAT WERE SHARED BY THOSE OF US
WHO WERE CRITICIZING US.
Narrator:
AUGUST 26, 1966.
BOTH SIDES SIGNED
A TEN-POINT AGREEMENT.
THE CITY PROMISED TO ENFORCE
ITS OPEN HOUSING LAWS
AND DESEGREGATE PUBLIC HOUSING.
BANKS AND REALTORS
AGREED TO COMPLY.
CRITICS DOUBTED THE AGREEMEN
WOULD BE ENFORCED,
BUT KING SAW IT AS A FIRST STEP.
HE AGREED TO STOP THE MARCHES,
INCLUDING THE MARCH INTO CICERO.
THE CHICAGO FREEDOM MOVEMEN
HAS PLEDGED ITS RESOURCES
TO ASSIST IN THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THESE PROGRAMS
AND HEREBY AGREES TO HAL
NEIGHBORHOOD MARCHES
AND DEMONSTRATIONS IN CHICAGO
ON THE ISSUE OF OPEN HOUSING
SO LONG AS THESE PLEDGED
Narrator:
KING'S ANNOUNCEMENT IMMEDIATELY
SPLIT THE CHICAGO MOVEMENT.
WHEN HE CALLED OFF THE MARCH, WE
WERE SURPRISED, WE WERE SHOCKED.
THIS IS THE MARCH
WE'D LOOKED FORWARD TO.
THE OTHER MARCHES WERE NICE
BUT THE ONE IN CICERO
HAD SPECIAL MEANING FOR US.
WE DON'T CARE ABOUT SUMMITS
TAKING PLACE WITHOUT US.
WE DON'T CARE ABOUT COVENANTS.
WE WANT CONTRACTS
IN BLACK AND WHITE
WITH SOME HARD ANSWERS FOR US,
WITH SOME SIGNATURES
AND SOME PEOPLE
WE CAN HOLD RESPONSIBLE TO
AND SOME TIME FRAMES.
BUT NONE OF THIS WAS THERE.
Narrator:
LOCAL GROUPS ANNOUNCED
THEIR OWN MARCH INTO CICERO.
IT WOULD TAKE PLACE WITHOU
JESSE JACKSON OR DR. KING.
WE ARE NOT MARCHING INTO CICERO
TO APPEAL TO
THE WHITE CONSCIENCE,
BUT TO DEMONSTRATE TO EVERYBODY
THAT RANK-AND-FILE PEOPLE
NOW ARE A NEW BREED
A NEW KIND OF CAT, WITHOUT FEAR.
WE DO NOT COME HAT IN HAND,
SCRATCHING OUR HEADS,
SHUFFLING OUR FEETS
TO BEG FOR A FEW CONCESSIONS.
IN THIS MARCH,
WE ARE SERVING NOTICE:
BEGINNING TODAY, EVERY NEGRO
CAN SEIZE, AC
AND LIVE OUT THE ASSUMPTION
THAT HE CAN WALK ANYWHERE,
THAT HE IS A HUMAN LIKE ANYBODY
AND IS TO BE TREATED
LIKE ANYBODY ELSE.
THE DAY THA
THE MARCH TOOK PLACE,
DR. KING CALLED ME AT HOME
AND HE SAID TO ME:
"YOU KNOW, BOB, WE WOULD
LIKE TO SAVE CICERO
"TO USE IT, YOU KNOW,
LATER ON FOR SOMETHING
AND THAT I WISH
THAT YOU WOULDN'T GO."
AND I TOLD DR. KING, I SAID:
"WELL, DOC, YOU KNOW,
MY CONSCIENCE DICTATES TO ME
THAT I MUST LEAD
THAT MARCH INTO CICERO."
WE GOT THERE AND WITH SUCH FEW,
WE BECAME A LITTLE FRIGHTENED.
AND WE KEPT STANDING AROUND
AND FINALLY IT WAS 12:00,
I BELIEVE IT WAS 12:00,
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,
GUYS STARTED GETTING OUT OF CARS
AND PEOPLE STARTED
COMING OUT OF DOORWAYS
AND THEY SAID,
"OKAY, LUCAS, STEP-OFF TIME."
Narrator:
ABOUT 250 MARCHERS
BEGAN WALKING INTO CICERO.
OVER 3,000 LAW ENFORCEMEN
AGENTS WERE ON HAND.
(crowd shouting )
Man:
YOUR MOTHER IS A WHORE!
YOUR MOTHER IS A WHORE!
Man:
DON'T STOP,
JUST KEEP COMING!
JUST KEEP COMING,
DON'T STOP.
YOU FAT PUNK I SEE
WHAT YOU MADE OUT OF.
YOU FAT PUNK
AND YOUR MAMA, TOO!
Bryant:
IT WAS NOT A KING MARCH.
YOU KNOW, WE JUS
WENT OUT THERE ON FAITH.
WE JUST WENT, LITTLE PEOPLE,
AND THAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE.
IT WAS A GROUNDSWELL
OF GRASSROOTS PEOPLE.
AND WHEN THEY THREW BRICKS,
THEY GOT THEM BACK.
WE CAUGHT THEM
AND WE THREW THEM BACK.
SO IT WAS GIVE-AND-TAKE IN
CICERO FOR, OH, A MILE OR SO.
AND I'LL NEVER FORGET IT.
Narrator:
AS THE MARCHERS LEFT CICERO,
LITTLE HAD BEEN RESOLVED.
THE SOUTHERN
CIVIL RIGHTS VICTORIES
HAD NOT BEEN REPEATED
IN THE NORTH.
THE PROBLEMS, AND THE ANGER,
REMAINED.
THE TENSION BUILDING BETWEEN
BLACK AND WHITE AMERICA
WOULD EXPLODE WITH GREATES
FORCE IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN.
Martha and the Vandellas:
CALLING OUT AROUND THE WORLD ♪
ARE YOU READY
FOR A BRAND-NEW BEAT? ♪
SUMMER'S HERE
AND THE TIME IS RIGHT ♪
FOR DANCING IN THE STREET ♪
DANCING IN CHICAGO ♪
Narrator:
MOTOWN, U.S.A.
IN 1967, DETROIT WAS BOOMING.
FEDERALLY FUNDED URBAN RENEWAL
BROUGHT HIGHWAYS
AND SKYSCRAPERS.
THE AUTO INDUSTRY
BROUGHT EMPLOYMENT.
BUT SUCCESS LOOKED DIFFEREN
TO DETROIT'S BLACK COMMUNITY.
URBAN RENEWAL BUILT EXPRESSWAYS
THROUGH BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS.
IT TOOK JOBS AND RESOURCES
TO WHITE SUBURBS.
IT LEFT BLACK RESIDENTS BEHIND.
Woman:
THE EXPRESSWAY DIVIDED
THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN YOU COULD WALK
ACROSS THE STREE
AND TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBOR,
IT'S NO LONGER THERE.
YOU GOT TO GO ACROSS THE BRIDGE,
AND IF YOU GO ACROSS
THAT BRIDGE,
YOU AIN'T GOING TO FIND
THAT SAME NEIGHBOR
BECAUSE THAT SPACE,
THE STREET IS GONE,
ALL THOSE HOUSES IN THA
NEIGHBORHOOD IS GONE.
YOU CONSTANTLY SAW WHITE GUYS
ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE,
FOREMEN IN WHITE SHIRTS,
WHO WOULD LEAVE AND WHO WOULD
DRIVE TO A BETTER NEIGHBORHOOD,
WHO WOULD DRIVE A BETTER CAR,
AND SO FORTH.
AND THERE WASN'
THE OPPORTUNITY THERE.
THERE WASN'T THE OPPORTUNITY.
Narrator:
OPPORTUNITY CAME WITH POWER.
IN DETROIT,
THAT MEANT WHITE POWER.
IT WAS SYMBOLIZED BY A POLICE
FORCE THAT WAS 95% WHITE.
GENERATIONS OF BLACK RESIDENTS
HAD CONTENDED WITH POLICE,
ESPECIALLY FOUR-MAN SQUADS
KNOWN AS THE BIG FOUR.
Man:
WHEN THE BIG FOUR PULLED UP,
YOU JUMPED.
WHEN THEY SAID,
"MOVE OFF THE CORNER,"
YOU MOVED OFF THE CORNER.
WHERE DO YOUNG BLACK MEN HAVE
BUT A CORNER?
THEY DON'T HAVE SWIMMING POOLS,
THEY DON'T HAVE ESTATES
THEY HAVE CORNERS IN CITIES.
AND THEY STAND AROUND,
THEY HARMONIZE,
THEY CLOWN, THEY HAVE FUN.
BUT WHEN THE BIG FOUR WOULD SAY,
"GIVE ME THAT CORNER,"
YOU GAVE THEM THAT CORNER,
OR ELSE.
AND IT WASN'T UNUSUAL TO SEE THE
COPS COMING INTO NEIGHBORHOODS
AND JUST ARBITRARILY
GRABBING PEOPLE
WITHOUT ANY KIND OF PROVOCATION
AND SLAM US UP AGAINST THE WALL,
ASK US FOR IDENTIFICATION
"WHERE YOU GOING?
WHAT YOU BEEN DOING?"
ANY KIND OF SUSPICION WHATSOEVER
WOULD BE CAUSE FOR THEM
TO JUST GO AHEAD AND ACCOST YOU.
Narrator:
POLICE/COMMUNITY TENSION
WAS NEAR COMBUSTION
BY THE SUMMER OF 1967.
THE SPARK CAME ON JULY 23.
POLICE CONDUCTED A ROUTINE RAID
ON A BLIND PIG
AN ILLEGAL AFTER-HOURS CLUB.
THIS PARTICULAR TIME,
THERE WAS MORE THERE
THAN THE CREW EXPECTED.
IT REQUIRED SHUTTLING
SEVERAL TIMES
FROM THE STATION TO THE SCENE,
TAKING PRISONERS BACK AND FORTH
AND THE CROWD BECOME RESTIVE
AND WHAT WAS KIND OF
A MOOD OF HILARITY
GREW INTO SOME DERISIVE TALK
TO THE POLICE
AND ULTIMATELY WAS STONING
THE CARS.
THAT'S WHY THE NEGROES ARE
RIOTING ALL UPTOWN,
ALL THESE POLICE
EVERY TIME YOU SEE ONE OF THEM,
HE GONNA STOP A BROTHER,
HE DON'T NEVER STOP NO WHITE.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE
OUT HERE RIOTING,
AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP ON RIOTING
UNTIL THEY STOP ALL THIS.
Narrator:
IT WAS SUNDAY MORNING.
FEW POLICE WERE IN THE AREA.
REINFORCEMENTS WERE CALLED IN
AS THE GROWING CROWD
BEGAN LOOTING AND BURNING.
Boyd:
THE FEELING IN THE STREETS
AT THAT TIME,
A KIND OF A SENSE OF EUPHORIA,
OF FREEDOM AND REBELLION.
EVERYBODY FELT LIKE UNIFIED
THAT THE REVOLUTION
WAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
BECAUSE WE HAD BEEN TALKING
ABOUT THOSE THINGS
IN THE COMMUNITY ANYWAY,
SO EVERYBODY FEL
THAT THIS WAS THE CATALYST,
THIS WAS THE CHARGE,
THIS WAS THE IGNITER.
WHEN MY DAUGHTER GOT TO CHURCH,
SHE CALLED BACK AND SAID:
"MAMA, IT'S JUDGMENT DAY."
I SAID, "WHAT YOU MEAN?"
SHE SAID, "EVERYTHING IS
BURNING."
SHE SAID, "THEY SAY
THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON."
I ALMOST HAD A FIT BEHIND THAT.
Narrator:
MODERATE BLACK LEADERS
OFFERED TO HELP POLICE.
DR. ARTHUR JOHNSON
DROVE INTO THE AREA
WITH CONGRESSMAN JOHN CONYERS.
Man:
THE CROWD, THE WHOLE
SCENE WAS SUCH
THAT I COULD NO
DRIVE MY CAR FURTHER.
JOHN CONYERS FINALLY
GOT OUT OF THE CAR,
STOOD ON THE HOOD OF IT AND
ATTEMPTED TO SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE
ABOUT LEAVING THE STREE
AND RETURNING TO THEIR HOMES.
AND FINALLY I GOT OUT OF MY CAR,
I WHISPERED IN JOHN'S EAR:
"I WOULD LIKE TO GET MY CAR
OUT OF HERE IF I CAN."
THE CITY WAS BURNING,
AND ALL THE WORK THAT WE
HAD DONE WAS BEING DESTROYED.
THE DISTRESS WAS MORE THAN
DISTRESS, IT WAS AGONY,
AND TEARS CAME TO MY EYES
AND IT WAS
WE THOUGHT WE HAD THE ANSWERS
AND THE FACT IS,
NOBODY HAD THE ANSWERS.
INSIDE OF MOST BLACK PEOPLE
THERE WAS A TIME BOMB;
THERE WAS A PO
THAT WAS ABOUT TO OVERFLOW
AND THERE WAS RAGE
THAT WAS ABOUT TO COME OU
AND THE REBELLION JUST PROVIDED
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT.
I MEAN, WHY ELSE
WOULD PEOPLE GET UPSE
ABOUT COPS RAIDING A BLIND PIG?
THEY'D DONE THA
NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE.
BUT PEOPLE JUST GOT TIRED,
PEOPLE JUST GOT TIRED OF I
AND IT JUST EXPLODED.
RETURN TO YOUR HOMES
TO PROTECT YOUR OWN PROPERTY!
IT'S THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO
PROTECT YOUR OWN PROPERTY.
(sirens )
Narrator:
12 HOURS AFTER
THE INITIAL POLICE RAID,
GOVERNOR GEORGE ROMNEY CALLED IN
THE MICHIGAN NATIONAL GUARD.
7,000 GUARDSMEN BEGAN ARRIVING
AS NIGHT FELL.
MOST WERE YOUNG, WHITE
AND HEAVILY ARMED.
THEY HAD LITTLE OR NO TRAINING
IN RIOT CONTROL.
100 CITY BLOCKS WERE IN TURMOIL.
Woman:
IT LOOKED LIKE A WAR-TORN ZONE.
THAT'S ALL YOU COULD
THINK OF WAS,
"MY GOD, THIIS 20 MILES
FROM WHERE IIVE
AND IT'S
THEY'VE DROPPED A BOMB."
THAT WAS WHA
YOU SAW ON TELEVISION
AND WHAT YOU HEARD
IN THE COMMUNITY WAS,
"WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS?
WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS?"
THIS IS A RACIAL INCIDENT.
IT REPRESENTS A RACIAL REBELLION
THAT GOES FROM COAST TO COAST.
IN THE CITY OF DETROIT, I
REPRESENTS ONE SIMPLE THING:
BLACK PEOPLE WANT CONTROL
OF BLACK COMMUNITIES.
Narrator:
DESPITE A 9:00 P.M. CURFEW,
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
WERE ON THE STREET.
Man:
BURN, BABY, BURN!
(explosion )
Man:
A HARDWARE STORE WAS BEING
LOOTED BY A LOT OF PEOPLE,
APPARENTLY PEOPLE WHO LIVED
IN THAT COMMUNITY.
AND A CARLOAD OF BROTHERS
ROLLED UP
AND THEY ASKED EVERYONE,
HAD THEY GOTTEN ENOUGH
AND DID THEY NEED ANYTHING ELSE?
AND PEOPLE SAID, FINALLY SAID NO
AFTER THEY HAD GOTTEN
WHAT THEY WANTED.
AND SO THESE BROTHERS SAID FINE,
AND SO THEY GOT EVERYBODY
OUT OF THE STORE
AND THEY FIRE-BOMBED I
AND THEY LEFT.
THEY DIDN'T TAKE
ANYTHING THEMSELVES.
THE CRY IN THE AIR WAS,
"LET'S BURN THIS PLACE DOWN.
"THIS SUCKER WAS ALWAYS
RIPPING US OFF ANYWAY.
THEY NEVER HIRED
MANY BLACK PEOPLE."
SO IT'S KIND OF ANGER AND
FRUSTRATION WAS IN THE WIND.
Narrator:
PROTECTED BY POLICE
AND GUARDSMEN,
FIRE FIGHTERS FACED AN ONSLAUGH
OF ROCKS AND DEBRIS.
REPORTS OF GUNFIRE INCREASED
THROUGH THE NIGHT.
POLICE SUSPECTED SNIPERS.
Jimi Hendrix:
THERE MUST BE SOME KIND
OF WAY OUT OF HERE ♪
SAID THE JOKER
TO THE THIEF ♪
THERE'S TOO MUCH CONFUSION ♪
I CAN'T GET NO RELIEF. ♪
Woman:
WE SMELLED SMOKE.
THOSE PEOPLE'S HOUSE
ACROSS THE STREET IS ON FIRE.
I DON'T SEE NOBODY
EVERYBODY IN THAT BLOCK
GOT ALONG FINE.
NOBODY IN THAT BLOCK,
WITH THEIR CHILDREN EVEN
THEY PLAYED NICE TOGETHER.
I DON'T SEE WHY
THIS HAD TO HAPPEN.
THERE WERE FIRES GOING ON.
THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL
OF EXCITEMENT.
STREETLIGHTS WERE BEING
SHOT OUT BY THE POLICE.
THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF NOISE,
A GREAT DEAL OF CONFUSION.
NOBODY KNEW WHERE THEIR
PARENT ORGANIZATIONS WERE.
THE ENTIRE SITUATION WAS
ONE OF SEMI-CONTROLLED CHAOS.
EVERYBODY WAS UPTIGHT,
VERY UPTIGHT.
Guardsmen:
TURN AROUND, GO OUT, FIRE!
TURN AROUND, GET OUT OF HERE!
(gunshots, burglar alarm rings )
Guardsman:
WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING AT?
Friley:
I WAS AFRAID OF BEING
SHOT BY A NATIONAL GUARDSMAN,
I WAS AFRAID OF BEING SHO
BY POLICE OFFICERS,
AND I WAS AFRAID OF BEING SHO
BY LOOTERS AND RIOTERS.
I WAS AFRAID OF BEING SHOT,
PERIOD.
Guardsman:
LISTEN LISTEN IN THERE.
Narrator:
IN AN ATMOSPHERE FED
BY RUMORS AND FEAR,
EVERYONE WAS AT RISK.
Man:
GOING INTO
THE FIVE-AND-TEN-CENT STORE,
WE DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT DANGER WE WERE IN.
AND I HEAR
THIS POLICE OFFICER SAY:
"ALL OF YOU BLACK (no audio)
COME OUT FROM BACK THERE."
I IMMEDIATELY GET UP
AND COME TO THE DOOR,
HEAD FOR THE DOOR, THE ARCHWAY
OF THE DOOR, TO DO WHAT HE SAYS
WHEN I'M TOLD I HEAR A VOICE,
ONE OF MY NEIGHBORS
I KNEW IT WAS HER VOICE
AND SHE TOLD ME, "DON'T GO OU
THERE, COME BACK, COME BACK."
AND AT THAT TIME,
I WENT TO TURN TO GO BACK
AND GET THERE NEXT TO HER,
BEHIND THIS BOLT END
OF CARPETING
AND I JUST REMEMBER SEEING
A FLASH OF LIGHT AT THAT TIME
AND GOING BACK THERE
TO LAY DOWN ON A BOLT END
TO WAKE UP I GUESS
A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER
AND TO HEAR A DOCTOR
TELL MY MOTHER
THAT THE BULLE
HAD INJURED MY SPINE
AND I PROBABLY
WOULDN'T WALK AGAIN.
(siren )
MAKE A HOLE!
GET OUT OF THE WAY,
DAMN IT.
Narrator:
BY MONDAY MORNING,
HUNDREDS HAD BEEN INJURED.
SIX PEOPLE WERE DEAD.
FOUR HAD BEEN SHOT,
TWO OTHERS DIED IN FIRES.
Johnson:
THE GROWING SENSE OF
OF CONCERN IN THE COMMUNITY
WAS THAT THE SITUATION
WAS OUT OF HAND,
THAT NO ONE KNEW
WHERE IT WAS GOING,
WHEN IT WOULD END,
OR EVEN HOW TO END IT.
AS GOVERNOR
OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
I DO HEREBY OFFICIALLY RECOMMEND
THE IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMEN
OF FEDERAL TROOPS INTO MICHIGAN
TO ASSIST STATE AND LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
GOVERNOR ROMNEY HAD CALLED U.S.
ATTORNEY GENERAL RAMSEY CLARK
TO RECOMMEND THAT PRESIDEN
JOHNSON SEND FEDERAL TROOPS.
AND HE INDICATED THAT WE WOULD
GET FEDERAL ASSISTANCE,
THAT THE TROOPS
WOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE.
THEN HE CALLED US BACK
SEVERAL HOURS LATER
TO INDICATE THAT HE'D HAVE
TO HAVE A WRITTEN STATEMEN
INDICATING THAT THE RIO
WAS COMPLETELY BEYOND
OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL.
WELL, THE DIFFICULTY OF THAT WAS
THAT IT WOULD HAVE NULLIFIED
ALL OF THE INSURANCE POLICIES
OVER THE WHOLE AREA.
AND FURTHERMORE, WE DIDN'
KNOW WITH CERTAINTY
WE DID WE THOUGHT WE MIGH
NOT BE ABLE TO.
SO I INDICATED THAT TO HIM.
Man:
FINALLY THEY REACHED A
COMPROMISE, AND JOHNSON DECIDED
THAT A NUMBER OF US
WOULD GO TO DETROIT.
AND OCCASIONALLY HE WOULD BE
ON THE PHONE TO FORT BRAGG
TO THE GENERAL IN CHARGE
OF THE 82nd AIRBORNE,
AND ONE THING HE KEPT SAYING:
"I DON'T WANT BULLETS
IN THOSE GUNS.
I DON'T WANT OUR TROOPS
TO HAVE BULLETS IN THOSE GUNS."
AND HE WENT ON AND ON AND HE
JUST GOT HIMSELF ALL WORKED UP,
AND HE SAID,
"I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO SAY
THAT MY TROOPS SHO
A PREGNANT NIG"
AND HE LOOKED AT ME
AND HIS FACE WENT RED
AND THEN HE FINISHED
HIS SENTENCE
WITHOUT FINISHING THAT WORD.
AND HE THEN SENT US OU
TO GO AND PACK
AND THEN GO OVER
TO ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE.
Narrator:
4,700 PARATROOPERS
FROM THE 101st AND 82nd
AIRBORNE DIVISIONS
BEGAN ARRIVING
MONDAY AFTERNOON.
SOLDIERS FROM THESE SAME UNITS
HAD BEEN SEN
TO PROTECT BLACK SCHOOLCHILDREN
IN LITTLE ROCK IN 1957
AND JAMES MEREDITH
AT OLE MISS IN 1962.
AT THE PRESIDENT'S ORDER,
THEY WOULD NOT BE DEPLOYED
IN DETROI
UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
JOHNSON'S ENVOYS
ASSESSED THE SITUATION.
Man:
THE NATIONAL GUARD
HAD BEEN VERY SPOTTY.
THERE HAD BEEN MUCH TOO MUCH
INDISCRIMINATE SHOOTING.
THEY HAD SHOT OU
THE STREETLIGHTS,
WHICH IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN
DO IN A SITUATION LIKE THA
BECAUSE THAT MAKES I
EVEN MORE LIKELY
THAT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PEOPLE
ARE GOING TO BE SHOT AT.
IT CREATES A FEAR
IN THE COMMUNITY.
IT CREATES FEAR, REALLY, IN THE
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AS WELL.
SO THAT IT WAS NOT GOING WELL
WHEN WE ARRIVED.
Narrator:
LOOTING AND BURNING HAD
CONTINUED INTO THE SECOND DAY.
FIRE FIGHTERS FROM OVER 35
COMMUNITIES WERE ON THE STREETS.
POLICE ARRESTED 3,900 PEOPLE
BY MONDAY NIGHT.
THERE WAS NO END IN SIGHT.
Friley:
I WAS TOTALLY WIPED OUT.
IT GOT TO A POINT WHERE I HAD TO
WATCH OUT FOR MY TEMPER.
IT GOT TO A POIN
WHERE THOSE PERSONS WHO WERE
YELLING AND SCREAMING ABOU
"DOWN WITH THE WHITEY"
AND ALL OF THAT,
I WAS LOOKING INTO HIS EYES
AND WANTING TO KNOCK
THE HELL OUT OF HIM
BECAUSE HE DIDN'T KNOW WHA
THE HELL HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
I GOT A CHANCE TO SNEAK
A PHONE CALL HOME ONE NIGH
JUST TO LET MY PARENTS KNOW
I WAS ALL RIGHT,
BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN
THREE OR FOUR DAYS
SINCE I'D LET THEM KNOW
WHAT WAS GOING ON,
AND MY MOTHER
EXPRESSED A THOUGHT THEN
I GUESS HAS STUCK IN MY MIND
EVER SINCE.
SHE SAID, "HERE I HAVE ONE SON
IN VIETNAM IN A COMBAT ZONE
AND NOW I'M WORRIED ABOUT YOU
IN OUR OWN HOMETOWN."
YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN DETROIT.
Narrator:
AT 11:20 MONDAY NIGHT,
PRESIDENT JOHNSON SENT THE
FEDERAL TROOPS INTO DETROIT.
THEY WERE ORDERED TO CARRY
UNLOADED WEAPONS.
AT LEAST 19 PEOPLE HAD DIED
SINCE THE RAID ON THE BLIND PIG.
Reporter:
SERGEANT, YOU'VE JUST RECENTLY
RETURNED
FROM VIETNAM.
COULD YOU TELL US
HOW IT FEELS
TO HAVE TO COME
FROM ONE ZONE OF COMBA
IN A FOREIGN LAND
TO ONE IN
YOUR OWN LAND?
IT'S NOT A GOOD FEELING,
NOT ONE I'M KIND OF PROUD OF,
BUT IT'S A JOB, IT'S A DUTY
THAT HAVE TO BE DONE.
AND IT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
DID YOU EVER
EXPECT THIS
KIND OF CALL
WHEN YOU JOINED
THE SERVICE?
I EXPECTED CALLS,
BUT IT KIND OF SURPRISED ME
WHEN I GOT THERE THAT MORNING
AND THEY SAID, "FALL OUT WITH
ALL YOUR GEAR, YOU'RE GOING."
AND I SAID, "WHERE?"
CLEARLY, THE PRESENCE
OF A LARGE NUMBER
OF NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
AND FEDERAL TROOPS
ALONG WITH A BOLSTERED
POLICE DEPARTMENT
THEY HAD THEIR ARMED
PRESENCE OUT THERE
SO THE LOOTING WAS ALL OVER, THE
CURFEW HAD BEEN PUT INTO EFFECT.
Narrator:
IN TOTAL, THERE WERE 17,000
LAW ENFORCEMENT PEOPLE
IN DETROIT.
THE DISORDER WAS THREE DAYS OLD.
MUCH OF THE LOOTING
AND BURNING HAD ENDED,
BUT EXHAUSTED
AND STILL HEAVILY ARMED,
NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
AND STATE AND LOCAL POLICE
CONTINUED THEIR PATROLS.
Wilkins:
ONE NIGHT, A BLACK
CO-WORKER AND I
WERE DRIVING UP GRAND RIVER,
WHICH IS A MAJOR ARTERY
IN DETROIT,
AND WE'RE ABOUT TO
TURN LEFT ONTO JOY ROAD
WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN WE REALIZE
THAT THIS CONVOY
OF STATE POLICE CARS
HAD MADE A U-TURN
AND WERE PULLING US OVER.
SO I CAME OUT OF THE CAR WITH
MY HANDS UP AND WHAT I SAW WAS,
I WAS CIRCLED BY PEOPLE
WITH LONG GUNS AND PISTOLS,
AND THEY WERE ALL
POINTING AT ME.
THEY WERE ALL NERVOUS PEOPLE
AND THEY WERE ALL WHITE.
AND I'M A BLACK GUY AND I'M
A HIGH GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL,
BUT I WAS A NIGGER
IN WHITE AMERICA
AND I THOUGHT AT THAT MOMEN
I WAS GOING TO BE DEAD
35 YEARS OLD AND DEAD
AT THE CORNER OF JOY ROAD
AND GRAND RIVER.
(gunshots, sirens )
Narrator:
WITHIN DAYS, POLICE ARRESTED
7,200 PEOPLE.
MOST WERE YOUNG BLACK MEN.
Man:
THE POLICE STATIONS WERE
ALL OVERRUN
AND THE JAILS WERE FILLED,
SO THEY JUST CREATED
DETENTION CENTERS.
SO PEOPLE WERE CALLING UP,
REPORTING WHAT THE POLICE
WERE DOING OR DID
OR REPORTING MISSING PEOPLE,
PEOPLE WANTING
TO FILE COMPLAINTS.
FEAR, ANGER
THIS, IT WAS THIS
COULD THIS BE HAPPENING
IN AMERICA?
Narrator:
AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE DIED
WHEN NATIONAL GUARDSMEN,
FEARING SNIPERS,
SPRAYED BUILDINGS WITH GUNFIRE.
(machine gun fire )
Woman:
IT SOUNDED LIKE WE WERE
IN VIETNAM OR SOMETHING,
ALL THIS EXCITEMENT,
AND BOY, I WAS PANICKED.
I TOLD MY HUSBAND ABOUT I
AND THEN HE SAYS,
"GET ON THAT FLOOR."
THEN WE WEN
IN THIS WOMAN'S APARTMEN
AND THEN THE COP SAYS
TO COME OUTSIDE
"PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD."
Scott:
AND I OPENED THE DOOR,
AND THERE WERE ABOUT FOUR,
FIVE NATIONAL GUARDSMEN,
ALL YOUNG, ALL WHITE,
LOOKING AROUND
WITH RIFLES AND BAYONETS
AND THIS ONE GUY, HE SAYS,
"WE HEARD SOME SHOOTING HERE."
AND EVERYBODY WHO HAD BEEN SHO
UP TO THIS POIN
THAT WE'D HEARD ABOUT,
THEY ALL SAID
THAT THEY HAD A GUN
AND THAT THEY WERE
SHOOTING AT THE POLICE.
THAT BECAME THE LINE
THIS GUY WAS A SNIPER,
HE WAS SHOOTING AT THE POLICE.
AND I KNEW THAT IF I WAS SHOT,
IF MY FAMILY WAS SHOT,
THAT THEY COULD CLOSE
THE DOOR IN THIS APARTMEN
AND NOBODY WOULD EVER KNOW
WHAT HAPPENED.
Narrator:
AS THE NIGHTMARE IN DETROI
BEGAN TO END,
THE PRESS UNCOVERED A STORY
ABOUT THREE YOUNG BLACK MEN
KILLED DURING A POLICE RAID
AT THE ALGIERS MOTEL.
MURDER CHARGES WERE BROUGH
AGAINST A WHITE POLICE OFFICER.
TWO OTHER OFFICERS AND A BLACK
SECURITY GUARD
WERE ALSO IMPLICATED.
THERE WERE NO CONVICTIONS.
FIVE DAYS AFTER THE RAID
ON THE BLIND PIG,
DETROIT HAD REACHED
A TENTATIVE PEACE.
43 PEOPLE WERE DEAD,
33 WERE BLACK.
INSURANCE ESTIMATES OF PROPERTY
LOSS NEARED $50 MILLION.
THE UPRISING IN DETROI
MARKED THE FIFTH YEAR
OF CIVIL UNREST IN AMERICA.
THE NATION AND ITS PRESIDEN
STRUGGLED FOR ANSWERS.
Lyndon Johnson:
CIVIL PEACE HAS BEEN SHATTERED
IN A NUMBER OF CITIES.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
ARE DEEPLY DISTURBED.
NO SOCIETY CAN TOLERATE
MASSIVE VIOLENCE
ANY MORE THAN A BODY
CAN TOLERATE MASSIVE DISEASE,
AND WE IN AMERICA
SHALL NOT TOLERATE IT.
BUT JUST SAYING THA
DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
WE NEED TO KNOW
THE ANSWER, I THINK,
TO THREE BASIC QUESTIONS
ABOUT THESE RIOTS:
WHAT HAPPENED?
WHY DID IT HAPPEN?
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT I
FROM HAPPENING AGAIN AND AGAIN?
Narrator:
THE PRESIDENT APPOINTED
AN ADVISORY COMMISSION
TO INVESTIGATE.
ON MARCH 1, 1968, THE KERNER
COMMISSION PUBLISHED A REPOR
THAT SAID AMERICA WAS
BECOMING TWO SOCIETIES:
BLACK AND WHITE,
SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL.
IT URGED THE NATION
TO TEAR DOWN RACIAL BARRIERS
TO OPPORTUNITY
IN EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT,
HOUSING, GOVERNMEN
AND THE MEDIA.
IT STATED:
"THE NEED IS NOT SO MUCH
"FOR GOVERNMEN
TO DESIGN NEW PROGRAMS
AS IT IS FOR THE NATION
TO GENERATE NEW WILL."
IT WAS A MANDATE,
HAD THE PRESIDENT CHOSEN
TO TAKE IT AND SAY:
"BY GOD, WE DIDN'T KNOW
HOW SERIOUS THE PROBLEM WAS.
"THERE IS RACISM
IN THIS SOCIETY, IT IS DEEP,
"AND SINCE I HAVE SAID THAT I AM
GOING TO BE THE PRESIDEN
WHO FINISHES
WHAT LINCOLN STARTED"
HE COULD HAVE USED THA
AS A SPRINGBOARD
FOR MORE SOCIAL ACTION.
INSTEAD, HE REFUSED EVEN
TO HAVE THE COMMISSION COME OVER
AND PRESENT IT TO HIM.
Narrator:
PRESIDENT JOHNSON WAS FACED
WITH THE COST OF
AN ESCALATING WAR IN VIETNAM
AND GROWING POLITICAL
CONSERVATISM AT HOME.
Josaitis:
THERE BEGAN TO BE A FEELING
THAT '68 WAS GOING TO BE
A VERY HOT SUMMER.
SO THE TALK
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS,
"WE HAVE TO STOCK
OUR BASEMENT WITH FOOD.
"THAT'S THE FIRST THING
WE HAVE TO DO.
"WE MUST GO OVER TO DEARBORN AND
TAKE PISTOL PRACTICE LESSONS.
"WHEN DO WE WANT TO
SIGN UP FOR THE VIGILANTE?
"WHEN DO YOU WANT TO STAND A
THE OVERPASS ON TELEGRAPH ROAD
"AND WAIT FOR ALL THE BLACK
FOLKS TO COME OUT FROM THE CITY
AND RIOT IN OUR COMMUNITY?"
AND THERE WAS SO MUCH FEAR
THAT THAT WAS
GOING TO TAKE PLACE
THAT IT WAS GOING TO COME,
SO WE BETTER BE PREPARED FOR IT.
Cleage:
BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT WORRIED
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS TO
CONTROL OUR OWN COMMUNITY,
BUILD OUR OWN BLACK COMMUNITY
AND MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL.
SELF-DETERMINATION
AS A CONCEPT FOR BLACK PEOPLE
IS A PART OF THE REBELLION.
IT'S A BLACK REVOLUTION,
IT'S SWEEPING AMERICA,
AND SELF-DETERMINATION
IS THE EXPRESSION.
THAT'S WHAT WE WANT,
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REBELLING FOR.
Man:
OPPRESSION DOESN'
DESTROY PEOPLE.
THE ACCEPTANCE OF OPPRESSION
DESTROYS ANY PEOPLE.
Narrator:
TWO SOCIETIES
SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL.
WHAT LAY AHEAD FOR AMERICA?
Aretha Franklin:
YOU BETTER THINK ♪
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE
TRYIN' TO DO TO ME ♪
THINK, LET YOUR MIND GO,
LET YOURSELF BE FREE ♪
LET'S GO BACK,
LET'S GO BACK ♪
LET'S GO WAY ON,
WAY BACK WHEN ♪
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU ♪
YOU COULDN'T HAVE BEEN
TOO MUCH MORE THAN TEN ♪
(music continues )
OH, FREEDOM ♪
FREEDOM ♪
OH, FREEDOM ♪
YEAH, FREEDOM! ♪
(music continues )
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