American Experience (1988) s20e08 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 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. ♪
BLUE SKIES SMILING AT ME ♪
NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES
DO I SEE ♪
Woman:
WHEN BROWN AGAINST THE BOARD
OF EDUCATION WAS DECIDED, 1954,
I HAPPENED TO BE DOWNTOWN
IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE,
WITH MY HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER.
AND WE WERE BUYING
SOME MATERIALS
FOR THE SENIOR CLASS PLAY.
I WAS GRADUATING THAT YEAR.
AND I SAW THE HEADLINE ON THE
CASE AND I SAID TO MY TEACHER,
"YOU KNOW,
THIS MEANS THAT NEXT YEAR
"ALL THE KIDS WILL BE
GOING TO SCHOOL TOGETHER.
THEY WON'T HAVE TO BE GOING
TO SEPARATE SCHOOLS."
AND SHE SAID, "IT'S NOT GOING
TO HAPPEN QUITE THAT FAST.
NOT NEXT YEAR."
Man:
NO MORE SEGREGATION.
NO MORE SEGREGATION ♪
Narrator:
TEN YEARS
AFTER THE SUPREME COUR
RULED SCHOOL
SEGREGATION UNLAWFUL
THE FIGHT FOR BLACK PROGRESS
HAD MOVED NORTH
TO BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
WHEN WE FIGHT ABOUT EDUCATION,
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR WHA
THAT EDUCATION WILL GIVE US.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR A JOB.
WE'RE FIGHTING TO EAT.
WE'RE FIGHTING TO PAY
OUR MEDICAL BILLS.
WE'RE FIGHTING
FOR A LOT OF THINGS.
SO THIS IS A TOTAL FIGH
WITH US.
Narrator:
BY THE 1960s, A SMALL
BUT GROWING NUMBER OF PARENTS
AND TEACHERS WERE COMPLAINING
ABOUT CONDITIONS IN THE SCHOOLS.
HERE I WAS A BRAND NEW TEACHER
COMING INTO MY FIRS
TEACHING EXPERIENCE.
AND I WALKED INTO THIS OLD
BUILDING BUILT IN 1842
NAMED AFTER A WONDERFUL
NEW ENGLAND WRITER,
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT.
AND I HAD 42 STUDENTS, 36 SEATS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE NEW CRAYONS.
WE HAD A BOX
OF OLD NUBBLY CRAYONS.
PENCILS HAD TO BE COLLECTED
AT THE END OF THE DAY
SO YOU WOULD HAVE ENOUGH FOR
THE CHILDREN FOR THE NEXT DAY.
THERE WASN'T ENOUGH WHITE PAPER.
Narrator:
BOOKS WERE OFTEN
IN SHORT SUPPLY
AND SOMETIMES CONTAINED
LESSONS THAT DAMAGED.
McGuire:
AND HERE WAS THIS BOOK I FOUND
WHICH HAD, UM IT HAD THE WORD
"NIGGERS" IN IT
"TEN LITTLE NIGGERS
SITTING ON A FENCE,
NINE LITTLE NIGGERS
PLAYING IN A LINE."
AND IT WAS JUST LIKE "TEN LITTLE
INDIANS, NINE LITTLE INDIANS"
AND IT WAS VERY OFFENSIVE.
MANY OF THE NEGRO
PARENTS BELIEVE
THAT A PREDOMINANTLY NEGRO
SCHOOL IS INFERIOR PER SE.
BUT WE HERE IN BOSTON
DO NOT BELIEVE THAT PREMISE.
Narrator:
LOUISE DAY HICKS SAID
THAT THE SCHOOLS WERE FINE
THE WAY THEY WERE.
THE CITY'S TOP VOTE-GETTER
IN THE MID '60s,
HICKS CHAIRED
THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
IN 1965, ONE IN FOUR
STUDENTS WAS BLACK.
ONLY ONE IN 200 TEACHERS
WAS BLACK
AND THERE WAS NO
ONE BLACK PRINCIPAL.
THE N.A.A.C.P. BROUGH
PARENTS' CONCERNS
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
WE JUST WANTED THEM TO SAY,
"YES, THERE IS SEGREGATION
IN THE SCHOOLS,"
AND WE WANTED THEM
TO ACKNOWLEDGE
AND TO COMMIT THEMSELVES
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I FEEL THAT AT THIS TIME
ANY SCHOOL THAT IS
PREDOMINANTLY NEGRO
IS AN INADEQUATE SCHOOL.
I DIDN'T HEAR
WHAT YOU SAID,
MRS. JOHNSON.
I SAID THAT ANY SCHOOL
THAT IS PREDOMINANTLY
NEGRO, IN BOSTON,
IS AN INADEQUATE SCHOOL.
BUT MRS. JOHNSON,
THE SUPERINTENDEN
OF SCHOOLS
HAS STATED
AS HIS POLICY
THAT A RACIALLY
IMBALANCED SCHOOL
IS NO
EDUCATIONALLY
HARMFUL.
WELL MRS. HICKS,
MADAME CHAIRMAN,
MAY I SAY THIS:
SUPERINTENDENT OHRENBERGER
AND YOURSELF
AND OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS
DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN IN
A RACIALLY IMBALANCED SCHOOL
SO YOU DO NOT KNOW
WHAT THE EFFECT IS
ON OUR CHILDREN.
(applause )
Woman:
THE STATEMENT THAT WE MADE
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE SAID
THAT WHERE THERE WERE
A MAJORITY OF BLACK STUDENTS
THERE WAS NOT CONCERN
FOR HOW THESE KIDS LEARNED
THAT THERE WERE
CROWDED CLASSROOMS,
TEMPORARY TEACHERS, NOT ENOUGH
BOOKS, SUPPLIES WERE LOW
AND ALL OF THAT KIND OF THING.
EVEN PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
WERE POOR.
Narrator:
COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS COULD NO
FORCE THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
TO ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM.
THIS PLAN DOESN'T NEED BRAINS.
IT JUST NEEDS SOME GOODWILL
AND SOME COMMON SENSE.
Narrator:
PARENTS RESPONDED
WITH A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES
THROUGHOUT THE MID-'60s.
THEY ORGANIZED ONE-DAY SCHOOL
BOYCOTTS AND FREEDOM SCHOOLS.
BUT SHORT-TERM PROTES
WAS NOT ENOUGH.
THEY RAN CANDIDATES
FOR THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE,
BUT THEY LOST.
THEY PUSHED THROUGH A STATE LAW
OUTLAWING RACIALLY
IMBALANCED SCHOOLS.
BUT THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REFUSED TO ENFORCE IT.
NOT YET 15% OF THE CITY,
BLACKS WERE A MINORITY TOO SMALL
TO STRONGLY INFLUENCE ELECTIONS
OR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
SO PARENTS TOOK MATTERS
INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
SOME SET UP VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS
THAT MOVED CHILDREN
TO EMPTY SEATS IN WHITE SCHOOLS.
WE DECIDED THAT WHERE THERE WERE
A LARGE NUMBER OF WHITE STUDENTS
THAT'S WHERE THE CARE WENT.
THAT'S WHERE THE BOOKS WENT.
THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY WENT.
SO THEREFORE, OUR THEORY WAS,
MOVE OUR KIDS INTO THOSE SCHOOLS
WHERE THEY'RE PUTTING
ALL OF THE RESOURCES
SO THAT THEY CAN GE
A BETTER EDUCATION.
Teacher and students:
"KUJICHAGULIA" MEANS
SELF-DETERMINATION
Narrator:
OTHER PARENTS TOOK
A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
INSTEAD OF WORKING TO INTEGRATE
WHITE SCHOOLS,
THEY ESTABLISHED THEIR OWN
PARENT-RUN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.
Teacher:
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
Students:
NO.
GO TO WORK.
PARENTS SAW THA
PUBLIC EDUCATION
WAS NOT OFFERING YOUNG PEOPLE
NOT ONLY THE STRONG
EDUCATION THAT THEY NEEDED,
BUT THE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS,
A RECOGNITION OF WHO THEY WERE
AS AFRICAN-AMERICANS
JUST WAS NOT HAPPENING IN THE
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO THERE WAS A REAL MOVE,
COMMUNITY-WIDE
TO DEVELOP INSTITUTIONS THA
WOULD MEET BOTH OF THOSE NEEDS.
Narrator:
THE BLACK COMMUNITY COULD NO
AFFORD TO TRANSPOR
ALL ITS STUDENTS
TO WHITE SCHOOLS,
NOR TO RUN
ITS OWN SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THE BATTLE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
WOULD HAVE TO BE FOUGH
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THAT STRUGGLE HAD BEEN
GOING ON FOR A DECADE.
BLACK PARENTS WERE NOT GOING
TO GIVE UP.
THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
WAS NOT GOING TO GIVE IN
AND MOST OTHER CITY LEADERS
DID NOT WANT TO GET INVOLVED.
I THINK IT'S NOT UNFAIR TO SAY
THAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY,
THE FINANCIAL COMMUNITY
AND, I WOULD SAY,
THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
TOOK A WALK IN THE EARLY 1970s,
LEAVING, REALLY, ONLY THE
POLITICIANS AND THE PARENTS
AS THE PEOPLE WHO CARED
ABOUT THE ISSUE.
IN A CERTAIN SENSE, THE PARENTS
GOT PITTED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER
WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS
AGAINST BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS
IN A WAY THAT NO ONE
HAD EVER BARGAINED FOR.
Narrator:
IN 1972, UNDER
N.A.A.C.P. LEADERSHIP,
BLACK PARENTS FILED
A CLASS ACTION SUI
AGAINST THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT.
A CONFRONTATION WAS LOOMING
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE CITY
IN WAYS NEVER EXPECTED.
WE FILED A LAWSUI
IN THE FEDERAL COUR
BECAUSE THERE WAS
NO OTHER PLACE FOR US TO GO.
IT WAS LITERALLY
THE COURT OF LAST RESORT.
(chanting:)
HERE WE GO, BOSTON,
HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
IN A CITY WHERE NEIGHBORHOODS
WERE DIVIDED BY RACE,
DESEGREGATING THE SCHOOLS
WOULD MEAN BUSING CHILDREN
FROM ONE NEIGHBORHOOD
TO ANOTHER.
I WOULDN'T CARE
IF THEY WERE GREEN OR PURPLE.
IT'S THE IDEA
OF PUTTING MY KID ON A BUS
WHEN I HAVE A SCHOOL RIGH
ACROSS THE STREE
FROM WHERE THEY SHOULD GO.
I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR
THEY ARE.
Narrator:
ON JUNE 21, 1974,
FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
W. ARTHUR GARRITY
RULED THAT THE BOSTON SCHOOL
COMMITTEE WAS GUILTY
OF CONSCIOUSLY MAINTAINING
TWO SEPARATE SCHOOL SYSTEMS
ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE.
HE ORDERED AN IMMEDIATE REMEDY
CITYWIDE BUSING,
TO START IN SEPTEMBER.
LESS THAN A MILE SEPARATED
TWO OF BOSTON'S
POORER NEIGHBORHOODS.
ROXBURY WAS THE HEAR
OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
SOUTH BOSTON WAS
LOUISE DAY HICKS' HOME
AND A CENTER
OF WHITE RESISTANCE.
STUDENTS WERE TO BE BUSED
BETWEEN THE TWO NEIGHBORHOODS.
WHEN GARRITY'S DECISION
CAME DOWN IN JUNE OF 1974,
WE WERE SUNK WHEN WE HEARD
SOME OF THE REMEDIES,
THE ONE OF BUSING
TO SOUTH BOSTON,
BECAUSE THOSE OF US WHO HAD
LIVED IN BOSTON ALL OF OUR LIVES
KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE
A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT THING
TO PULL OFF.
Narrator:
WITH THE OPENING OF SCHOOL
ONLY 12 WEEKS AWAY,
POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
AMONG BLACKS GAVE WAY
TO SHARED CONCERN
FOR THE SAFETY OF THE CHILDREN.
FREEDOM HOUSE,
A ROXBURY COMMUNITY CENTER,
COORDINATED BLACK
PREPARATIONS FOR BUSING.
ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES DURING
THAT PERIOD OVER THE SUMMER
WAS TO ASSURE THAT THERE WOULD
BE A PEACEFUL TRANSITION
AND THAT WE WOULD COMMI
OURSELVES TO DO THAT.
WE STAND UNITED
AT THIS CRITICAL TIME
TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP
AND RESOURCE
TO THE PARENTS AND CHILDREN
WHO ARE RESIDENTS
IN OUR COMMUNITY
AND THOSE CHILDREN
WITH THEIR PARENTS
WHO WILL BE ATTENDING PUBLIC
SCHOOLS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
WE CALL ON OTHER SECTIONS
IN THE CITY TO ASSUME
THE SAME KIND
OF RESPONSIBILITIES
THAT WE ARE ASSUMING.
BOSTON IS A VERY HIDEBOUND,
DISTRUSTFUL, TURF-CONSCIOUS,
CLASS-CONSCIOUS, PAROCHIAL CITY,
FULL OF PEOPLE WHO DID NOT MAKE
MUCH PROGRESS OVER THE YEARS.
I'M TALKING ABOUT WHITE FOLKS.
THEY WERE NO
MIDDLE-INCOME PEOPLE.
THEY WERE POOR FOLK
AND THEY WERE RUNNING
HARD-SCRABBLE OPERATIONS
AND THEY WERE SCARED FOLK.
BY THE TIME BUSING CAME AROUND,
THESE PEOPLE WERE
RIPE FOR REVOLUTION.
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
PEOPLE, AS A COMMUNITY
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
THEY MAY SAY THIS IS HELPING
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
I'M NOT FOR THIS!
I DON'T CARE,
MY ONE WILL NOT GO TO SCHOOL.
BUT IT'S TEARING THEM APART!
WELL, I'M THE MAYOR,
AND THE FIRST RECOGNITION IS
THAT IT'S A COURT ORDER
THAT HAS TO BE ENFORCED
BY THE CITY,
THAT IT'S A FINAL DECISION,
THAT IT'S IRREVOCABLE,
AND THAT I'M GOING
TO BE RESPONSIBLE
AT A MINIMUM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
AND AT A MAXIMUM
FOR THE SOCIAL HEALTH.
IN A WAY,
IT'S A LITTLE EXAGGERATED,
BUT THE MORALS OF THE TOWN
IT'S A MORAL QUESTION,
AS WELL AS A POLITICAL QUESTION.
WHAT I DID WAS
RESPOND POLITICALLY.
Narrator:
IN A SERIES OF COFFEE HOURS
SET UP IN HOMES
THROUGHOUT THE CITY,
THE MAYOR MET WITH WHITE PARENTS
OPPOSED TO BUSING.
White:
ALL RIGHT, BUT IT'S
NOT BEHIND US YET.
IT WILL BE A PAINFUL PROCESS
GOING THROUGH IT,
BECAUSE THE SOUTH DIDN'
JUST SLIDE THROUGH IT.
IT TORE THEM APART AS IT WILL
HELP TO TEAR US APART.
THE MOOD WAS ONE
OF CONFUSION, CONCERN AND FEAR,
BECAUSE THE ELECTED OFFICIALS
DURING THAT SUMMER OF 1974
AFTER THE ORDER HAD BEEN
GIVEN BY JUDGE GARRITY
WERE VERY OFTEN
MAKING STATEMENTS
THAT THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN.
NOW, HOW CAN WE BEA
THE FEDERAL COURT?
BY GETTING SOME STRONG
ANTI-BUSING LEGISLATION
FROM WASHINGTON.
SO I SUGGEST TO YOU
IF WE'RE GOING TO WIN,
IF YOU'RE
GOING TO KEEP
YOUR CHILDREN
IN THEIR
NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS,
THAT YOU JOIN
WITH THE RES
OF THE CITY
ON SEPTEMBER 9, IN A GRAND MARCH
BEFORE THE FEDERAL BUILDING.
Woman:
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!
Narrator:
DEMONSTRATORS HAD COME
TO THE FEDERAL BUILDING
TO PROTEST SENATOR
EDWARD KENNEDY'S SUPPOR
OF DESEGREGATION.
HIS FAMILY HAD ALWAYS BEEN
THE PRIDE OF BOSTON'S
IRISH COMMUNITY,
BUT NOW, THE CROWD
TURNED ON KENNEDY.
THOSE PEOPLE
OUT THERE
DON'T CARE
TO LISTEN TO YOU.
OKAY, THAT'S FINE,
AS LONG AS WE UNDERSTAND
THEY'RE TAKING MY KIDS,
WHAT NEXT?
YOU GOING TO PUT US
OUT OF THE TOWN?
Narrator:
THE CROWD PURSUED KENNEDY
TO THE DOORS
OF THE FEDERAL BUILDING.
(screaming, yelling
and pounding )
(breaking glass )
COME ON!
I KNOW, BUT IT'S NO GOOD.
Woman in crowd:
THEY'RE TAKING MY KIDS!
Narrator:
SCHOOL WAS DUE TO STAR
IN THREE DAYS.
SEPTEMBER 12, 1974.
UNDER COURT ORDER,
AGAINST SCHOOL COMMITTEE WISHES,
THE INTEGRATION
OF BOSTON'S SCHOOLS BEGAN.
ARE YOU
IN THIS CLASS?
OH, GOODY!
Narrator:
IT WAS A QUIET FIRST DAY
OF SCHOOL IN ROXBURY,
AS IT WAS IN MOST OF THE CITY.
A COMMITTEE OF BLACK PARENTS
WAITED INSIDE
TO GREET THE FEW WHITE STUDENTS
WHO CAME TO ROXBURY HIGH SCHOOL.
BUT ACROSS TOWN, CROWDS
OF WHITES HAD BEEN GATHERING
OUTSIDE SOUTH BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL
SINCE EARLY MORNING.
(group singing:)
BELONGS TO SOUTHIE,
AND SOUTHIE BELONGS TO YOU. ♪
LET'S GO, GENTLEMEN,
LET'S GO.
GO TO SCHOOL OR GO HOME.
COME ON, LAROSA,
LET'S GO.
Narrator:
THE SCHOOL'S HEADMASTER
HAD BEEN AT SOUTH BOSTON HIGH
FOR NINE YEARS.
COME ON.
GET IN OR GO HOME.
Woman:
IF YOU CAN
TELL US TO LEAVE,
THEN WE CAN TELL KIDS
NOT TO GO TO SCHOOL!
COME ON.
LET'S GO,
GO TO SCHOOL OR GO HOME.
LET'S GO.
(crowd jeering )
(crowd screaming and jeering )
Crowd chanting:
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE,
HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
INSIDE, THINGS WERE QUIET,
WITH MOST WHITE STUDENTS ABSENT.
AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY,
MORE TROUBLE WAITED OUTSIDE.
ON THE EVENING NEWS,
BOSTONIANS SAW SCHOOL BUSES
BEING ATTACKED AS THEY LEF
SOUTH BOSTON.
(objects hitting side of bus )
THEY WERE THROWING EGGS
AT THE WINDOW
AND TRY TO HIT PEOPLE WITH THEM,
AND THEY WAS CALLING US
BLACK NIGGERS.
I WANT TO SAY THAT MY LITTLE BOY
GOT BACK SAFE,
FOR THE ONLY REASON
I DON'T SEE WHY THEY SHOULD
BUS THESE SMALLER KIDS
ACROSS THERE AND GET ALL HURT UP
WHEN THEY CAN'
DEFEND THEMSELVES.
I FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD GO OVER
HERE TO THIS SCHOOL OVER HERE
INSTEAD OF BUSING THEM
WAY ACROSS THERE.
THEY CAN'T DEFENTHEMSELVES,
THEY CAN'T FIGHT,
THEY CAN'T DO NOTHING.
Narrator:
RACIAL VIOLENCE IN THE CITY
KNOWN AS THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY
MADE HEADLINES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY
AND AROUND THE WORLD.
THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WAS APPREHENSIVE, BUT HOPEFUL.
EVERY DAY YESTERDAY
WAS THE FIRST DAY.
EVERY DAY GO BY, THERE'S GOING
TO BE MORE IMPROVEMENT ABOUT IT.
LIKE YESTERDAY WAS THE
FIRST DAY, TODAY IS THE SECOND,
YOU HAVE MORE IMPROVEMEN
TODAY THAN YOU HAD YESTERDAY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING
TO CONTINUE THAT WAY
UNTIL IT GETS BETTER.
BUT IT'S GOING
TO TAKE A WHILE.
YOU CAN'T DO I
ALL IN ONE DAY.
Woman:
THEY'RE NOT GOING
UNTIL THEY GE
SOME BLACK COPS
AND SOME BLACK DRIVERS.
THEY DID NO
PICK MY KID UP AT SCHOOL.
IT LEFT HER OVER THERE.
IT LEFT HER
IN SOUTH BOSTON?
IT LEFT HER
IN SOUTH BOSTON.
NO, THEY LEFT HER OVER THERE.
ALL THOSE PEOPLE
OUT THERE ARE IRISH.
THEY LEFT HER
OUT THERE!
AND THEY REFUSED
TO GO GET HER.
Narrator:
WHITES STAGED A CITYWIDE
SCHOOL BOYCOTT,
A TACTIC BORROWED
FROM THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
AT THE BOYCOTT'S PEAK,
MORE THAN 50% OF ALL
WHITE STUDENTS STAYED HOME.
WELL, THE BOYCOTT WAS THAT IF
THERE WERE NO CHILDREN IN SCHOOL
THEY COULDN'
IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
SO WE DECIDED AND I
CAME FROM ANOTHER THING.
IT CAME FROM THE FREEDOM SCHOOLS
IN ROXBURY IN THE '60s.
WE HAD A COMMUNITY MEETING,
ASKED THE PARENTS,
EXPLAINED WHAT WE THOUGH
AND ASKED THE PARENTS IF THEY
WOULD GO ALONG WITH THE BOYCOTT.
THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DID.
I DID NOT SUPPORT THE BOYCOT
AND I SENT MY SON TO SCHOOL
FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY.
AND FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME,
HE RODE THE BUS BY HIMSELF.
Woman 1:
I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND
YOU'RE A SELL-OUT, TOO, LADY!
NO, PEOPLE HAVE
THEIR RIGHTS, TOO.
Woman 2:
WE WOULDN'T EVEN
BRING THEM OUT.
WE FEAR FOR THEIR SAFETY!
Woman 1:
FOR ONE LOUSY DAY
THEY COULDN'
HAVE BOYCOTTED?
ONE DAY! ONE DAY!
BUT THEY
COULDN'T DO THAT!
MY KIDS ARE OUT!
AND THEY'RE NOT GOING!
Amalfitano:
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR US.
IT WAS ALMOST LIKE
GETTING UP EVERY MORNING
AND GOING TO WAR.
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,
WHERE WERE THEY NOW?
Narrator:
THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR.
WHITES OPPOSED
TO CHANGE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
WERE NOT GOING TO BACK DOWN.
MOST SCHOOLS WERE CALM
BUT SOME WERE BATTLEGROUNDS.
Woman:
WHEN WE STARTED UP THE HILL,
YOU COULD HEAR PEOPLE SAYING,
"NIGGERS GO HOME!"
THERE WERE SIGNS
SAYING "BLACK PEOPLE STAY OUT!"
"WE DON'T WANT ANY NIGGERS
IN OUR SCHOOL!"
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE
ON THE CORNERS
HOLDING BANANAS
LIKE WE WERE APES.
(crowd chanting:)
NIGGERS EAT SH!
NIGGERS EAT SH!
Batson:
AS WE WENT UP THE HILL
AND APPROACHED THE SCHOOL,
OUR STUDENTS GO
VERY, VERY QUIET,
WHERE THEY HAD BEEN JUST LIKE
ANY OTHER KID RIDING A BUS,
MAKING NOISE, LAUGHING, TALKING.
SUDDENLY AS THEY APPROACHED THIS
PLACE THEY GOT VERY, VERY QUIET.
AND THEN THEY WOULD
HAVE TO STAY THERE
TILL THE POLICE CAME OVER,
ESCORTED THEM OUT THE BUS
AND IN THROUGH THE METAL
DETECTORS, INTO THE SCHOOL.
I BEGAN FOR THE FIRS
TIME TO SAY,
"RUTH, MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'
HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED.
MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'
HAVE URGED THIS DESEGREGATION."
IT KILLED ME TO SEE
OUR BLACK STUDENTS
GO THROUGH THAT PROCEDURE.
Woman:
IT WAS PRETTY AGGRAVATING,
ACTUALLY, TO GO
AND BE PUT ALL THROUGH THIS
BEFORE YOU EVEN STARTED
A DAY AT SCHOOL.
IT WAS KIND OF RIDICULOUS
FOR A 17-YEAR-OLD PERSON
TO BE TREATED THIS WAY.
ON A NORMAL DAY,
THERE WOULD BE ANYWHERE
BETWEEN TEN AND 15
FIGHTS PER DAY.
THE WHITE KIDS FELT INTIMIDATED
THAT THEY HAD BLACK KIDS
IN THE SCHOOL.
THE BLACK KIDS WERE INTIMIDATED
BECAUSE THEY WERE
IN THIS WHITE SCHOOL
AND THEY DID NOT WAN
TO BE PUSHED AROUND.
YOU COULD WALK DOWN THE CORRIDOR
AND A BLACK PERSON WOULD BUMP
INTO A WHITE PERSON
OR VICE VERSA.
THAT WOULD BE ONE FIGHT.
AND THEY'D TRY TO SEPARATE IT,
BECAUSE AT THAT TIME,
IT WAS SO MUCH TENSION
IN THE SCHOOL.
JUST THE SLIGHTEST THING
WOULD SET IT OFF.
Narrator:
THE N.A.A.C.P. SURVEYED
BLACK STUDENTS
ON PROBLEMS
AT SOUTH BOSTON HIGH.
ABOUT A WEEK LATER, I WAS
SITTING IN MY OFFICE ONE NIGH
AND I REACHED INTO MY BRIEFCASE
AND HERE WERE THESE FORMS.
SO I TOOK THEM OUT AND I BEGAN,
SORT OF ABSENTLY,
TO READ THROUGH THEM.
AS I READ THROUGH ONE
AFTER ANOTHER OF THESE FORMS,
WHAT I SAW WAS THA
THESE KIDS COULDN'T SPELL.
THEY COULD NOT WRITE
A SIMPLE DECLARATORY SENTENCE.
AND AS I READ THESE FORMS,
NONE OF WHICH WERE
GRAMMATICALLY CORREC
OR SPELLING PROPER,
I JUST STARTED TO CRY.
IT WAS, IT WAS, UM
IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN
THE FEELING
OF PAIN, ON THE ONE HAND,
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,
I KNEW WE WERE RIGHT.
Narrator:
BUT THE FIGHT TO CORREC
YEARS OF MISEDUCATION
WAS OVERSHADOWED
BY FEAR AND VIOLENCE.
IN OCTOBER, A SOUTH BOSTON MOB
PULLED A PASSING BLACK MOTORIS
FROM HIS CAR.
A POLICEMAN FIRED SHOTS
OVER THE HEADS OF THE CROWD
AND PULLED THE MAN TO SAFETY.
WE DON'T TEACH OUR KIDS
TO HATE ANYBODY!
ALL WE WANT FOR OUR KIDS
IS TO LOVE
AND TO GET A DECENT EDUCATION
AND TO LIVE DECENTLY
AS HUMAN BEINGS.
BUT WE'RE NOT EVEN DISTINGUISHED
AS HUMAN BEINGS
AS FAR AS EAST BOSTON GOES
OR SOUTH BOSTON.
WE'RE NIGGERS!
AND I WOULD BE DAMNED
IF I HAD ANY CHILD OF MINE
EXPOSED TO ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
I WOULDN'T WANT MY CHILD
TO SIT BESIDE IT,
BECAUSE, SEE, I'M NOT GOING
TO TEACH IT TO HATE.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING!
THAT'S THE LESSON THAT THOSE
KIDS HAVE BEEN GETTING
"STAND BESIDE MOMMY, SWEETIE,
AND THROW A ROCK AT THE NIGGER!"
Narrator:
FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THE MOB VIOLENCE IN SOUTH BOSTON
WAS ECHOED IN ROXBURY.
GROUPS OF BLACK STUDENTS
ROAMED THE STREETS,
PELTING WHITE PASSERS-BY
WITH ROCKS.
I DEPLORE THE VIOLENCE
THAT I'VE READ ABOU
AND SEEN ON TELEVISION.
I THINK THAT'S MOST UNFORTUNATE.
Narrator:
WHITES OPPOSED TO BUSING
TOOK HEAR
FROM GERALD FORD'S FIRS
PRESS CONFERENCE AS PRESIDENT.
I HAVE CONSISTENTLY
OPPOSED FORCED BUSING
TO ACHIEVE RACIAL BALANCE
AS A SOLUTION
TO QUALITY EDUCATION.
AND THEREFORE, I RESPECTFULLY
DISAGREE WITH THE JUDGE'S ORDER.
Narrator:
BOSTON WAS LEFT ON ITS OWN.
THE CITY'S NEIGHBORHOODS GREW
EVEN MORE ISOLATED AND HOSTILE.
BUT THIS CITY SHOULD HAVE BEEN
OPEN TO EVERYONE, AND IT WASN'T.
AND IT WAS THAT FEAR THAT IF YOU
STEPPED OUT OF YOUR PLACE,
YOU COULD BE ATTACKED.
THERE WAS NO LEADERSHIP THA
SAID, "THAT'S OFF LIMITS."
I NEVER HEARD
ANY PUBLIC OFFICIAL
ON THE STATE LEVEL OR ON THE
CITY LEVEL COME OUT AND SAY,
"THIS IS A GOOD THING.
"WE SHOULD ALL LEARN TOGETHER,
WE SHOULD ALL LIVE TOGETHER."
THERE WAS NO ENCOURAGEMEN
FROM ANYBODY.
I CALL IT COMPLETE
OFFICIAL NEGLECT.
Narrator:
SOUTH BOSTON,
DECEMBER 11, 1974.
A FIGHT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL
BETWEEN A BLACK
AND A WHITE STUDEN
GOT OUT OF HAND.
I REMEMBER THE DAY MICHAEL FAITH
GOT STABBED VIVIDLY,
BECAUSE I WAS
IN THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HEARD
A LOUD COMMOTION
AND YOU HEARD KIDS
SCREAMING AND YELLING, SAYING,
"HE'S DEAD, HE'S DEAD!
"THAT BLACK NIGGER KILLED HIM!
OH, JEEZ, THERE WAS WE WERE
CLOSE ENOUGH THAT WE SAW.
THERE WAS BLOOD, YOU KNOW,
ON THE HALLWAY FLOOR.
Narrator:
WHITE STUDENTS LEFT.
RUMORS SPREAD.
SOUTH BOSTON RESIDENTS AND
OTHERS SURROUNDED THE SCHOOL.
THE BLACK STUDENTS
WERE TRAPPED INSIDE.
EVERYBODY BUT THE POLICE
OFF THE APRON.
(crowd yelling )
Narrator:
LOUISE DAY HICKS
APPEALED TO THE CROWD.
Hicks:
I WANT YOU TO ALLOW THE BLACK
CHILDREN TO GO BACK TO ROXBURY!
(crowd yelling and chanting )
Hicks:
NOW, THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY
TO GET THEM BACK TO ROXBURY
AND THAT'S TO HAVE THEM
GO BACK BY BUS.
LET'S SEND THEM BACK!
OKAY, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU,
WILL YOU PLEASE MOVE
TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREE
SO THEY CAN GO BACK?
Crowd:
NO!!
Ellison:
I REMEMBER THE POLICE CARS
COMING UP THE STREET,
OR ATTEMPTING TO, AND TURNING
OVER THE POLICE CARS.
AND I WAS JUST AMAZED THAT THEY
COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO THEY TRIED THE POLICE
TRIED TO GET HORSES UP.
THEY WOULDN'T LE
THE HORSES GET UP.
THEY STONED THE HORSES,
THEY STONED THE CARS.
THAT WE WOULD NEVER GET OU
OF SOUTH BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL.
Crowd:
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
HERE WE GO,
SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
BLACK COMMUNITY
LEADERS AND OFFICIALS
WORKED OUT A RESCUE PLAN.
VOLUNTEERS RODE
DECOY BUSES TO THE SCHOOL.
FRANKLY, WE WERE SCARED.
BUT WE WENT UP, AND WHEN
WE GOT CLOSER TO THE SCHOOL,
WE COULD HEAR THE NOISE.
IT'S LIKE A HOLLOW FEELING
WHEN YOU GO UP THAT HILL.
Ellison:
FINALLY, IT MUST HAVE BEEN
2:30 OR 3:00 THAT AFTERNOON.
ALL OF A SUDDEN,
ALL YOU HEARD WAS,
"YOU'RE GOING OUT THE BACK DOOR,
YOU'RE GOING OUT THE BACK DOOR."
AT THAT MOMENT, WE HAD
TO RUN TO THE BUSES.
Narrator:
WHILE THE DECOY BUSES
DISTRACTED THE MOB
AT THE FRONT OF THE SCHOOL,
OTHER BUSES PULLED UP
TO THE BACK.
THE BLACK STUDENTS AND LEADERS
MADE IT OU
OF SOUTH BOSTON SAFELY.
MICHAEL FAITH DID NOT DIE.
BUT HIS STABBING
AND THE ENSUING RIO
FURTHER POLARIZED THE CITY.
THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
STIFFENED ITS RESOLVE
NOT TO COMPLY WITH
THE COURT ORDER.
IN RESPONSE, JUDGE GARRITY
PLACED THREE MEMBERS
IN CONTEMPT OF COURT.
IT SEEMS TO ME
THAT JUDGE GARRITY IS GOING
TO BRING US THIS PLAN
WITH THE BOOT OF OFFICIAL
AUTHORITY AND THE UNIFORM.
IN A CERTAIN SENSE, YOU CAN SAY
THAT RECONSTRUCTION
HAS FINALLY COME
TO THE NORTH WITH A VENGEANCE.
Narrator:
IN THE FACE OF SCHOOL
COMMITTEE INTRANSIGENCE,
THE SCHOOLS WERE RUN
BY THE COURT.
JUDGE GARRITY'S
WAS THE FINAL WORD
ON CURRICULUM, HIRING AND
FIRING, AND POLICY.
JUST TIME WILL
CHANGE THESE
PEOPLES' MINDS,
IN YOUR OPINION?
NO, I THINK NOT NECESSARILY.
I THINK THAT TIME
WILL BRING ABOU
AN UNDERSTANDING
ON THE PART OF MOST PEOPLE
THAT THERE'S NO ALTERNATIVE
BUT TO COMPLIANCE
WITH THE PRINCIPLES
SET OUT BY THE SUPREME COUR
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS,
RESISTANCE CONTINUED.
IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS
OF DESEGREGATION,
ALMOST A THIRD OF THE WHITE
STUDENTS LEFT THE SYSTEM.
Stevie Wonder:
PROCLAMATION ♪
RACE RELATIONS ♪
CONSOLATION ♪
Narrator:
OVER TIME, THE COUR
GRADUALLY FORCED CHANGES
IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
BUT THE COST REMAINED HIGH.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
IS GOING TO HAPPEN
WHEN YOU GO
TO SCHOOL?
WHEN WE GO UP THERE,
WE GONNA BE STONED.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ME BECAUSE WHY
IS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
WHEN THEY COME UP HERE?
WHEN THEY COME UP HERE,
WE WON'T MESS WITH THEM
SO WHY WHEN WE COME UP THERE,
THEY MESS WITH US?
WHAT DO YOU THINK
ABOUT THE PEOPLE
OF SOUTH BOSTON,
JOANNE?
IF YOU HAD
A MESSAGE YOU'D
LIKE TO TELL THEM,
WHAT WOULD
IT BE?
I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ME.
Narrator:
THE GREATEST CHANGES WERE
NOT FOUND IN THE SCHOOLS.
IN 1977
LOUISE DAY HICKS' POLITICAL
CAREER ENDED IN DEFEAT,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THE 20th CENTURY
A BLACK CANDIDATE WON ELECTION
TO THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
I FELT THAT WHAT TOOK PLACE
ABSOLUTELY HAD TO HAPPEN.
IT MAY NOT HAVE HAD
TO HAPPEN THAT WAY,
IF THERE HAD BEEN A DIFFEREN
KIND OF LEADERSHIP
PROVIDED BY WHITE BOSTONIANS
OF ALL CLASSES
AND ALL NEIGHBORHOODS.
HOWEVER, WHEN YOU'RE
THE ANVIL, YOU BEAR,
AND WHEN YOU'RE THE HAMMER,
YOU STRIKE,
AND WE WERE STRIKING,
AND THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK.
Narrator:
IN BOSTON, BLACKS
WERE A MINORITY,
FORCED TO RELY ON
THE FEDERAL COUR
IN THEIR FIGHT FOR
QUALITY EDUCATION.
IN ATLANTA, BLACKS HAD
JUST BECOME A MAJORITY.
HERE, THE FIGH
FOR BLACK PROGRESS
FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC EQUITY.
(funk music )
TIME IS TRULY WASTING ♪
THERE'S NO GUARANTEE, YEAH ♪
THERE'S MATTERS
IN THE MAKING ♪
WE GOT TO FIGH
THE POWERS THAT BE ♪
GOT IT, BABY? ♪
Narrator:
IN OCTOBER 1973,
ATLANTA MADE HISTORY.
MAYNARD JACKSON WAS ELECTED
THE FIRST BLACK MAYOR
OF A LARGE SOUTHERN CITY.
NEVER
NEVER
Crowd:
NEVER.
NEVER
Crowd:
NEVER.
NEVER
NEVER SHALL I LET YOU DOWN!
(cheering and applause )
Jackson:
BEING THE FIRST BLACK MAYOR
IS WHAT YOU WISH ON YOUR ENEMY.
OKAY?
AND I SAY THAT WITH
TONGUE IN CHEEK
A GREAT PRIDE TO BE
MAYOR OF ATLANTA
AND EVERY BLACK MAYOR
WHO'S BEEN THE FIRS
BLACK MAYOR OF AMERICA
I'M SURE HAS FEL
THE SAME THING,
BUT IT TRULY IS, UM
IS PART HELL.
FIRST OF ALL, START WITH
EXAGGERATED BLACK EXPECTATIONS
THAT OVERNIGHT,
THE VALHALLA WILL BE FOUND,
HEAVEN WILL COME ON EARTH
AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE THE
BLACK MAYOR'S BEEN ELECTED,
AND THINGS JUST DON'
WORK THAT WAY.
THE OBLIGATION THA
I FELT WAS TO TRY
WITH EVERYTHING IN MY POWER
IN EVERY LEGAL AND
ETHICAL WAY THAT I COULD
TO MOVE THINGS AS QUICKLY
AS POSSIBLE IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO HELP ME GOD.
SO HELP ME GOD.
CONGRATULATIONS.
(a shower of applause )
WE MUST SEE THE OTHER ATLANTA,
THE ONE ACROSS THE TRACKS,
THE INNER-CITY ONE,
THE ATLANTA IN THE VALLEYS
AND THE SHADOWS
JUST BEYOND THE FIRS
EXPRESSWAY EXITS
ONE PASSES WHEN
LEAVING DOWNTOWN.
(applause )
Woman:
IT MADE, IT REALLY
MADE A DIFFERENCE,
BECAUSE THAT'S THE FIRS
BLACK MAYOR WE HAD,
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WAS
WORKING HARD FOR
TO BRING A BLACK
PERSON IN OFFICE,
YOU KNOW, THAT KNEW SOME OF
THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR PEOPLES.
Jackson:
ALL OF A SUDDEN, I BECAME
MAYOR NOT JUST OF ATLANTA
BUT OF THE BLACK PEOPLE
IN GEORGIA
AND EVEN SOME
NEIGHBORING STATES.
NOW, EQUALLY IMPORTAN
AND EQUALLY DIFFICUL
WAS WHAT WE FOUND
IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY
EXAGGERATED ANXIETY.
THAT ANXIETY WAS, "OH, MY GOD,
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?
"WE GOT A BLACK MAYOR.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
IS THIS THE END OF ATLANTA?"
WE HAD JUST COME THROUGH
A RUN-OFF ELECTION
WHERE MY OPPONEN
RAN A CAMPAIGN THAT SAID,
"ATLANTA'S TOO YOUNG TO DIE."
Man:
I SUPPORTED A WHITE CANDIDATE
AND, UH
AS MOST WHITE PEOPLE DID.
YEAH, WE WERE VERY FRIGHTENED
BECAUSE WE HAD
NOTHING TO GO ON.
THERE HAD BEEN
NO EXPERIENCE THERE
AND WE HAD NO IDEA WHA
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
Man:
I CAME TO ATLANTA
IN THE SUMMER OF 1972.
AND I HAD READ EBONY MAGAZINE
AND HAD SEEN WHERE
IT WAS THE BLACK MECCA
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE SAYING
THAT IF YOU WERE BLACK
AND HAD A COLLEGE DEGREE
THIS WAS THE BEST PLACE
IN THE WORLD TO LIVE.
IT'S A EXCELLENT PLACE
FOR SOME BLACK PEOPLES
IT IS
IT'S A EXCELLENT PLACE
FOR SOME BLACK PEOPLE
BUT NOT FOR ALL BLACK PEOPLES,
IT'S NOT A EXCELLENT PLACE
TO LIVE,
BECAUSE IF IT WAS
A EXCELLENT PLACE TO LIVE,
THEY WOULD GIVE
PEOPLE SOME JOBS.
Narrator:
ATLANTA WAS HARD HIT BY
A NATIONWIDE RECESSION.
MANY ATLANTANS SUBSISTED
ON UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
Woman:
WELL, $37 A WEEK
IS NOT MUCH TO LIVE ON.
IT WON'T EVEN COVER FOOD
EXPENSES FOR FOUR KIDS
AND MYSELF ALONE.
Woman:
THE THING ABOUT IT IS,
IT MAY SEEM LIKE A NICE
VACATION TO SOME PEOPLE,
BUT IT'S REALLY, REALLY
BAD FOR THE ECONOMY
AND PEOPLE ARE
REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IT.
Narrator:
JACKSON MOVED INTO A PUBLIC
HOUSING PROJECT FOR A WEEKEND.
THE THOMASES WERE SELECTED
TO BE HIS HOST FAMILY.
OH, IT WAS VERY STRANGE,
AND THE STRANGES
THING TO ME WAS
THAT THEY CHOSE ME TO HOUSE HIM.
SO WHEN I GOT OFF FROM WORK,
I CAME UP TO THE EDGE
OF THE APARTMENTS
AND I LOOKED DOWN IN THE COUR
AND THE COURT WAS JUST FULL
OF NEWS, NEWS MEDIA,
JUST FULL OF PEOPLE.
I KNEW I COULDN'T GO THROUGH
THAT CROWD, SO I TURNED AROUND
AND I WENT ALL THE WAY
DOWN THROUGH THE BACK
AND I CRAWLED UP MY BACK STEPS
TO GET IN MY HOUSE
TO AVOID THE NEWS MEDIA,
BUT WHEN I GOT IN THE HOUSE,
THEN, I SEEN THE MAYOR COMING.
I KNEW I HAD TO OPEN
THE DOOR THEN.
IT WAS JUST A MOB, REALLY,
JUST A PURE MOB
JUST FELL ALL IN THE DOOR,
STANDING ALL UP ON MY FURNITURE.
WE WANT TO DRAMATIZE
WHAT ARE DRAMATICALLY
HORRIBLE CONDITIONS
SO THAT PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND
WHEN WE BEGIN TO TALK
ABOUT DRAMATIC CHANGES
AND DRAMATIC CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.
WE'RE NOT JUST OVERREACTING.
THE CONDITIONS HERE
DEFY DESCRIPTION.
Narrator:
THE MAYOR HAD LIMITED IMPACT ON
FEDERALLY FUNDED PUBLIC HOUSING.
BUT JACKSON DID HAVE THE POWER
TO CHANGE THE WAY
THE CITY OPERATED.
HE HIRED MORE
MINORITIES AND WOMEN.
HE MOVED AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY
BUSINESS PRACTICES.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WAS
ALREADY FEDERAL POLICY.
JACKSON MADE IT CITY POLICY.
WHEN I BECAME MAYOR,
0.5% OF ALL THE CONTRACTS
IN THE CITY OF ATLANTA
WENT TO AFRO-AMERICANS
IN A CITY WHICH,
AT THAT TIME, WAS 50-50.
Narrator:
MANY IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
RESISTED JACKSON'S
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY.
THIS WAS A MAJOR MANAGER
OF A MAJOR WHITE CORPORATION
WHO GOT VERY UPSET WITH ME
ABOUT THE POLICY ON
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AND SAID THAT, "I DON'T SEE
THIS TO BE NECESSARY.
WE'RE GOING TO DO
WHAT'S RIGHT," YOU KNOW.
"YOU CAN TRUST US,"
AND SO FORTH.
AND I SAID, "I HAVE
EVERY CONFIDENCE, BUT, UM
"AND I WANT TO TRUST YOU,
BUT I ALSO WANT YOU TO SIGN
ON THE DOTTED LINE."
HE SAID, "WELL, LOOK, I'M
JUST NOT GOING TO GO OU
AND HIRE THE FIRST NEGRO I SEE."
I SAID, "I THINK THAT'S A
PRETTY SOUND PERSONNEL POLICY."
I SAID, "I WOULDN'T EITHER."
Narrator:
JACKSON'S SUPPOR
OF BLACK BUSINESS
PULLED HIM INTO THE
RING WITH MUHAMMAD ALI
AT A PROMOTIONAL EVENT.
Jackson:
THIS IS OUR ODE TO ALI.
"DANCE LIKE A BUTTERFLY,
STING LIKE A BEE,
"MY FISTS ARE SO FAS
THAT THEY'LL DAZZLE ALI.
"THE CHAMP MAY BE STRONG,
BUT HE ISN'T ALL THERE
"IF HE THINKS HE CAN BEA
THIS DYNAMITE MAYOR.
"BUT I'LL TELL YOU THIS,
YOU BETTER KNOW IT,
"I MAY NOT BE A FIGHTER,
"BUT I'M DARN SURE A POET.
"SO COME OUT AND SEE IT,
THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR,
"I'LL FACE ALI'S CHALLENGE
WITH COURAGE, NOT FEAR,
"BECAUSE HE MAY BE A FIGHTER
"BUT I'LL THROW OUT THIS DARE
HE WOULDN'T SURVIVE
FOR A WEEK BEING MAYOR."
(cheering, laughter )
ONE.
TWO.
THREE.
FOUR
Announcer:
AFTER THE FIGHT, ALI SAID
IT WAS THE MAYOR'S FLOWERED
BOXING TRUNKS THAT SAVED HIM.
ONE THING IS FOR SURE
ALI HAS LEARNED THA
YOU CANNOT FIGHT CITY HALL.
(bell rings )
Narrator:
THE CHALLENGE TO JACKSON'S
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY
WAS ABOUT TO ESCALATE.
THE ISSUE: AIRPORT EXPANSION.
Huntley:
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW
AIRPORT FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTA
WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS,
IF NOT THE MAJOR PROJECT,
IN THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION.
THERE WERE A NUMBER
OF BIG CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
BETWEEN 1976 AND 1979 OR '80,
BUT THIS WAS THE CROWN JEWEL.
Narrator:
PLANNING WAS ALREADY UNDER WAY.
BUT DESPITE PUBLIC CRITICISM,
JACKSON ANNOUNCED THA
CONSTRUCTION WOULD NOT BEGIN
WITHOUT FULL
BLACK PARTICIPATION.
EMMA DARNELL, ONE OF THE FIRS
TWO WOMEN COMMISSIONERS
EVER APPOINTED IN ATLANTA,
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION GUIDELINES.
WHEN YOU BEGIN TO MOVE
IN PUBLIC POLICY
IN AREAS THAT INVOLVE RACE,
YOU CAN EXPECT A GREA
DEAL OF EMOTION.
THE BIDDING PROCESSES
THAT WE'VE HAD IN THIS CITY
HAVE STOOD FOR YEARS AND YEARS
LIKE A GRANITE ROCK.
THEY'VE BEEN STEADY
AND THEY'VE STOOD,
AND WE'VE HAD VERY LITTLE
PROBLEMS WITH THEM
AS LONG AS WE ADHERED TO
THE LOWEST AND THE BEST BID.
OPERATIONALLY.
BUT THERE ARE TWO RELEVANT LAWS
ALREADY ON THE BOOKS
WHICH, I THINK, IMPAC
UPON THIS QUESTION
Man:
AND THE WHITE POWER
STRUCTURE DOWNTOWN
COULDN'T DEAL WITH EMMA,
BECAUSE NOT ONLY WAS SHE
BLACK AND A FEMALE,
BUT SHE WAS SMART, AND SHE WAS
A VERY EXCELLENT COMMUNICATOR.
SO SHE WOULD LOOK
AT THE CONTRAC
AND IF IT DIDN'T HAVE
THE APPROPRIATE AMOUN
OF MINORITY PARTICIPATION,
SHE'D SAY, "TAKE THAT BACK,
GET IT RIGHT."
THEY COULDN'T DEAL WITH THAT,
NOT A BLACK FEMALE.
I LOOKED AT HOW THE POWER
STRUCTURE MEMBERS
DEALT WITH EACH OTHER.
IF THEY DISAGREED, THEY'D SAY,
"THE HELL WITH YOU,
YOU'RE A SO-AND-SO."
BUT THEY WOULD NOT WALK AWAY
FROM THE RELATIONSHIP.
I SAID, "THAT'S FAIR ENOUGH,
I CAN DEAL WITH THAT."
MY PREFERENCE WAS
TO DO IT AS A TEAM.
IF WE STUMBLE,
WE'LL STUMBLE TOGETHER.
IF I MADE A MISTAKE,
FINE, SAY I'M A DUMMY
BUT DON'T WALK AWAY
FROM THE RELATIONSHIP.
I WAS DEAD WRONG.
WHEN TIMES GOT HOT, EVEN SOME
OF THE CLOSEST FRIENDS I HAD
IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE WHITE
POWER STRUCTURE NOW
SAID, "MAYNARD, THAT WAS THE
DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN
AND GOOD-BYE."
SO, I MISCALCULATED.
BLACK LEADERSHIP MUST ACCEP
THE NEW ROLES AS CITY LEADERS
AND NOT BLACK CITY LEADERS.
WITH POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY,
THEY MUST BE ABLE
Munford:
WE FELT THAT WE WERE AT BAY.
WE WERE OUT THERE BARKING,
AND NOTHING WAS HAPPENING.
THERE WAS NO QUESTION
BUT HE WAS A FULL-FLEDGED
RACIST AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE,
AND THIS WAS WHAT HIS CHARGE WAS
WAS TO SEE THAT IT WAS
TURNED OVER TO BLACKS
AND YOU HAD TO BE
A RACIST TO DO THAT.
COLOR BLINDNESS WAS NOT PAR
OF HIS REPERTOIRE.
Narrator:
JACKSON HELD HIS GROUND
NO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION,
NO AIRPORT.
AFTER ALMOST A YEAR
OF POLITICAL INFIGHTING,
THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED
THE FIRST MINORITY CONTRACT.
NEW CITY GUIDELINES
CALLED FOR A MINIMUM OF 20%
MINORITY PARTICIPATION
IN ALL PHASES OF THE WORK.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OPENED UP
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOME,
BUT TIMES WERE STILL HARD
FOR ATLANTA'S WORKING POOR.
DEMANDING HIGHER WAGES,
THE CITY'S SANITATION WORKERS
WENT OUT ON STRIKE.
I MEAN, HE PROMISED THE MONEY,
AND THE MONEY IS THERE,
SO HE MAY AS WELL GIVE IT TO US,
OR GIVE US SOMETHING.
Narrator:
JACKSON SAID THE CITY
HAD NO MONEY
TO MEET THE STRIKERS' DEMANDS.
BUT SOME THOUGHT THA
HE WANTED TO PROVE
THAT HE COULD HOLD THE LINE
ON SPENDING,
EVEN AGAINST A PREDOMINANTLY
BLACK UNION.
WHAT THEY THINK IS
THAT A LIBERAL BLACK MAYOR
WITH A PRO-UNION BACKGROUND
WOULD NOT DARE TO DEFY
ANY DEMAND THEY WOULD MAKE.
WE DIDN'T STRIKE MAYNARD
BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK.
WE STRUCK HIM BECAUSE OUR
FOLK WERE PICKING UP GARBAGE,
WORKING AMONG MAGGOTS,
AND WE FELT THAT THEY NEEDED
TO GET PAID FOR DOING THAT.
$7,000, $8,000, $9,000 A YEAR,
IN OUR OPINION, WAS NOT ENOUGH.
Jackson:
REPRESENTING ATLANTA,
I URGE ALL CITY EMPLOYEES
TO REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY.
I EMPHASIZE THAT THOSE
WHO IGNORE THIS DIRECTIVE
WILL BE DISCHARGED.
Narrator:
JACKSON GAVE NOTICE
TO 1,000 STRIKERS,
MOST OF WHOM WERE BLACK.
THE UNION LOST THE BITTER
AND DIVISIVE STRUGGLE,
BUT JACKSON REMAINED POPULAR
AMONG MOST BLACKS.
LATER THAT YEAR, HE WON
REELECTION BY A LANDSLIDE.
4:00 A.M., SEPTEMBER 21, 1980.
THE FIRST SCHEDULED
FLIGHT ARRIVED
AT THE WORLD'S LARGES
PASSENGER TERMINAL.
THE MIDFIELD TERMINAL OF THE
HARTSFIELD INTERNATIONAL AIRPOR
WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED.
Kool and the Gang:
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES ♪
COME ON! ♪
CELEBRATE ♪
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES,
COME ON! ♪
Narrator:
CONFOUNDING CRITICS WHO
LABELED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
A SOCIAL EXPERIMEN
DOOMED TO FAIL,
THE $700 MILLION FACILITY
WAS COMPLETED ON SCHEDULE
AND ON BUDGET, WITH A MINIMUM
OF 20% MINORITY PARTICIPATION
IN ALL PHASES OF THE WORK.
WE GONNA CELEBRATE ♪
YOUR PARTY WITH YOU,
COME ON, NOW ♪
CELEBRATION ♪
Narrator:
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AND THE AIRPOR
WERE MAJOR TRIUMPHS OF
THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION.
BUT MOST BLACKS IN ATLANTA
HAD NOT BENEFITED.
BY THE TIME THE AIRPORT OPENED,
ATLANTA WAS THE SECOND
POOREST CITY IN THE COUNTRY.
THERE WERE CLEAR LIMITS
TO WHAT LOCAL ELECTORAL
POWER COULD ACHIEVE.
ELECTING BLACKS TO OFFICE
WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
WE WERE, FOR ALL
PRACTICAL PURPOSES,
ENGAGED IN A REVOLUTION.
WE KNEW THAT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS.
IT WAS STILL THE CIVIL
RIGHTS REVOLUTION.
THOSE PERSONS DURING THE '60s
LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES AND DIED
TO PUT US INTO THESE
POSITIONS OF POWER.
WE DID NOT CONSIDER
THESE POSITIONS OF POWER
TO BE ENDS IN AND OF THEMSELVES.
DR. KING TAUGHT US
TO REMEMBER OUR ROOTS,
REMEMBER OUR BROTHERS
AND SISTERS
WHO ARE STILL NOW LOCKED
IN THE DUNGEONS OF DEPRIVATION.
YET TODAY, HE SEES
SOME BLACK PEOPLE
WHO HAVE ESCAPED FROM POVERTY,
FOR THE TIME BEING,
AND WHO ALSO ARE TRYING TO
ESCAPE THEIR DUTY TO THE POOR.
Darnell:
WHAT IT'S ABOU
IS WHAT'S ON THE INSIDE.
YOU KNOW, HAVE YOU REALLY BEEN
DEEPLY AND PERMANENTLY AFFECTED
BY THE BLOOD THAT HAS BEEN SHED
IN ORDER FOR YOU
TO SIT BEHIND THE DESK?
DO YOU ACTUALLY FEEL ANY
SENSITIVITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
TO ALL OF THOSE FOLK OUT THERE
IN THOSE CHURCHES
AND THOSE PROGRAMS
WHO STAND UP AND
GIVE YOU BIG APPLAUSE
BELIEVING THAT YOU
STAYED ON THE CASE
OR ARE YOU REALLY IN THERE
TRYING TO HOLD YOUR GROUND
TO GET YOUR HOUSE,
GET YOUR CAR, GET YOUR B.M.W.,
GET INVITED TO
THE RIGHT RECEPTIONS
AND BE CONSIDERED A LEADER?
All:
WE WON'T GO BACK,
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
TAKE BAKKE BACK!
Narrator:
OCTOBER 1977.
BLACK STUDENTS NATIONWIDE
WERE WORRIED.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN HIGHER
EDUCATION WAS UNDER ATTACK.
IN TEN YEARS OF
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EFFORTS,
THE NUMBERS OF BLACK
STUDENTS ENROLLED
IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
HAD MORE THAN DOUBLED.
WHEN I WAS WENT TO WASHINGTON
TO RUN EDUCATION IN THE
CARTER ADMINISTRATION IN 1977,
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS
THAT HAPPENED WAS
THE HEAD OF MY STATISTICAL
AGENCY CAME IN TO SEE ME
AND SHE SAID, "GOOD NEWS, THE
COLLEGE-GOING RATE FOR BLACKS
"IS EQUAL TO THE COLLEGE-GOING
RATE FOR WHITES
FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN AMERICAN HISTORY."
(woman singing pop-gospel )
THANK YOU FOR THE FUSS,
I THANK YOU, LORD ♪
Berry:
SO, THIS WAS
JUST WONDERFUL NEWS.
AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "IF WE
CAN JUST KEEP UP THIS PROGRESS
"FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS,
JUST THINK OF HOW FAR
WE WILL HAVE COME."
Narrator:
BLACK PROGRESS WAS
FACING A CHALLENGE.
ALAN BAKKE WAS
AN ENGINEER IN HIS 30s
WHEN HE DECIDED TO
BECOME A DOCTOR.
HE WAS TURNED DOWN
BY 12 MEDICAL SCHOOLS
TWICE BY THE ONE
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS.
BAKKE SUED DAVIS.
HE ALLEGED ITS AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION PROGRAM UNFAIRLY LIMITED
HIS CHANCES OF ADMISSION.
BUT TONI JOHNSON WAS ADMITTED
TO DAVIS MEDICAL SCHOOL.
FIRST IN HER FAMILY
TO ATTEND COLLEGE,
SHE HAD GONE TO
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
ON AN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
AND GRADUATED IN THREE YEARS.
WHEN I WAS SELECTED FOR U.C.
DAVIS AND WENT INTO DAVIS,
IT WAS NOT UNTIL WELL
INTO MY FIRST YEAR
THAT I HAD ANY IDEA
THAT I HAD BEEN SELECTED
THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
CERTAINLY I HAD MET ALL THE
CRITERIA FOR REGULAR ENTRANCE.
CERTAINLY THERE WERE OTHER
STUDENTS, WHITE STUDENTS,
WHO DID NOT EVEN MEE
THE SAME CRITERIA.
THEIR G.P.A. WAS
FAR LESS THAN MINE.
THEIR M.C.A.T. SCORES
WERE FAR LESS THAN MINE.
SO I HAD NO IDEA
THAT I HAD EVEN COME IN
THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
YOU WANT TO HOLD HIM FOR ME?
I HEARD ABOUT ALAN BAKKE
THE VERY FIRST YEAR I WAS
IN MEDICAL SCHOOL,
OTHER THAN THERE WAS A GUY WHO
WANTED TO GET INTO OUR CLASS
AND HE WAS REALLY ANGRY THAT HE
DIDN'T GET INTO THE CLASS,
SO HE WAS GOING TO SUE.
I THINK FROM THE DAY
BAKKE WALKED IN OUR DOOR,
WE KNEW WHAT WAS AT STAKE.
BACK THEN, PEOPLE SAID
THAT THESE PROGRAMS LIKE THE
DAVIS PROGRAM ARE GREAT THINGS
BECAUSE THEY INCLUDE PEOPLE AND
BRING THEM INTO THE CLASS.
AND I THINK THE SHORTCOMING
OF THAT ANALYSIS IS
THEY FORGET THAT WHEN YOU
BRING IN ONE PERSON
YOU'RE KEEPING OU
ANOTHER PERSON.
Narrator:
THE BAKKE CASE REACHED
THE SUPREME COUR
AND STIMULATED A NATIONAL DEBATE
ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
I THINK WE WERE MAKING
ENORMOUS PROGRESS
BEFORE ANYONE CONJURED UP
THIS PERVERSION OF
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
I BELIEVE THERE'S BEEN
A GOOD FAITH EFFORT, TOO,
ON THE PART OF MOST AMERICANS
TO COMPLY, TO DROP THE BLINDERS
THAT TOO MANY OF US
HAVE WORN OVER THE YEARS.
NO, THE PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE.
BUT WE ARE NOW SEEING
AND WHAT I FEAR, FRANKLY,
IS A BACKLASH, AND A VERY
SERIOUS BACKLASH.
YOU SEE THIS IN UNIONS,
FOR EXAMPLE,
YOU SEE THIS IN COLLEGES
EVEN IN COLLEGES
WHERE PEOPLE ARE SAYING
WE MUST DISCRIMINATE AGAINS
SOMEONE WHO HAPPENS TO BE WHITE
AND HAPPENS TO BE MALE.
WHEN YOU START TALKING
ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AS BEING
"PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT,"
YOU HAVE ALREADY
SET UP A SITUATION
WHERE ANYBODY
WHO IS THE BENEFICIARY
OF "PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT"
WILL LOSE.
IF YOU SAY
"REVERSE DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST SOMEBODY,"
IT ALREADY SOUNDS LIKE
A BAD THING IS HAPPENING
AND YOU DON'T FOCUS
ON WHAT THE INJUSTICE WAS.
IF, IN FACT, WOMEN, BLACKS,
HISPANICS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED,
THE QUESTION BECOMES,
HOW DO YOU INCLUDE THEM?
HOW DO YOU MAKE UP
FOR THE LEGAL WRONG?
Narrator:
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
CAMPED OVERNIGH
ON THE STEPS
OF THE SUPREME COUR
TO GAIN ADMISSION
TO WHAT WAS BEING CALLED
THE MOST IMPORTAN
CIVIL RIGHTS CASE
SINCE BROWN v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
ARCHIBALD COX DEFENDED
U. CAL. DAVIS.
HE ARGUED FOR USING
RACE AS A FACTOR
IN SELECTING
QUALIFIED APPLICANTS
NOT TO DISCRIMINATE
AGAINST WHITES,
BUT TO REMEDY THE EFFECTS
OF GENERATIONS OF DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST BLACKS.
BAKKE'S LAWYER, REYNOLD COLVIN,
PRESENTED HIS CLIENT AS
ONE DISCRIMINATED AGAINS
BECAUSE OF HIS RACE.
WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CASE
WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL'S
RIGHTS HAVE BEEN DEPRIVED.
Norton:
ONE OF THE MORE UNFORTUNATE
THINGS ABOUT THE BAKKE CASE
IS THAT IT BECAME THE VEHICLE
FOR EDUCATING
OR SHOULD I SAY MISEDUCATING
THE PUBLIC
ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
THE PUBLIC LEARNED ABOU
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
ALMOST LITERALLY FOR THE FIRS
TIME THROUGH SOUND BITES,
TEN-SECOND SOUND BITES
ON TELEVISION,
WITH PEOPLE POLARIZED
AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.
AS A RESULT, WHAT IS REALLY
A QUITE COMPLICATED CONCEPT,
ONE HARD ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN,
EVEN IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME,
BECAME DIGESTED AS AN
ELEMENT OF UNFAIRNESS.
Narrator:
THE SUPREME COURT HANDED DOWN
A DIVIDED DECISION.
THE ONLY THING CLEAR WAS
THAT BAKKE WOULD BE
ADMITTED TO DAVIS.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WAS FOUND
PERMISSIBLE, BUT NOT MANDATORY.
CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATES WORRIED
THAT THE COURT HAD BACKED OFF
FROM UNEQUIVOCAL SUPPORT.
DID THIS SIGNAL A CHANGE
IN THE WAY THAT AMERICA LOOKED
AT CIVIL RIGHTS?
YOU THINK IT'S
GOING TO BE BAD
FOR MINORITIES?
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE
DEFINITELY BAD FOR MINORITIES.
I THINK PEOPLE,
INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW,
THE SINCERITY INVOLVED
IN REALLY GOING OU
AND GETTING MINORITY STUDENTS
INTO DIFFEREN
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
THAT SINCERITY
WILL BE LOST, ALL RIGHT,
SINCE THERE IS
A LEGAL PRECEDENT STATED NOW
THAT, YOU KNOW, IT SORT OF KILLS
THE THRUST OF THE PROGRAM.
BY 1979, THE CLIMATE OF OPINION
HAD CHANGED ALMOST COMPLETELY
IN THE COUNTRY ON ISSUES
RELATED TO CIVIL RIGHTS
AND THE ADVANCEMEN
TOWARD EQUALITY
FOR BLACKS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY.
FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE WOULD SAY,
"WE CAN'T HAVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AND EXCELLENCE
AT THE SAME TIME."
AND WHAT DID THEY MEAN
BY EXCELLENCE?
IN MANY CASES,
IT SEEMED THAT THEY MEAN
AN ABSENCE OF BLACK FOLK
AT EVERY LEVEL OF ANY IMPORTANCE
IN THE SOCIETY.
Narrator:
FOR MANY AMERICANS,
THE COST OF REMEDYING A HISTORY
OF DISCRIMINATION WAS TOO HIGH.
FOR OTHERS, THE COSTS OF TURNING
BACK WERE ALL TOO CLEAR.
WHEN SHE COMPLETED HER STUDIES,
DR. TONI JOHNSON-CHAVIS
SET UP PRACTICE
IN A BLACK AND
LATINO COMMUNITY.
THERE ARE A LARGE AMOUN
OF POOR PEOPLE,
AND THERE ARE ONLY
TWO PEDIATRICIANS
THE TWO PEDIATRICIANS HERE
ARE BOTH BLACK.
IF THE TWO OF US HAD NO
BEEN TRAINED IN THAT ERA
AND WERE NOT HERE,
WHO WOULD FULFILL THAT NEED?
THAT'S THE QUESTION
I ASKED THEN,
AND THAT'S THE QUESTION
THAT I ASK NOW.
Woman (singing gospel):
I'VE COME SO FAR ♪
I BELIEVE THA
I CAN RUN ON ♪
A LITTLE MORE ♪
I'VE COME SO FAR ♪
I BELIEVE THA
I CAN RUN ON ♪
JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ♪
Students (chanting):
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
(students continue chanting )
Crowd:
WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY ♪
OH, DEEP IN MY HEART,
KNOW THAT I DO BELIEVE ♪
Captioned by
access.wgbh.org
OH, WE SHALL OVERCOME
SOMEDAY. ♪
THERE'S MOing
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:
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
MA 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. ♪
Narrator:
IN THE SPRING OF 1980,
THE CITY OF MIAMI WAS FLOODED
WITH REFUGEES IN SEARCH
OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.
THIS IS A BIG COUNTRY.
I I LIKE THIS SYSTEM,
BECAUSE NOW I KNOW THE FREEDOM.
Narrator:
THEY CAME IN SEARCH
OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY,
IN SEARCH OF POLITICAL FREEDOM.
¡LIBERTAD! ¡LIBERTAD!
Narrator:
THEY CAME FROM CUBA
AND FROM HAITI.
Crowd:
WE WANT JUSTICE!
Narrator:
BUT THAT SPRING IN MIAMI,
25 YEARS AFTER THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT BEGAN,
THE AMERICAN DREAM WAS ON TRIAL.
I'M ASKING FOR THE
BLACK PEOPLES TO BE CALM,
BECAUSE THIS TIME WE CAN'
TAKE THIS SITTING DOWN.
WE UST TAKE TO THE STREETS
AGAIN LIKE WE DID IN THE '60s.
I WANTED TO BELIEVE
IN THE AMERICAN SYSTEM.
NO MORE! NEVER AGAIN!
Narrator:
ONCE AGAIN, THE NATION STOOD
AT A RACIAL CROSSROADS.
WOULD AMERICA MOVE CLOSER
TO ITS PROMISE
OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AND EQUAL JUSTICE
OR WOULD IT BACK AWAY?
THE QUESTION HAD BEEN ASKED A
GENERATION BEFORE, IN THE 1950s,
WHEN MOST OF MIAMI'S
BLACK POPULATION LIVED
ON THE NORTHERN EDGE
OF DOWNTOWN MIAMI
IN AN AREA KNOWN AS OVERTOWN.
(children singing )
Man:
OVERTOWN WAS A VIABLE COMMUNITY
IN WHICH PEOPLE HAD
COMMON CAUSES
AND RELATED TO EACH OTHER.
THERE WAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
BUSINESSES, FURNITURE STORES,
CLOTHING STORES,
A SODA WATER BOTTLING COMPANY.
THE PROFESSIONALS
DOCTORS, LAWYERS,
OTHER PROFESSIONALS WERE THERE.
YOUNGSTERS WERE CONSIDERED
YOUNGSTERS OF THE COMMUNITY
SO THAT EVERYONE FELT SOME
RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUNGSTERS.
Man:
GROWING UP IN OVERTOWN
WAS DIFFEREN
FROM ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU
COULD PROBABLY EVEN IMAGINE,
AND I GUESS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW,
IT WAS LIKE FAMILY.
YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY
WAS LIKE FAMILY.
THERE WAS SO MUCH TOGETHERNESS,
SO MUCH
EVERYTHING THERE WAS LIKE
LIKE CLOSE-KNIT.
IT WAS A PLACE, A FOCAL POIN
FOR BLACK PEOPLE.
SEGREGATION, OF COURSE,
CONTRIBUTED TO THAT,
BUT SEGREGATION CAUSED I
TO BE A COMMUNITY
WHERE PEOPLE HAD
A REAL SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
("The Hucklebuck" dance music )
Narrator:
SEGREGATION ALSO AFFECTED
NIGHT LIFE IN OVERTOWN.
INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN
BLACK ENTERTAINERS
COULD PERFORM ON MIAMI BEACH,
BUT THEY WERE NOT PERMITTED
TO STAY AT THE HOTELS.
INSTEAD THEY STAYED IN OVERTOWN.
CLYDE KILLENS FEATURED
MANY OF THEM
AT HIS NIGHTCLUB, THE SIR JOHN.
NAT KING COLE, SAMMY DAVIS,
GEORGE KIRBY, ALL THOSE GUYS,
WHEN THEY COME DOWN HERE,
THEY WORKED AT MIAMI BEACH,
BUT THEIR SHOWS IN THE HOTEL
THEY OFF AT 2:00,
AND THEY ALL WOULD
COME OVER TO SIR JOHN.
AND THEY WOULD GO
IN THE LOUNGE,
AND THERE'D BE SEVEN OR EIGHT OR
TEN MUSICIANS THERE, JAMMING.
("The Hucklebuck" dance music )
Narrator:
BUT IN DAILY LIFE, BLACKS
REMAINED SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS
UNDER MIAMI'S LAWS
OF SEGREGATION.
PROTESTS WERE STAGED
AT DOWNTOWN LUNCH COUNTERS
WHICH REFUSED SERVICE
TO BLACK CUSTOMERS.
DR. BROWN, WHAT DO YOU
HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH
BY THIS DEMONSTRATION?
WE HOPE TO ELIMINATE
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
IN ALL PUBLIC
ACCOMMODATIONS
HERE IN THE CITY
OF MIAMI.
Narrator:
IN THE '50s, THE PRACTICE OF
SEGREGATION WAS SLOW TO CHANGE.
BUT OTHER CHANGES
DID AFFECT OVERTOWN
AND LIFE WOULD
NEVER BE THE SAME.
Brown:
WELL, THERE WAS AN INDIVIDUAL
IN THIS COMMUNITY WHO HANDLED
ABOUT 75% OF ALL THE RENTAL
PROPERTY IN THE OVERTOWN AREA.
HIS NAME WAS LUTHER BROOKS.
AND LUTHER BROOKS CAME
TO US TO TELL US
ABOUT WHAT SOME
OF THE PLANS WERE
FOR OVERTOWN
AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
AND HE BROUGHT HIS MAPS
AND EVERYTHING
AND SHOWED US
THIS WAS ABOUT 1959, 1960
HOW THAT THE ONLY WAY
DOWNTOWN MIAMI COULD EXPAND
WAS TO EXPAND INTO WHAT WAS
THEN KNOWN AS THE OVERTOWN AREA,
A BLACK COMMUNITY.
Narrator:
ONE OF THE MAJOR
CHANGES WOULD BE
THE CONSTRUCTION OF
THIS INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM,
WHICH WOULD DISPLACE
MANY HOMEOWNERS.
THE HOUSE WAS
IN MY MOTHER'S NAME
AND SHE RECEIVED
THE LETTER SAYING THAT
I DON'T REMEMBER NOW
EXACTLY WHAT IT SAID
OTHER THAN "BY THE RIGH
OF EMINENT DOMAIN,"
OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT,
WE WOULD HAVE TO MOVE.
AND OTHER PEOPLE,
THEY COMPARED NOTES
AND OTHER PEOPLE GO
THE SAME KIND OF NOTICE.
I'LL TELL YOU WHAT WE SAID,
"THE NIGGERS HAD TO GO."
SO THEY CAME OUT AND TALKED
TO ALL OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS
AND TOLD THEM, BY EMINENT DOMAIN
THIS PROPERTY IS
NEEDED TO BUILD THIS EXPRESSWAY.
GROWTH IS COMING ON
AND SOMETIMES SOME PEOPLE LOSE
AND INVARIABLY
IT'S BLACKS THAT LOSE.
IT WAS VERY ROUGH ON MY MOTHER.
YOU SEE, IT WAS HER HOUSE
THAT SHE AND MY GRANDMOTHER
HAD WORKED FOR,
AND IT MEANT THA
EVERYTHING WE HAD HAD
WAS BEING JUST TAKEN AWAY.
EVEN YOUR SHRUBBERY THAT YOU HAD
CHERISHED AND HAD PLANTED AND
YOU COULDN'T TAKE THAT WITH YOU.
BLACK PEOPLE WERE EASY PREY.
THEY HAD NO POLITICAL POWER
BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE
ANY PEOPLE IN OFFICE.
SO WHAT GOVERNMENT DID WAS,
THEY TOOK A LITTLE AT A TIME.
FIRST THEY CUT THE FINGER OFF,
THEN THEY CUT THE HAND OFF
AND THEN THEY CUT THE ARM OFF,
AND PRETTY SOON OVERTOWN'S DEAD.
Narrator:
ULTIMATELY, THE EXPRESSWAY
DISPLACED 20,000 PEOPLE,
50% OF OVERTOWN'S POPULATION.
Knight:
I-95, WHICH WAS
BASICALLY DEVELOPED
TO GET PEOPLE
FROM SUBURBIA DOWNTOWN
AND IN THE PROCESS DESTROYED
OVERTOWN
AND THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU SAW CONCRETE
APARTMENT HOUSES COMING UP,
WHAT WE CALLED CONCRETE
MONSTERS,
SIMPLY BECAUSE THE DEMAND
WAS FOR SPACE.
McCrary:
WE HAD NOT BEEN
AS MILITAN
AS WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
THERE IS NO WAY WE SHOULD
HAVE LET OVERTOWN DISAPPEAR.
BUT WE GOT SNOOKERED,
AND WE GOT SNOOKERED BECAUSE WE
WERE NOT MINDING OUR KNITTING.
WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE A
THE GOVERNMENTAL BOARD MEETINGS,
AT THE MEETINGS THA
TALK ABOUT DEVELOPMENT.
WE WERE NOT THERE.
AND WE TRUSTED PEOPLE THA
IT WAS GOING TO BE OKAY.
Narrator:
MANY OVERTOWN
RESIDENTS RELOCATED
INTO NEARBY LIBERTY CITY,
INTO NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAD
PREVIOUSLY BEEN ALL WHITE.
FRANK LEGREE WAS
AMONG THE FIRST.
Legree:
AT LEAST TWO WEEKS
AFTER WE MOVED IN,
WE WERE SITTING OU
ON THE PORCH ONE DAY
AND THEN THE MAILMAN CAME
TO GIVE US A LETTER.
I THOUGHT ABOUT SAYING, "WHO
KNOWS WHERE WE LIVE AT ALREADY?"
AND WHEN I OPENED THE LETTER,
IT SAID, "NIGGER, GET OUT."
I SAID, "ISN'T THIS SOMETHING."
SO WE LAUGHED ABOUT IT,
IT WAS NOTHING, YOU KNOW,
BECAUSE WE DIDN'T PAY
ANY ATTENTION TO IT.
SO MY MOTHER, SHE SAY,
"OH, THIS DON'T SOUND TOO GOOD."
I SAID, "OH, DON'
WORRY ABOUT IT."
I SAID, "IT'S JUST SOMEBODY,
YOU KNOW."
SO ANYWAY, TWO WEEKS LATER,
AFTER WE RECEIVED THIS LETTER,
I CAME HOME ONE NIGH
AND THEY CALLED ME AND SAID,
"HEY, YOUR WINDOWS
IS ALL KNOCKED OUT."
SOMEBODY THREW A BRICK
AND KNOCKED THE WINDOWS OUT.
ONLY THING I WANTED
WAS A HOME FOR MY MOTHER
AND MY FAMILY TO LIVE
AND THIS IS ALL.
BUT THEY STARTED
THIS PICKETING.
SO I DIDN'T JUST LE
THEM WALK AND WALK.
SO I WENT OUTSIDE, GOT MY
SPRINKLERS, PUT IT ON MY LAWN,
TURNED THE WATER UP
AS HIGH AS I COULD
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN
AND WATER
AND THEY JUST STARTED RUNNING.
THEY WENT AND CALLED THE POLICE.
WHEN THE POLICE COME,
INSTEAD OF GETTING THEM,
THE POLICE CARRIED ME TO JAIL.
I THINK AT THAT TIME MOST OF US
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY FEL
THAT EDUCATION WAS THE KEY
AND ONCE THE SCHOOLS
WERE INTEGRATED
AND BLACK KIDS WERE GIVEN
THE OPPORTUNITIES
TO GET TRAINING AND EVERYTHING,
THAT A LOT OF THESE OTHER
THINGS WOULD DISAPPEAR.
Narrator:
BY THE MID-'60s,
THE SUCCESS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMEN
PROMISED NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
WHEN SAMMY DAVIS, JR.,
VISITED MIAMI,
HE ENCOURAGED CHILDREN TO BE
READY TO MEET THOSE CHALLENGES.
IT'S NO LONGER LIKE,
"WELL, MAN, I'M COLORED.
I AIN'T GONNA MAKE I
NO MORE."
IT AIN'T LIKE THAT NO MORE.
AND WHAT HAPPENS IS
(applause )
THAT ALL OF THE
ALL OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS,
ALL THE MARCHES,
ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED
IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE
WILL HAVE DIED IN VAIN, IF
AND THE BIGOTS WILL WIN OUT
IF, ONCE THE OPPORTUNITY,
ONCE THE DOORS ARE OPEN,
NO ONE IS PREPARED FOR IT.
Narrator:
MANY STUDENTS A
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
WERE READY TO MEE
THAT CHALLENGE.
ONE OF THEM WAS ARTHUR McDUFFIE.
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, HIS GOAL,
MIND, WAS TO STRIVE
AND STRIVE FOR
NOTHING BUT THE BEST,
NO MATTER WHAT YOU WERE
INVOLVING YOURSELF
JUST STRIVE AND STRIVE FOR THE
TOP AND NOTHING BUT TO THE TOP.
WHEN I GRADUATED FROM
HIGH SCHOOL, I WENT TO D.C.
AND WORKED UP THERE FOR A YEAR.
AND LO AND BEHOLD,
I WENT TO THE MARINE CORPS
AFTER BEING UP THERE FOR A YEAR
AND WHO THE HELL DO I SEE,
YOU KNOW?
I WALK IN THE BARRACKS
AND THERE HE WAS.
ART WAS A HELL OF A MARINE.
HE WAS TRULY A REFLECTION,
WHEN YOU SEE THAT COMMERCIAL
ABOUT THIS GUY AND THE UNIFORM
AND CARVING OUT SOMETHING
THAT REALLY THAT WAS ART.
ART WAS REALLY
THE KIND OF PERSON
THAT TOOK A LOT OF PRIDE
IN HOW HE LOOKED
IN THAT MARINE CORPS UNIFORM.
Narrator:
IN 1968, McDUFFIE CAME
HOME FROM THE MARINES.
THAT SAME YEAR HE MARRIED
HIS HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART.
AS THE YEARS PASSED,
ARTHUR McDUFFIE BECAME A
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE.
EVEN TO FAMILY MEMBERS,
HE COULD BE AN EXACTING BOSS.
SO I WENT IN AND HE SAYS,
"WERE YOU SUPPOSED TO SEE
MRS. SO-AND-SO?"
I SAYS, "YEAH."
HE SAYS, "WHY DIDN'T YOU?"
I SAYS, "WELL, I FORGOT IT."
HE SAYS, "WELL, I'M GOING
TO TELL YOU ONE THING.
"I'M GOING TO LOOK
OVER IT THIS TIME,
BUT DON'T LET I
HAPPEN AGAIN."
I MEAN, HE WAS
DOWN TO THE POINT.
AND AFTER THAT WAS ALL OVER,
I PROCEEDED TO DO MY WORK
AND HE CAME OUT AND
HE PAT ME ON THE SHOULDER.
HE SAYS, "NOW, YOU KNOW,
I HAD TO DO THAT,
"BECAUSE WE CAN BE
BROTHERS IN THE STREE
BUT WE GOT A JOB TO DO HERE."
AND I MEAN, HE WAS JUS
RIGHT TO THE POINT WITH IT.
Narrator:
BY THE LATE 1970s,
WHITES HAD MOVED OU
OF THE LIBERTY CITY AREA,
LEAVING IT PREDOMINANTLY BLACK.
BUT MANY BLACK PEOPLE
HAD ALSO MOVED OUT,
LEAVING BEHIND
A STRUGGLING COMMUNITY.
THE UPWARD MOBILITY
TYPES HAD GONE.
WHEN EVERYONE WAS THERE,
WHEN THE PROFESSIONALS
WERE THERE AND EVERYBODY,
THINGS MOVED UP,
IT BENEFITED EVERYBODY.
AND AS A CONSEQUENCE,
THE HOUSING GOES DOWN,
THE STREETS GO DOWN,
THERE ARE VERY FEW BUSINESSES.
Narrator:
WHILE THE MIAMI AREA
ENJOYED AN ECONOMIC BOOM,
FOR RESIDENTS OF OVERTOWN
AND LIBERTY CITY,
THE YEARS HAD BEEN HARD.
BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT WAS 17%,
TWICE THAT OF WHITES.
AMONG BLACK TEENAGERS,
IT HAD RISEN TO 40%.
Man:
A LOT OF PEOPLE ON WELFARE,
THEY WANT A JOB BUT THEY CAN'
GET NONE NO JOBS FOR THEM.
THEY'RE ON WELFARE BECAUSE
THEY CAN'T GET NO JOBS.
THEY GO TO A PLACE,
THEY GET TURNED DOWN.
AND HALF OF THE THINGS PEOPLE
DOING IN THE STREET RIGHT NOW
PEOPLE FORCING THEM TO DO I
BECAUSE THERE AIN'T NO JOBS.
THEY GOT TO DO SOMETHING
TO FEED THEIR KIDS.
IF YOU GOT TO FEED YOUR KIDS,
YOU MAY DO ANYTHING, YOU KNOW.
A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE TURN BAD
BECAUSE THERE AIN'T NO JOBS.
Narrator:
LIBERTY CITY WAS PART OF
AN AREA KNOWN TO THE POLICE
AS THE CENTRAL DISTRICT.
Man:
IT'S A VERY BUSY AREA,
IT'S A VERY VOLATILE AREA.
THERE'S A LOT OF SERIOUS
CALLS IN THAT AREA.
IT WAS NOT A PLEASAN
PLACE TO WORK
FOR MOST OF OUR WHITE OFFICERS.
AND SO, IN MY OPINION, IT WAS
USED AS A PUNISHMENT AREA.
SOME OF THE WORST POLICE
OFFICERS WERE PUT IN THERE
TO PUNISH THEM, TO SHOW THA
"THIS IS WHERE YOU'RE GOING
TO END UP IF YOU DEFY THE
ADMINISTRATION" AND SO FORTH.
AND I THINK THAT'S
WHAT HAPPENED IN
I KNOW THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED
IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
Narrator:
IN DECEMBER 1979,
ARTHUR McDUFFIE WENT FOR
A LATE-NIGHT MOTORCYCLE RIDE.
HE FAILED TO STOP
FOR A RED LIGHT,
RESULTING IN A
HIGH-SPEED POLICE CHASE
THROUGH THE STREETS
OF THE CENTRAL DISTRICT.
ACCORDING TO THE POLICE REPORT,
McDUFFIE WAS INJURED
CRASHING HIS MOTORCYCLE,
THEN VIOLENTLY RESISTED ARRES
AND WAS TAKEN TO
JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.
THEY WOULD NOT LET ME
IN TO SEE HIM.
I ASKED THE DOCTOR WHY.
THEY SAID TO ME,
"WE'RE WORKING ON HIM.
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE HIM
IN A COUPLE OF HOURS."
THERE WAS FOUR HOURS
BEFORE I SEEN ARTHUR.
WHEN I DID SEE ARTHUR, IT WAS
LIKE, "THIS IS NOT ARTHUR.
THIS IS NOT AN ACCIDENT."
WHEN I WENT AND LOOKED
AT THE MOTORCYCLE
AND I HAD SOME
BACKGROUND TRAINING
IN ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION
I KNOW WHEN A MOTORCYCLE
SLIDES ON ITS SIDE
THAT THE PEGS WHICH STICK OUT
THE RUBBER PEGS WHERE YOU RES
YOUR FEET
SHOULD HAVE HAD WORN MARKS
ON THEM
FROM COMING IN CONTAC
WITH THE PAVEMENT.
I DIDN'T FIND THAT.
I DIDN'T BELIEVE THAT THA
MOTORCYCLE SLID ON ITS SIDE.
Narrator:
McDUFFIE'S FRIEND
LONNIE LAWRENCE WAS A SPOKESMAN
FOR THE DADE COUNTY
PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT.
HE HAD A PERSONAL REACTION
TO NEWS OF THE INVESTIGATION.
THE YOUNG LADY WHO
WAS HANDLING THE CASE
FROM THE INTERNAL REVIEW
SECTION, I ASKED HER, SAID,
"WELL, YOU KNOW,
WHO IS THIS PERSON
THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT?"
BECAUSE I HADN'T REALLY HEARD
ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
AND SHE TOLD ME THE NAME.
AND, UM I SOR
OF JUST SIT THERE,
BECAUSE I THOUGHT, "WELL,
MAYBE IT'S SOMEBODY ELSE."
AND, YOU KNOW, IT
WHEN I FINALLY REALIZED
THAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOU
THE ARTHUR McDUFFIE THAT I KNEW,
THAT I HAD GROWN UP WITH,
I JUST COULDN'T REACT TO IT.
AND I FOUND MYSELF IN A VERY
DIFFICULT SITUATION,
BECAUSE I FOUND MYSELF
BEING AN OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON
FOR THE DEPARTMEN
BUT TRYING TO DEAL WITH THE FAC
THAT HERE WAS A PERSON WHO WAS
A VERY GOOD FRIEND OF MINE,
WHO I GREW UP WITH,
WHO I KNEW VERY WELL
WAS THE VICTIM
OF THIS POLICE BRUTALITY.
WHAT DID HE DIE FROM?
HE DIED AS A RESUL
OF BLUNT HEAD INJURIES
WITH DESTRUCTION OF
HIS UNDERLYING BRAIN.
HOW HARD WOULD
SOMEONE HAVE
TO HIT SOMEONE
TO INFLIC
SUCH AN INJURY?
AMAZINGLY HARD.
BEAT MY CHILD TO DEATH.
THEY BEAT HIM
TO DEATH LIKE A DOG.
JUST LIKE A DOG
THEY BEAT HIM TO DEATH.
THEY BEAT UP HIS HEAD
JUST LIKE A DOG.
Narrator:
ON DECEMBER 29, 1979,
ARTHUR McDUFFIE, DRESSED
IN HIS MARINE CORPS UNIFORM,
WAS BURIED WITH
FULL MILITARY HONORS.
NOBODY KNOWS ♪
LORD, THE TROUBLE I SEEN ♪
LORDY, NOBODY KNOWS ♪
Narrator:
BUT PUBLIC OUTCRY OVER HIS DEATH
COULD NOT BE LAID TO REST.
WE HAVE FILED CHARGES TODAY
AGAINST FIVE OFFICERS OF
THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMEN
AS A RESULT OF THE TRAGIC
KILLING OF MR. ARTHUR McDUFFIE
AND THE ENSUING EFFOR
TO COVER UP THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING IT.
Narrator:
SOME OF THE OFFICERS WERE
CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER,
OTHERS WITH TAMPERING
WITH EVIDENCE.
ONE WAS CHARGED
WITH SECOND-DEGREE MURDER.
THE PROSECUTION'S CASE
WAS SUPPORTED BY STATEMENTS
FROM OTHER OFFICERS WHO HAD BEEN
AT THE SCENE THAT NIGHT.
I HAVE GIVEN STATEMENTS
TO THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE,
AND I DO PLAN TO TESTIFY.
WERE YOU GIVEN
IMMUNITY?
I WAS TODAY, YES.
WHAT ARE YOU
GUILTY OF?
I WITNESSED THE INCIDENT.
I HELPED TO COVER IT UP.
I LIED TO THE INTERNAL
REVIEW INVESTIGATORS
INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT.
WE DON'T INTEND
FOR A TRIAL TO BE HAD
WHERE BEFORE THEY GO IN
THEY'VE ALREADY SAID
THAT THESE MEN ARE GUILTY.
Narrator:
LAWYERS FOR THE DEFENDANTS
ASKED FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE.
IN THE SPRING OF 1980, THE TRIAL
WAS MOVED TO TAMPA, FLORIDA,
AND HEARD BY AN ALL-MALE,
ALL-WHITE JURY.
THE DEFENSE MAINTAINED THA
McDUFFIE HAD FOUGHT VIOLENTLY
AND THAT THE OFFICERS USED
ONLY THE FORCE NECESSARY
TO SUBDUE HIM.
FOR WEEKS ON END, THE NEWSPAPERS
AND ESPECIALLY
THE TELEVISION STATIONS
IN THE EVENING WOULD REPOR
WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE TRIAL
SO THAT THE PEOPLE OF MIAMI AND
ESPECIALLY THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WERE PATENTLY AWARE
OF EVERY GRUESOME DETAIL
OF HOW THAT POOR MAN HAD DIED
THAT THEY HELD HIS HEAD,
WHAT KIND OF A FLASHLIGH
WITH HOW MANY BATTERIES,
WHERE THE BLOOD WAS SPLATTERING.
WITH THE IMPAC
OF THE SECOND STRIKE
AS I STATED, I WAS STANDING EAS
OF MR. McDUFFIE
AND MR. MARRERO
I GOT SPLATTERED WITH BLOOD.
MY EXPECTATION,
AS WAS THE EXPECTATION
OF EVERYONE
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY,
WAS THAT THOSE MEN WOULD BE
CONVICTED OF KILLING McDUFFIE.
TO US, THE EVIDENCE APPEARED
TO BE OVERWHELMING
THAT THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE DEATH OF McDUFFIE
AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN
DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY.
Judge:
BAILIFF
THE BAILIFF WILL HAND
THEM TO THE CLERK.
AND PLEASE PLACE THEM
FACE DOWN FOR JUST A MOMENT.
Narrator:
ON MAY 17, 1980,
THE JURY GAVE ITS VERDICT.
MADAME CLERK,
PUBLISH THE VERDICTS.
"WE, THE JURY AT TAMPA,
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY,
"THIS 17th DAY OF MAY, 1980,
FIND THE DEFENDANT ALEX MARRERO
"AS TO SECOND-DEGREE MURDER,
"AS CHARGED IN COUNT ONE
OF THE INFORMATION, NOT GUILTY.
"WE, THE JURY AT TAMPA,
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY,
"THIS 17th DAY OF MAY, 1980,
FIND THE DEFENDANT IRA DIGGS
AS TO MANSLAUGHTER"
Narrator:
THE POLICEMEN WERE CLEARED
OF ALL CHARGES.
Bailiff:
"NOT GUILTY SO SAY WE ALL."
Brown:
WE KNEW THAT A BLACK MAN HAD
BEEN KILLED BY A POLICEMAN.
WE KNEW THE POLICEMEN
WHO WERE PRESENT.
AND YET WHEN THEY HAD THE TRIAL
OF ARTHUR McDUFFIE UP THERE,
THEY CAME BACK
WITH A VERDICT OF "NOT GUILTY,"
THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE NO
GUILTY OF MURDERING THIS MAN.
AND IT WAS JUS
ANOTHER LYNCHING.
I REMEMBER THE McDUFFIE VERDIC
AND I FEEL THAT BLACK WOMEN
WHO HAVE BLACK SONS,
THEY MUST BE FOOLS
BECAUSE THERE SEEMINGLY IS
NO JUSTICE FOR A BLACK MAN.
WE WANT JUSTICE!
WE WANT JUSTICE!
Narrator:
IT WAS NOW FIVE MONTHS SINCE
THE DEATH OF ARTHUR McDUFFIE.
IN MIAMI, PEOPLE BEGAN TO GATHER
OUTSIDE THE JUSTICE BUILDING
TO PROTEST THE VERDICT IN TAMPA.
(crowd chanting, shouting )
Lawrence:
I STOOD IN MY OFFICE WINDOW,
TALKING TO MY DIRECTOR
AT THAT POINT,
AND I LOOK OUT THE WINDOW,
I'M TALKING TO HIM ON THE PHONE,
AND I SAID TO HIM, "YOU'RE
NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS,
"BUT I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE
SEEN SO MANY BLACK FOLK
IN ONE PLACE
THAN I SEE RIGHT NOW."
AND HE SAYS, "WHAT THE HELL
ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
AND I SAID, "IT'S
ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN
BECAUSE THEY'RE MARCHING
DOWN 14th STREET."
Narrator:
THE POLICE TRIED TO RESTRAIN
ANGRY DEMONSTRATORS
OUTSIDE THE JUSTICE BUILDING.
CARS WERE SET ON FIRE.
MORE FIRES WERE STARTED
THROUGHOUT OVERTOWN
AND LIBERTY CITY.
THE POLICE COULDN'T STOP
THE GROWING FUROR.
I WOULD DIRECT OFFICERS
TO SET UP A CERTAIN INTERSECTION
AND I WOULD SAY, "STOP THE
CITIZENS FROM GOING IN THERE.
LET'S SEAL THIS AREA OFF WHERE
THE VIOLENCE HAS TAKEN PLACE."
AND THEY WOULD COME
BACK ON THE RADIO
AND SAY, "I'M NOT STAYING HERE,
I'M BEING SHOT AT.
"I'M PULLING OUT OF HERE.
YOU GET SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO IT."
AND LOOKING BACK ON IT,
I CAN'T BLAME THEM.
WE WERE TOTALLY OVERWHELMED
BY THE ANGER AND THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE THAT WERE ANGRY
AND THE VIOLENCE
THAT WAS TAKING PLACE.
Narrator:
IN LIBERTY CITY, WHITE-OWNED
BUSINESSES WERE BURNED.
INDIVIDUAL WHITES ALSO
BECAME TARGETS FOR VIOLENCE.
Man:
WHAT'S GOING ON
DOWN THERE?
WHAT DO YOU
SEE DOWN THERE?
THEY'RE ANGRY OVER
THE RESULTS OF McDUFFIE.
THEY'RE ANGRY,
AND THEY'RE EMOTIONAL
AND ANYTHING THAT LOOK LIKE I
MIGHT BE CAUCASIAN
THEY'RE THROWING BRICKS
AND ROCKS AND SHOOTING.
THEY'RE FOR REAL.
THERE'S TWO CAUCASIANS
LAYING IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE STREET RIGHT NOW.
TWO PEOP
ARE LAYING DOWN.
RIGHT NOW
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.
DON'T GO UP THERE.
MATTER OF FACT,
YOU'RE TOO CLOSE.
Narrator:
THE RIOT LASTED THREE DAYS.
17 PEOPLE DIED
TEN BLACK, SEVEN WHITE.
MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE
WERE ARRESTED,
MOST OF THEM WITH
NO PREVIOUS ARREST RECORD.
BECAUSE I AIN'T DID NOTHING!
WHAT I DID?
WHAT I DID?
WHAT I DID?
JUST TELL ME WHAT I DID.
I DID SOMETHING?
Y'ALL GOING TO PUT ME IN JAIL?
Y'ALL GOING TO LET A WHITE
BOY TAKE ME LIKE THIS?
I GIVE UP.
I GIVE UP.
LET ME GET IN OF MY
FREE WILL, WILL YOU?
LET ME GET IN OF MY FREE WILL!
WOULD YOU?!
LET ME GET IN
FROM MY FREE WILL!
I'M TELLING YOU NOW!
Man:
WHAT ARE
YOU DOING?
LOOK AT THIS BLACK BOY.
Man:
YOU BETTER NOT HIT HIM.
YOU BETTER NOT HIT HIM.
YOU RIGHT UP THERE WITH YOUR
STICK, YOU BETTER NOT HIT HIM.
Narrator:
PROPERTY DAMAGE IN OVERTOWN
AND LIBERTY CITY
RAN TO NEARLY $100 MILLION.
THEY LOST, MAN,
ALL THE WAY AROUND.
THEY CAN KEEP GOING,
BUT THEY LOSING, JACK.
IT'S A LOSING BATTLE, BECAUSE
YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE, MAN,
WHEN WE HAD THE RALLY DOWNTOWN,
WE HAD ENOUGH PEOPLE THERE
FOR SOME POSITIVE
THINGS TO GET DONE.
IF THEY COULD HAVE EXERTED
ALL THEIR ENERGY
INTO SOME POSITIVE, MAN,
HEY, NO TELLING WHERE
WE COULD HAVE WENT.
WE COULD HAVE WEN
A LONG DAMN WAY WITH THAT, MAN.
WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE
THAT EVEN
NO MATTER HOW WELL INTENTIONED
PEOPLE ARE,
THAT WE HAVE TO SOLVE
OUR OWN PROBLEMS ULTIMATELY.
I MEAN, AT BEST, WE CAN RECEIVE
SOME ASSISTANCE IN DOING THAT,
BUT THE SOLUTION HAS TO BE OURS
AND ULTIMATELY, WE HAVE
TO IMPLEMENT THE SOLUTION.
Narrator:
THREE WEEKS LATER,
PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER ME
WITH CITY OFFICIALS AND LEADERS.
HE WANTED MIAMI
TO TAKE STRONG LOCAL ACTION
BEFORE HE COMMITTED FEDERAL
FUNDS TO REBUILD
RIOT-TORN AREAS.
WE HAVE LONG-TERM
PROBLEMS HERE TO ADDRESS.
THE PRIME INITIATIVE MUST COME
FROM THIS COMMUNITY.
IT CANNOT COME FROM WASHINGTON.
AND THE COMMUNITY MUST REALIZE
THAT VIOLENCE AND DISSENSION
AND DESTRUCTION HURTS MOS
THOSE WHO ARE LEAST ABLE
TO AFFORD IT.
Narrator:
CARTER HAD BEEN ELECTED
WITH SUBSTANTIAL SUPPOR
IN THE NATION'S BLACK COMMUNITY.
BUT NOW THE CROWD WHICH LINED
THE STREET OUTSIDE WAS ANGRY
THAT NO ONE SEEMED
TO BE ADDRESSING THE INJUSTICE
WHICH LED TO
THE RECENT UPRISING.
AS THE PRESIDEN
LEFT THE MEETING,
A BOTTLE THROWN FROM THE CROWD
SMASHED ON THE LIMOUSINE'S ROOF.
Man:
THE INCIDENT ITSELF
WAS AN IGNORANT ACT.
BUT THERE'S A POINT BEHIND IT,
AND MAYBE THEY HAD NO OTHER WAY
TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES,
OR BE HEARD.
Reporter:
AND THE POINT IS?
THAT WE NEED HELP.
Narrator:
HELP HAD ALWAYS COME
FROM WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
AND AT TIMES FROM ALLIES
IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
NOW THE COMMUNITY
WAS IN JEOPARDY
AND THE GOVERNMEN
WAS CHANGING PRIORITIES.
Speaker:
IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO PRESEN
TO YOU GOVERNOR REAGAN.
Narrator:
IT WAS AN ELECTION YEAR,
AND PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER
WAS CHALLENGED
IN HIS BID FOR RE-ELECTION
BY GOVERNOR RONALD REAGAN
OF CALIFORNIA.
WHILE CAMPAIGNING
IN PHILADELPHIA, MISSISSIPPI,
HE PROMISED A MORE
CONSERVATIVE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
I'M GOING TO DEVOTE MYSELF
TO TRYING TO REORDER
THOSE PRIORITIES
AND TO RESTORE TO STATES
AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES
THOSE FUNCTIONS
WHICH PROPERLY BELONG THERE.
Crowd chanting:
REAGAN!
Narrator:
REAGAN WAS ELECTED
BY A SUBSTANTIAL MAJORITY,
AN ELECTION WHICH
SIGNALED AN AGGRESSIVE SHIF
IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS
AND POLICIES.
Man:
JUST LAST NIGH
OUR PRESIDENT HAS ANNOUNCED
THE FIRST OF 13 BILLION
ADDITIONAL CUTS,
A PART OF $100 BILLION IN CUTS
IN PROGRAMS THAT ARE VITAL
TO THE ROLE OF GOVERNMEN
TO CARE, PROTECT AND DEFEND
THE POOR OF OUR NATION
AND OUR WORLD.
Demonstrators:
WE'RE FIRED UP,
WE AIN'T TAKING NO MORE!
WE'RE FIRED UP, WE AIN'
TAKING NO MORE!
Narrator:
IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,
A GRASSROOTS COALITION BEGAN
TO FIGHT BACK
AGAINST WHAT IT SAW AS
GOVERNMENT'S LACK OF CONCERN.
THE COALITION HAD ITS ORIGINS
IN THIS 1979 SNOWSTORM,
WHEN MICHAEL BILANDIC WAS MAYOR.
BILANDIC WENT ON TV
AND MADE A LOT OF PROMISES
ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING TO
HAPPEN WITH THE SNOW,
BECAUSE IT WAS UNUSUALLY HIGH.
IT HAD PARALYZED NEIGHBORHOODS,
IT HAD CLOSED SCHOOLS,
AND IT MADE
TRANSPORTATION IMPOSSIBLE.
PEOPLE WERE STANDING
ON EL PLATFORMS
AND I'LL NEVER FORGE
THAT EVENING,
AT 4:00 IN THE EVENING,
HE ORDERED THOSE ELS NOT TO STOP
IN BLACK COMMUNITIES.
IT WAS THE SAME ON THE SOUTH
SIDE AND EVERY SIDE OF TOWN
TO PASS UP THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
Man:
GIVE THE SOUTH SIDE
SOME SERVICE.
YOU'RE NOT GIVING
THE SOUTH SIDE ANY SERVICE.
AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY
PEOPLE BECAME IRATE
BECAUSE IT WAS A PERSONAL
AFFRONT, A PERSONAL INSUL
AND THEY WENT TO WAR.
Narrator:
JANE BYRNE WAS RUNNING FOR
MAYOR AGAINST MICHAEL BILANDIC.
SHE FOUND STRONG SUPPOR
ON THE ELEVATED TRAIN PLATFORMS.
Byrne:
SO I WENT TO THE PEOPLE.
AND WHERE DO YOU SEE
THE MOST PEOPLE?
YOU SEE THEM
GOING TO WORK IN THE MORNING.
YOU SEE THEM GOING
INTO THE FACTORIES.
SO YEAH, I WAS UP
ON THE EL PLATFORMS.
Narrator:
WITH STRONG SUPPOR
FROM BLACK VOTERS,
JANE BYRNE WENT ON TO BECOME
CHICAGO'S FIRST WOMAN MAYOR.
AND I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY
TO TAKE THE ADVICE
OF THE COALITION
THAT PUT ME IN AS MAYOR,
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY
AND THE PEOPLE
IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.
Narrator:
AFTER TWO YEARS
OF BYRNE'S LEADERSHIP,
MANY IN THE BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS
CHARGED THAT THEY WERE
UNDERREPRESENTED
IN HER APPOINTMENTS
AND IN CITY JOBS AND CONTRACTS.
ANOTHER CONFLICT DEVELOPED
HERE AT CABRINI GREEN.
IN THIS PUBLIC HOUSING COMPLEX,
NEARLY 14,000 PEOPLE LIVED
WITHIN SIX SQUARE BLOCKS.
THEY WERE PLAGUED BY HIGH
UNEMPLOYMENT, A HIGH CRIME RATE
AND GANG VIOLENCE.
IN 1981, JANE BYRNE ANNOUNCED
THAT SHE WAS MOVING IN.
I'M GOING TO STRAIGHTEN OU
PROJECT LIVING IN THIS CITY,
WE CAN HARM THE WHOLE CITY,
AND I'M NOT GOING TO HAVE IT.
NOW YOU GOING TO BRING YOURSELF
UP INTO THE PUBLIC HOUSING
COMMUNITY
AND TELL US THAT ONLY YOU
CAN SAVE OUR CHILDREN?
THAT'S THE ULTIMATE
OF DISRESPECT, OKAY.
AND I WAS NOT GOING
TO GET READY FOR THAT.
I COULD NOT ACCEPT THA
BECAUSE, SEE, I UNDERSTOOD
THAT IF WE HAD ALLOWED
THESE CHILDREN TO BELIEVE
THAT THEIR SALVATION
WAS GOING TO COME
FROM THE GREAT WHITE HOPE,
THEN WHAT DID THAT SAY
ABOUT ME AS A MOTHER,
AS A GRANDMOTHER,
AND AS A BLACK WOMAN?
Man:
MADAME PRESIDENT,
MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL,
THE TENANTS MAY ALSO HAVE
A PROBLEM RELATING
TO THE NEW NEIGHBOR,
BASED ON THE FACT THAT,
MADAME MAYOR, YOU WILL HAVE
YOUR BODYGUARDS,
LIMOUSINE WITH A TAIL CAR,
BULLETPROOF GLASS
THAT'S BEEN INSTALLED,
AND I UNDERSTAND A NEW DRIVEWAY
THAT'S GOING TO BE PUT IN THERE.
I DON'T THINK THAT MOS
OF THOSE PEOPLE THERE
CAN RELATE TO THA
SORT OF SITUATION.
ALDERMAN KELLY, THEY HAVE MANY
VACANCIES IN CABRINI GREEN
AT THE PRESENT TIME.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT A GENERAL
ON THE FRONT LINE,
YOU CAN USE ANY OF
THE APARTMENTS THERE
ANYTIME YOU WOULD LIKE
TO ALSO GET A FIRSTHAND VIEW.
THANK YOU.
I DON'T NEED TO DO THAT.
Narrator:
MAYOR BYRNE LIVED IN CABRINI
GREEN FOR THREE WEEKS.
PUBLIC HOUSING WAS MANAGED BY
THE CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY.
THE CHAIRMAN OF C.H.A. WAS
CHARLES SWIBEL.
Stamps:
SWIBEL WAS NOT PROVIDING
ANY SERVICES IN PUBLIC HOUSING
AND HE VERY SELDOM TALKED
TO ANY OF THE RESIDENTS.
THEREFORE, THE PEOPLE HAD
NO OPPORTUNITY OR NO RECOURSE
IN TERMS OF HOW THEY ADDRESS
THEIR CONCERNS
Narrator:
PUBLIC OUTCRY OVER
HIS PERFORMANCE
FORCED CHARLES SWIBEL TO RESIGN.
BUT THE FUROR CONTINUED
WHEN MAYOR BYRNE
REPLACED HIM WITH ANDREW MOONEY.
AT THE SAME TIME, THE MAYOR
EXPANDED THE C.H.A. BOARD,
APPOINTING TWO WHITE WOMEN.
AND I DIDN'T MAKE THE SWITCH
TO PUT THOSE TWO WHITE WOMEN ON
THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS HEAR ABOU
UNTIL AFTER
I LIVED THERE AND AFTER I SAW
THAT IT WAS A VERY,
VERY WOMAN-DOMINATED SOCIETY.
Narrator:
THE ISSUE BECAME
ONE OF REPRESENTATION.
85% OF THE RESIDENTS
IN PUBLIC HOUSING WERE BLACK.
MAYOR BYRNE'S APPOINTMENTS
MADE THE C.H.A. BOARD
PREDOMINANTLY WHITE.
Woman:
AND YOU HAVE NO INTENTION
IN DEALING WITH THE BES
INTERESTS OF THE TENANTS.
WE ARE SAYING THIS IS
AN ILLEGAL MEETING.
IT DOES NOT REPRESEN
THE TENANTS,
AND THE MEETING IS OVER WITH.
AIN'T GOING TO BE NO MORE
MEETING TODAY.
(shouting, commotion )
IT WAS WILD.
BUT, OF COURSE,
THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED
ALL THREE OF THEM ANYWAY.
WHAT HAPPENED, THOUGH,
WAS THAT WE SAID
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED.
THIS SHOWS BLACK PEOPLE,
UNLESS WE REGISTER TO VOTE,
OF EVER OVERTURNING
THIS KIND OF OPPRESSION.
Narrator:
VOTER REGISTRATION
WAS ALSO AN ISSUE
IN THE SPRING OF 1982,
WHEN THE ILLINOIS
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC AID
REDUCED THE FUNDS AVAILABLE
FOR RECIPIENTS.
WE TOOK A GROUP
TO PUBLIC AID, TO SPRINGFIELD,
TO THE LEGISLATORS,
ABOUT THE PUBLIC AID CUTBACK.
AND, SO WE WERE TOLD
BY THE LEGISLATOR,
"YOUR PEOPLE DON'T VOTE,"
YOU KNOW, WHICH WAS THE TRUTH.
THESE PUBLIC AID PEOPLE
WERE NOT VOTING,
AND WE JUST CAME BACK
AND TOOK THAT AS A LEAD
TO ORGANIZE PUBLIC AID
RECIPIENTS TO VOTE.
WE HAD A MEETING;
SAID THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
TO GET SOME RESPEC
OUT OF THESE POLITICIANS.
THE ONLY THING THA
THEY RESPECT IS VOTES.
AND WE'LL HAVE TO GE
OUR OWN FOLKS REGISTERED.
WE FORMED A GROUP CALLED "POWER"
WITH ABOUT 23 COMMUNITY-BASED
ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE CITY
AND DETERMINED
TO GO REGISTER PEOPLE
AT THE PUBLIC AID AND
UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICES.
IT'LL TAKE
TWO MINUTES.
Narrator:
A VOTER REGISTRATION EFFOR
BEGAN
ON THE STREETS OF CHICAGO.
BEHIND THE SCENES,
LEADERS FOCUSED
ON THE NEED
FOR WORTHY CANDIDATES.
WE WERE UP HERE
IN THIS VERY ROOM
TALKING ONE NIGH
IN OUR REGULAR MEETING.
AND WE HAD A LIST OF BLACK
MAYORS ON THE WALL.
THERE WERE MORE THAN
200 BLACK MAYORS.
SOMEBODY SAID, "WHY CAN'T WE
HAVE A BLACK MAYOR IN CHICAGO?"
AND I THINK WE WERE DEALING
WITH NOT SO MUCH AS WHO
AS TO WHAT WE WANTED,
WHAT KIND OF PERSON WE WANTED.
WE WAS FIRST IRONING
ALL OF THAT OU
AND THEN, I THINK I
WAS LU OR SOMEBODY
THAT TALKED ABOUT, "LET'S
LOOK AT HAROLD WASHINGTON."
Narrator:
HAROLD WASHINGTON RAN
FOR MAYOR IN 1977,
FOLLOWING THE DEATH
OF MAYOR RICHARD J. DALEY.
HE LOST.
THIS IS CONGRESSMAN
HAROLD WASHINGTON
SPEAKING TO YOU FROM CHICAGO.
Narrator:
NOW HE WAS
THE UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN
FROM CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE.
SECURE IN HIS NATIONAL POST,
HE WAS RELUCTAN
TO RUN AGAIN FOR MAYOR.
THE REAL ISSUE WITH HAROLD WAS:
DID WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY
TO MAKE BLACK PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON
AND WHAT COULD HAPPEN?
IT HAD NOTHING TO DO
WITH THE INCIDENTS.
BLACK PEOPLE HAD BEEN INSULTED
EVERY KIND OF WAY YOU CAN INSUL
BLACK PEOPLE.
OVER THE YEARS THEY HAD
BEEN INSULTED DAILY,
PLUNDERED BY EXAMPLE
AFTER EXAMPLE
AND IT TENDED TO JUS
WASH OVER THEIR HEADS
AND THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND, THEY
DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT,
THEY CARED, BUT THEN
THEY DIDN'T CARE.
IT WAS LIKE, "WELL, WHA
CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS?"
AND SO HAROLD WAS SAYING, "LOOK,
IF WE'RE GOING TO END UP
WITH PEOPLE HAVING
THE SAME REACTION,
WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE
TO PULL IT OFF."
I ALSO BELIEVE IN AN IDEA
THAT WHEN AN IDEA
WHOSE MOMENT COMES,
WHEN THAT MOMENT TRULY COMES,
NOTHING
NOTHING
NOTHING CAN TURN IT AROUND
OR CHASE IT AWAY.
(applause )
Narrator:
BLACK LEADERS TESTED
THE COMMUNITY'S FEELINGS
ABOUT WHO SHOULD RUN FOR MAYOR.
A FIELD OF SIX NAMES
WAS PRESENTED
TO THIS MEETING
ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE.
SO, IN ESSENCE WHAT WE DID WAS
TO PRESENT THOSE SIX NAMES.
WE DID NOT HAVE THE PEOPLE,
THOSE SIX PEOPLE THERE,
BUT WE JUST PRESENTED THEIR
NAMES AND THE PEOPLE VOTED.
ONCE AGAIN, HAROLD WASHINGTON
WAS FAR AND AWAY
THE NUMBER ONE CHOICE.
IT TOOK A LOT OF DOING TO GE
HAROLD TO SHOW UP THERE
AND ONLY AFTER A PREARRANGEMEN
BETWEEN MYSELF AND LU
THAT HAROLD WOULD NOT BE FORCED
TO DECLARE HIS CANDIDACY
DID HAROLD FINALLY AGREE TO SHOW
AND WITH GREA
RELUCTANCE HE CAME
AND MADE ONE HELL OF A SPEECH,
ABSOLUTELY ELECTRIFYING SPEECH.
AT THAT MEETING,
HAROLD MADE A STRANGE SPEECH.
IT WAS REALLY A STRANGE SPEECH.
HE STARTED TALKING ABOUT, "IT'S
NOT THE MAN, IT'S THE PLAN."
AND WHEN HE FINISHED SPEAKING,
I WALKED OVER TO HAROLD.
I SAID, "WHAT ARE
YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
I SAID, "WHAT'S THIS 'MAN
AND THE PLAN' BUSINESS
"AND WHEN ARE YOU
GOING TO GIVE US
A KIND OF A CONCRETE
TIME FRAME?"
HAROLD SAID TO ME
ON THE PLATFORM OF BETHEL
WHILE THE PROGRAM WAS STILL
GOING ON, HAROLD SAID,
"I I'M NOT GOING TO RUN."
AND I LOOKED AT HAROLD
THUNDERSTRUCK.
WE WERE ABLE TO SI
HAROLD BACK DOWN AND SAY,
"IF YOU WERE TO RUN,
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO SHOW YOU
THAT PEOPLE WERE
REALLY SERIOUS?"
AND THIS WAS, OF COURSE, PAR
OF A PREARRANGED PROPOSITION.
HE SAID, "50,000 NEW REGISTRANTS
AND $100,000."
FINE, THEN WE LET HAROLD GO.
I STAYED AND WE WORKED THROUGH
HOW WE WERE GOING
TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.
Narrator:
THE REGISTRATION EFFOR
CONTINUED,
NOW WITH A GOAL
OF 50,000 NEW VOTERS
BY THE REGISTRATION
DEADLINE OF OCTOBER 5.
AND I HAD NEVER HAD
A CONVERSATION
WITH RENAULT ROBINSON BEFORE.
SO, HE CAME BY AND HE EXPLAINED
THE WHOLE PROBLEM.
HE SAID, "WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO
ANYTHING TO CHANGE THIS CITY
"BECAUSE WE'RE NOT REGISTERED.
"250,000 BLACK CHICAGOANS
NEED TO BE REGISTERED.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?"
MY SON AND DAUGHTER TERRY SAID,
"LOOK, DAD,
WHY DON'T WE ALLOCATE
OUR LAST-QUARTER ADVERTISEMEN
DOLLARS TO VOTER REGISTRATION?"
WE RAN RADIO COMMERCIALS
FOR TWO OR THREE WEEKS.
COME ALIVE OCTOBER 5!
MAKE A PLAN TO MAKE A MOVE. ♪
BUT ALSO, ONCE WE ADVERTISED
ON A STATION,
WE HAD THE STATION ALSO MATCH
OUR SPOTS.
SO WE HAD A LARGE NUMBER
OF SPOTS EVERY DAY.
WE HAD THAT POWER AND THE
STRENGTH AS A MAJOR ADVERTISER
TO GET THEM TO DO THIS.
I JUST REGISTERED, I DIDN'T VOTE
LAST TIME AND I HATE IT,
I REGRET IT.
Reporter:
WHY?
BECAUSE OF THE LEADERS WE GOT.
REAGAN CUTTING EVERYTHING,
THOMPSON'S CUTTING EVERYTHING,
BYRNE'S CUTTING EVERYTHING.
SO WHEN I VOTE, I'M GOING
TO TEAR THE MACHINE DOWN.
COME ALIVE OCTOBER 5! ♪
MAKE A PLAN TO MAKE A MOVE ♪
COME ALIVE, COME ALIVE! ♪
GET IN THAT VOTER'S
REGISTRATION GROOVE ♪
COME ALIVE OCTOBER 5! ♪
GET WITH IT, C'MON, GET HIP ♪
COME ALIVE, COME ALIVE! ♪
TAKE THE VOTER'S
REGISTRATION TRIP ♪
COME ALIVE OCTOBER 5! ♪
COME ALIVE OCTOBER 5! ♪
WHAT MADE YOU
STOP BY TO REGISTER?
BECAUSE I'M 22 YEARS OLD
AND I HAVEN'T REGISTERED
TO VOTE YET.
I THINK
IT'S ABOUT LONG OVERDUE.
COME ALIVE OCTOBER 5! ♪
Narrator:
BY OCTOBER 5, VOTING ROLLS
SWELLED TO INCLUDE
MORE THAN 100,000 NEWLY
REGISTERED BLACK VOTERS
TWICE THE NUMBER REQUIRED
BY HAROLD WASHINGTON.
ON NOVEMBER 10, 1982,
WASHINGTON ANNOUNCED
HIS LONG-AWAITED DECISION.
I HAVE BEEN URGED BY THE EARNES
PLEAS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
TO ENTER THIS RACE.
THEREFORE, I HEREBY
DECLARE MY CANDIDACY
FOR MAYOR OF
THE CITY OF CHICAGO.
Narrator:
THE 1983 DEMOCRATIC RACE
FOR MAYOR WOULD INCLUDE
HAROLD WASHINGTON,
MAYOR JANE BYRNE
AND RICHARD M. DALEY, SON OF
THE LATE MAYOR DALEY OF CHICAGO.
BUT THE QUESTION REMAINED:
COULD HAROLD WASHINGTON GE
THE NEW VOTERS TO THE POLLS
ON ELECTION DAY?
IF THE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN US
WILL TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES
TO TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE,
WE COULD DISPEL THIS BUSINESS
ABOUT I CAN'T WIN.
WE GOT THE VOTES OUT HERE,
WHY CAN'T I WIN?
IT'S SIMPLY SAYING THA
PEOPLE WON'T COME OUT AND VOTE.
WE HAVE 670,000 BLACK
REGISTERED VOTERS IN THIS CITY.
YOU KNOW HOW MANY VOTES
I NEED TO WIN THIS CAMPAIGN?
DO YOU KNOW HOW
MANY VOTES I NEED?
450,000 VOTES
AND I CAN WALK IN.
WE GOT 670,000
OUT HERE.
AND WE HAVE NEVER ARGUED
THAT WE WANT ANYTHING
SHORT OF A COALITION.
WHEN YOU GET RIGHT DOWN
TO IT, THE VOTES ARE HERE.
THEY'RE HERE.
IT WAS TRULY
A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN
IN THE STRICT SENSE OF THE WORD.
IN ALL OF MY YEARS OF BEING
INVOLVED IN POLITICS
I HAD NEVER SEEN SUCH
AN OUTPOURING OF SUPPOR
FROM PEOPLE, MANY OF WHOM HAD
NEVER REALLY BEEN INVOLVED
IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS.
THERE WERE TEACHERS FOR HAROLD,
BARBERS FOR HAROLD,
BEAUTICIANS FOR HAROLD,
TAXICAB DRIVERS FOR HAROLD.
LET'S ALL FEEL GOOD
ABOUT CHICAGO AGAIN ♪
WITH WASHINGTON FOR MAYOR,
EVERYBODY CAN WIN ♪
WIN, WIN, CHICAGO CAN WIN ♪
WASHINGTON CAN DO IT ♪
FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS,
HE'S THE ONE WHO WE CHOOSE ♪
WITH WASHINGTON FOR MAYOR,
CHICAGO CAN'T LOSE ♪
WIN, WIN, CHICAGO CAN WIN. ♪
WIN, WIN, CHICAGO CAN WIN. ♪
Narrator:
A WASHINGTON WIN
WOULD NOT COME EASILY.
HIS CAMPAIGN LOST THE SUPPOR
OF LEADING DEMOCRATS.
JANE BYRNE WAS ENDORSED
BY SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY,
A PAST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
FUTURE PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE WALTER MONDALE
ENDORSED RICHARD DALEY.
Jackson:
THERE WAS A SENSE THAT WE HAD
BEEN ABANDONED BY LIBERALS.
IF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE
LIBERALS, MONDALE AND KENNEDY,
HAD THIS DISREGARD FOR
WHAT THE CHICAGO MOVEMENT MEANT,
WE COULD ONLY CHANGE THA
BY BECOMING THEIR PEERS.
THAT MEANT SOMEONE HAD TO BEGIN
TO RUN AGAINST THEM
IN THE PRIMARIES.
IT WAS OUT OF THAT CONTEX
OF FIGHTING FOR HAROLD
AND FIGHTING AGAINS
LIBERAL CONTEMP
THAT MY OWN CANDIDACY EMERGED
OUT OF THIS CRUCIBLE,
OUT OF THIS PROCESS.
Narrator:
JANE BYRNE HELD A COMMANDING
LEAD IN THE POLLS.
BUT TWO WEEKS BEFORE
THE PRIMARY,
WASHINGTON'S SUPPORTERS SHOWED
THEIR INCREASING STRENGTH.
15,000 ATTENDED THIS RALLY.
YOU WANT HAROLD?
(crowd cheers )
YOU GOT HIM!
(crowd cheers )
Narrator:
AS WASHINGTON GAINED ON BYRNE,
THE MAYOR'S ADVISORS PROPOSED
A STRATEGY TO APPEAL
TO WHITE VOTERS.
Byrne:
WE HAD TO GET ON TV, THE EMOTION
THAT WAS REALLY TAKING PLACE
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY, SO
THAT PEOPLE BEGAN TO SAY
"HAROLD IS A REAL
CHALLENGE HERE."
SO MY PRESS SECRETARY
MADE AN ANNOUNCEMEN
THAT I WAS CANCELING TO THIS
DAY I THINK IT WAS STUPID
THAT I WAS CANCELING ALL MY
STOPS IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY,
ALL OF THEM, AND I WAS GOING
STRICTLY TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY
TO SHORE UP MY VOTE, WITH THE
THOUGHT IF I WENT NOWHERE ELSE
UNDER EQUAL TIME, THEY
WOULD HAVE TO PUT ON
WHAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING
OUT THERE TO JANE BYRNE
WHEN SHE WEN
INTO THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
Man:
THE SNOW QUEEN
HAS RETURNED TO THE SCENE,
BUT NOT FOR LONG.
IN THIS BUILDING
WE'RE GOING TO PUNCH
29 FOR MARION STAMPS
AND PUNCH NINE
FOR HAROLD WASHINGTON.
Crowd chanting:
WE WANT WASHINGTON!
WE WANT WASHINGTON!
Byrne:
I MEAN, FORGET IT FORGET IT!
"HAROLD! HAROLD! HAROLD!"
AND THEY WANTED
THAT ON THE TUBE.
AND THAT WAY THEY THOUGH
PEOPLE WOULD KNOW, OKAY?
THAT WE'VE GOT A REAL RACE HERE.
I GOT UP ONE SATURDAY,
A WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTION,
I WAS ALL SET TO VOTE
FOR JANE BYRNE FOR MAYOR.
AND MY RADIO NORMALLY DON'
BE TURNED TO A TALK SHOW,
BUT THIS MORNING IT WAS
ON OPERATION PUSH.
SO I WAS LISTENING
TO JESSE JACKSON SPEAK
AND HAROLD WASHINGTON CAME
ON THE RADIO.
I NEVER SAW HIS FACE.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS
RUNNING AGAINST JANE BYRNE
AS FAR AS COLOR OF SKIN,
AND HE SPOKE.
SO I SIT DOWN.
HE WAS SPEAKING SO CLEARLY
AND FOR THE ALL OF THE CITY
AND THE PEOPLE.
I SIT DOWN ON THE COUCH
AND I WENT TO LISTENING
TO THIS MAN SPEAK
AND WHAT BROUGHT ME
OUT OF THIS TRANCE
WAS MY BURNT BISCUITS.
THE BISCUITS WAS BURNING
IN MY OVEN
AND I SENT MY CHILDREN
TO THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER
IN THE NEXT BUILDING TO GE
LITERATURE ON HAROLD WASHINGTON.
ON ELECTION DAY,
I'M IN MY OFFICE
AND AN OLD MAN WALKED IN
ON THOSE WALKERS AND SAID,
"COULD I JUST RES
FOR A MINUTE?"
I SAID, "CERTAINLY."
I SAID, "ARE YOU
ON YOUR WAY TO VOTE?"
HE SAID, "YES."
I SAID, "WE'LL TAKE YOU
TO THE POLLS."
YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MAN SAID?
HE SAID, "NO, I WANT TO GO ON
MY OWN AND VOTE FOR THAT BOY."
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES ♪
Narrator:
ON FEBRUARY 22, 1983,
HAROLD WASHINGTON WON
CHICAGO'S DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY.
THE GRASSROOTS
ORGANIZING HAD WORKED.
79% OF THE REGISTERED
BLACK VOTERS
WENT TO THE POLLS THAT DAY.
YOU WANT HAROLD?
(crowd cheers )
YOU'VE REALLY GOT HIM NOW.
Crowd chanting:
WE WANT HAROLD!
MANY OF US HAVE TO REMEMBER HOW
WE WERE ABLE
TO ELECT HAROLD WASHINGTON.
WE DIDN'T GE
A POPULAR CANDIDATE FIRST.
WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT ISSUES
THAT WERE OF CONCERN
TO PEOPLE THROUGHOUT CHICAGO.
WE BUILT A COALITION;
WE REGISTERED VOTERS.
WE HAD A MOVEMENT, IF YOU WILL,
THAT GOT TRANSFORMED
INTO A FAIRLY SOPHISTICATED
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
AND THEN WE HAD A CANDIDATE
WHO COULD DRIVE IT FORWARD.
I THINK THAT FORMULA WORKED
IN CHICAGO IN '83.
IT WILL WORK IN OTHER MAJOR
CITIES AROUND THIS COUNTRY
IF IT'S FOLLOWED
BECAUSE I THINK
IT'S A BLUEPRINT FOR VICTORY.
Narrator:
SEVEN WEEKS LATER,
HAROLD WASHINGTON WAS ELECTED
CHICAGO'S FIRST BLACK MAYOR.
THE ELECTION WAS ABOUT US
GAINING CONTROL
OF OUR OWN COMMUNITY
REAL SIMPLE.
AND THE NIGHT THA
MAYOR WASHINGTON WAS ELECTED
I MEAN, THE PEOPLE IN CABRINI,
IT WAS A MAJOR CELEBRATION.
WE DANCED IN THE STREET;
WE DANCED IN THE STREET.
ABSOLUTELY, IT WAS THE GREATES
FEELING WE EVER HAD IN LIFE.
EVERYBODY FELT EMPOWERED.
I FELT LIKE I WAS
A PART OF SOMETHING.
HE SAY, YOU KNOW, WE WERE
MAKING HISTORY, YOU KNOW.
SO, I WAS A PART OF IT.
I WAS THE SMALL PERSON
IN THE CORNER
THAT WOULDN'T GET THE BIG
HEADLINES, BUT I MADE IT HAPPEN.
Narrator:
MANY PEOPLE MADE
THE MOVEMENT HAPPEN
ORDINARY PEOPLE
WHO STOOD UP TO INJUSTICE
AND INSPIRED OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
OH, DEEP IN MY HEART ♪
Man:
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.
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.
Officer:
HALT! HALT!
Crowd:
WE WANT FREEDOM ♪
Narrator:
ON THE JOURNEY TO FREEDOM,
THEY WON BATTLES
THAT BECAME
UNIVERSAL IN THEIR MEANING.
M.L. King, Jr.:
THE DECISION RENDERED
BY THE SUPREME COURT YESTERDAY
WAS A VICTORY.
IT WASN'T MERELY A VICTORY FOR
16 MILLION NEGROES OF AMERICA.
THAT WAS A VICTORY FOR JUSTICE.
AIN'T GONNA LET NOBODY
TURN ME ROUND ♪
Narrator:
IN THE EARLY 1960s,
THE BATTLE FOR JUSTICE RAGED.
Woman:
IS THIS AMERICA, THE LAND OF THE
FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE,
WHERE OUR LIVES BE THREATENED
DAILY BECAUSE WE WANT TO LIVE
AS DECENT HUMAN
BEINGS IN AMERICA?
OUR PROBLEM IS NOT 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.
KEEP ON PUSHIN' ♪
Narrator:
IN THE 1970s AND '80s,
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUED,
BRINGING AMERICA CLOSER
TO THE PROMISES IT MADE.
DESPITE THE RESISTANCE, THE
MOVEMENT COULD NOT BE STOPPED.
IN 1964, I WEN
TO ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY,
CHALLENGING THE REGULAR
DEMOCRATIC PARTY,
TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO KNOW
THAT WE HAD BEEN DENIED
THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.
BY NINETEEN AND EIGHTY-FOUR,
I WAS ASKED TO SPEAK
IN THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC
CONVENTION IN SAN FRANCISCO.
IT'S BEEN A LONG HAUL,
BUT I HAVE COME
FROM THE OUTSIDE TO THE INSIDE,
AND NOW TO THE PODIUM.
Blackwell:
I FELT TEARS, BECAUSE
FANNIE LOU HAMER SHOULD
HAVE BEEN STANDING THERE.
SHE WAS STANDING THERE, IN US
IN ME, IN JESSE, IN ALL OF US.
Jackson:
OUR FLAG IS RED, WHITE AND BLUE,
BUT OUR NATION IS RAINBOW RED,
YELLOW, BROWN, BLACK AND WHITE.
WE'RE ALL PRECIOUS
IN GOD'S SIGHT.
Blackwell:
THAT'S WHAT I FELT
THAT I WAS STANDING THERE
FOR ALL WHO HAD DIED,
ALL WHO WOULD LIVE,
ALL FOR THE GENERATION TO COME.
Narrator:
IN LESS THAN TWO GENERATIONS,
THE MOVEMENT MADE
A BEAUTIFUL BEGINNING
AND SEN
A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD.
Woman:
WHEN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
IS NO LONGER NEEDED, AND WE ASK
OURSELVES WHAT DID IT MEAN,
IT SEEMS TO ME
THE ANSWER WILL MEAN
THAT IT MEAN
SOMETHING UNIVERSAL.
IT MEANT SOMETHING
BEYOND CHICAGO
AND DETROIT AND MISSISSIPPI.
OUR OWN FREEDOM
IS PRECIOUS AND IMPORTANT.
BUT IN THE END, WHAT GIVES
OUR MOVEMENT ITS MAJESTY
IS THE EXAMPLE IT SET THROUGHOU
THE WORLD FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR
AND FOR PEOPLE WHO
IN ANY WAY WERE OPPRESSED
AND FOUND IN THA
EXAMPLE A REASON
TO HOPE AND STRIVE
FOR A DIFFERENT LIFE.
Man:
I'M GRATEFUL FOR ANYBODY
WHITE, BLACK,
YELLOW, RED, BROWN
ANYBODY WHO'S
GOING TO DO SOMETHING
TO STOP THESE KIDS
FROM DYING FROM DRUGS.
Narrator:
THE MOVEMENT IS NOT YET OVER;
THE STORY IS NOT YET DONE.
AMERICA FACES NEW CHALLENGES.
WE WANT TO STOP
THE DRUGS AND STOP THE CRIMES,
AND WE'RE GONNA
KEEP ON FIGHTING.
Narrator:
THEY HAD THE COURAGE TO STAND UP
AND POINT OUT THE ROAD
ALL OF US MUST TRAVEL.
BROTHERS, SISTERS,
CHILDREN, ALL THE COLORS
OF THE EARTH,
STANDING UP,
STILL STANDING UP.
AMEN.
KEEP US FOREVER,
YES, FOREVER FREE ♪
YEAH ♪
FOREVER, FOREVER ♪
IN THE PATH TO BE FREE ♪
LET FREEDOM RING. ♪
OOH, FOREVER ♪
LET FREEDOM RING. ♪
LET IT RING TO THE YOUNG ♪
OH, KEEP ME, LORDY, LORDY. ♪
SING A SONG ♪
OF THE FAITH THAT THE
DARK PAST HAS TAUGHT US ♪
Crowd:
WE SHALL OVERCOME ♪
WE SHALL OVERCOME ♪
WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY ♪
OH, DEEP IN MY HEART ♪
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