American Experience (1988–…): Season 19, Episode 1 - Eyes on the Prize: Parts 1 & 2 - Awakenings/Fighting Back - full transcript
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AND:
Narrator:
IN 1954, THE SUPREME COURT SAID
BLACK CHILDREN WOULD
GO TO SCHOOL WITH WHITE.
THE SOUTH SAID "NEVER."
(shouting )
Man:
IN THE NAME OF GOD,
WHOM WE ALL REVERE,
IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY
WE HOLD SO DEAR,
IN THE NAME OF DECENCY
WHICH WE ALL CHERISH,
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA?
Narrator:
WAS THIS THE START
OF A NEW CIVIL WAR?
♪ I KNOW THE ONE THING
WE DID RIGHT ♪
♪ WAS THE DAY WE
STARTED TO FIGHT ♪
♪ KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE,
HOLD ON ♪
♪ KEEP YOUR EYES
ON THE PRIZE, HOLD ON. ♪
DESEGREGATION IS
AGAINST THE BIBLE.
I FIND MY SCRIPTURE FOR THIS
IN GENESIS 9:27,
WHERE GOD DID SEGREGATE AND
SEPARATE THE THREE SONS OF NOAH,
SENDING ONE OUT TO BE A SERVANT
WHILE THE OTHER TWO
REMAINED IN THE TABERNACLE.
I SAY THAT GOD HAS GIVEN
NOWHERE IN HIS BIBLE
ANY RIGHT TO MEN
TO END A CURSE
THAT HE'S PLACED
UPON ANY HUMAN FLESH.
ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH
ARE IN FAVOR OF SEGREGATION,
AND SUPREME COURT
OR NO SUPREME COURT,
WE ARE GOING TO MAINTAIN
SEGREGATED SCHOOLS
DOWN IN DIXIE.
IT WASN'T FUNNY THEN;
IT'S STILL NOT FUNNY.
BUT SUDDENLY, WE HAVE THE 14th
AMENDMENT THAT TOOK 100 YEARS,
BROUGHT ON BY THE CIVIL WAR,
SUDDENLY MUST BE COMPLIED WITH:
EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW.
AND THAT WAS A RESISTANCE.
"THEY ARE NOT GOING
TO GET EQUAL TREATMENT.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
GO TO SCHOOL WITH
MY LITTLE DARLIN'?"
THAT IS WHY RESISTANCE.
Narrator:
IN THE LATE 1950s,
THE BATTLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
WAS FOUGHT IN THE CLASSROOMS
OF THE SOUTH.
THE SUPREME COURT HAD RULED
IN A CASE CALLED
BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION
THAT SEGREGATED SCHOOLS
WERE UNCONSTITUTIONAL
UNDER THE 14th AMENDMENT.
MANY SOUTHERNERS SAW
THE DECISION AS AN ATTACK
ON THEIR HERITAGE
AND TRADITIONS.
THE BATTLE LINES WERE DRAWN.
I THINK WE WERE NOT
REALLY QUITE PREPARED
FOR THE EXTENT
TO WHICH THE SOUTH
WOULD RESIST THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE BROWN DECISION.
IN FACT, THE SHUTTING DOWN
OF THE N.A.A.C.P. IN ALABAMA,
THE RESISTANCE EVIDENCED
IN PLACES LIKE
VIRGINIA AND ARKANSAS,
THE LEGISLATIVE
INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEES
IN FLORIDA AND IN OTHER STATES
REALLY FRIGHTENED US.
Narrator:
AND THE WHITE RESISTANCE COULD
ALSO BE VIOLENT.
IN FEBRUARY 1956, A BLACK WOMAN
NAMED AUTHERINE LUCY
WAS QUIETLY ADMITTED TO THE
ALL-WHITE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA.
BUT THE NIGHT AFTER SHE ARRIVED,
STUDENTS AND TOWNSPEOPLE
BEGAN A RIOT.
Crowd (chanting):
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
(cheering )
Narrator:
THE UNIVERSITY SUSPENDED LUCY
TEMPORARILY, IT SAID,
FOR HER OWN PROTECTION.
AND AUTHERINE LUCY SUED,
CLAIMING THAT MOB RULE WAS BEING
ALLOWED TO OVERTURN THE LAW.
WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT
THESE ACTIONS, I FEEL,
IS THAT LAWLESS ELEMENTS
OUTSIDE THE CAMPUS
SET THEMSELVES OVER
AND ABOVE THE LAW.
THEIR ACTIONS BROUGHT GREAT
DISCREDIT TO OUR NATION.
THE CHARGE
HAS BEEN MADE
AND MADE BY SOME
FAIRLY MODERATE PEOPLE...
GRADUALISTS, YOU
MIGHT CALL THEM...
THAT THE N.A.A.C.P.,
WHOSE GENERAL COUNSEL
YOU ARE,
IS MOVING
TOO FAR, TOO FAST;
THAT FOLLOWING
THE DECISION
OF THE SUPREME COURT,
YOU WOULD HAVE
BEEN WELL ADVISED
TO LET THINGS MOVE
ALONG GRADUALLY
FOR A WHILE,
THAT YOU CAN'T
OVERTHROW
THE PREJUDICES OF
300 YEARS OVERNIGHT.
MAYBE YOU CAN'T
OVERRIDE PREJUDICE
OVERNIGHT,
BUT THE EMANCIPATION
PROCLAMATION
WAS ISSUED
IN 19... 1863...
90-ODD YEARS AGO.
I BELIEVE IN GRADUALISM.
I ALSO BELIEVE THAT 90-ODD
YEARS IS PRETTY GRADUAL.
Narrator:
AUTHERINE LUCY WON HER CASE,
BUT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
EXPELLED HER ANYWAY
FOR SAYING THE UNIVERSITY HAD
USED THE RIOTS TO KEEP HER OUT.
ACROSS THE SOUTH, THE LUCY CASE
GAVE RESISTING WHITES HOPE.
IF THEY WERE WILLING TO USE
VIOLENCE TO FIGHT THE LAW,
IT SEEMED THEY COULD KEEP
BLACK CHILDREN IN BLACK SCHOOLS.
AND IT SEEMED THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT WOULD NOT STEP IN.
AFTER THE RIOTS, THE PRESIDENT
SPOKE ONLY OF EXTREMISTS
ON BOTH SIDES.
HE WORRIED, LIKE MUCH
OF THE COUNTRY,
ABOUT MOVING TOO FAST
ON SCHOOL INTEGRATION.
I PERSONALLY BELIEVE
IF YOU TRY TO GO
TOO FAR, TOO FAST
IN LAWS IN THIS DELICATE FIELD
THAT HAS INVOLVED THE EMOTIONS
OF SO MANY MILLIONS
OF AMERICANS,
YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE.
I BELIEVE WE'VE GOT TO HAVE LAWS
THAT GO ALONG WITH EDUCATION
AND UNDERSTANDING,
AND I BELIEVE IF YOU GO BEYOND
THAT AT ANY ONE TIME,
YOU CAUSE TROUBLE
RATHER THAN BENEFIT.
Narrator:
IT WAS OVER A YEAR BEFORE
THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WOULD FIND ITS CHANCE
TO FIGHT BACK
HERE IN LITTLE ROCK,
ARKANSAS, 1957.
LITTLE ROCK WAS A MODERATE
SOUTHERN CITY
IN A MODERATE SOUTHERN STATE.
BY 1956, BOTH THE STATE
UNIVERSITIES AND THE CITY BUSES
WERE INTEGRATED.
ITS SCHOOL BOARD MADE PLANS
TO DESEGREGATE SLOWLY.
THE FIRST YEAR, 1957,
NINE BLACK TEENAGERS WOULD
ATTEND ONE SCHOOL, CENTRAL HIGH.
LITTLE ROCK'S BLACK
LEADERS WERE HOPEFUL.
WE HAVE A VERY ENLIGHTENED GROUP
OF PEOPLE IN ARKANSAS.
AND THEY HAVE ACCEPTED
EVERYTHING ELSE.
THEY ACCEPTED BUS INTEGRATION
WITHOUT ANY FANFARE
AND THEY WOULD TAKE
THE SCHOOL INTEGRATION
AS JUST ANOTHER GOING TO SCHOOL.
THE BLACK CHILDREN WERE
NOT GETTING A CHANCE
AND THEY NEEDED IT.
THEY NEEDED IT MORE THAN ANYONE,
AND WE WERE VERY STRONGLY
IN FAVOR OF THAT,
AND COULD SEE THAT INTEGRATION
WOULD IMPROVE THAT.
BUT WE DID, AT THAT STAGE,
HAVE FEARS,
AND THEY WERE, I GUESS,
JUST NATURALLY INBORN,
EMOTIONAL FEARS.
AND SO WE NEEDED SOME HELP
FROM THE OFFICIALS...
THE STATE OFFICIALS,
THE COUNTY, THE CITY OFFICIALS
AND PRIMARILY
FROM GOVERNOR FAUBUS
AS TO WHAT HE TOLD THE PEOPLE,
WHETHER IT WAS THE LAW OR NOT.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR ORVAL FAUBUS
OF ARKANSAS WAS A MODERATE
BY SOUTHERN STANDARDS,
A MAN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
HAD SUPPORTED.
BUT IN HIS LAST ELECTION,
HE'D FACED TOUGH OPPONENTS,
AND HE KNEW HE'D NEED
THE SEGREGATIONIST VOTE
IF HE WANTED TO BE REELECTED.
THE NIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL OPENED,
FAUBUS MADE A DECISION.
I HAVE, THEREFORE, IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE SOLEMN RESPONSIBILITIES
AND THE OATH OF MY OFFICE,
TAKEN THE FOLLOWING ACTION:
UNITS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD
HAVE BEEN
AND ARE NOW BEING MOBILIZED
WITH THE MISSION TO MAINTAIN OR
RESTORE THE PEACE AND GOOD ORDER
OF THIS COMMUNITY.
ADVANCE UNITS ARE
ALREADY ON DUTY
ON THE GROUNDS OF
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
Narrator:
THE ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD
RINGED THE SCHOOL
WITH ORDERS TO ADMIT
ONLY THE WHITE STUDENTS.
IT SHOCKED THE COUNTRY.
STATE TROOPS WERE NOW BEING USED
TO PREVENT ENFORCEMENT
OF FEDERAL LAW.
AT THE CENTER OF THE CRISIS
WERE THESE NINE TEENAGERS
SELECTED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD
BECAUSE OF THEIR
EXCELLENT GRADES.
THE FIRST DAY, EIGHT OF THE NINE
WENT TO SCHOOL TOGETHER,
ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR PARENTS
AND MINISTERS.
THEY EXPECTED SOME HARASSMENT,
BUT NO REAL TROUBLE.
Man:
YOU COULD CUT IT WITH A KNIFE,
THE TENSION OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL
WITH THESE PEOPLE
WHO HAD COME IN
FROM OTHER PARTS
OF THE STATE, OTHER STATES.
THERE WERE LICENSE PLATES
FROM ALL OTHER STATES
THAT WERE THERE,
PEOPLE WHO HAD COME IN AND WERE
OUTSIDE OUR SCHOOL.
Narrator:
THE EIGHT CHILDREN
AND THE ADULTS WITH THEM
WERE TURNED AWAY BY
THE NATIONAL GUARD.
THE NINTH STUDENT,
ELIZABETH ECKFORD,
HAD MISSED THE CALL TO GATHER
WITH THE OTHERS BEFORE SCHOOL.
ELIZABETH ECKFORD WALKED ALONE
AND MET A MOB.
CAN YOU TELL ME
YOUR NAME, PLEASE?
ARE YOU GOING TO GO TO
SCHOOL HERE AT CENTRAL HIGH?
YOU DON'T CARE TO SAY
ANYTHING, IS THAT RIGHT?
THIS GIRL HERE
WAS THE FIRST NEGRO
APPARENTLY OF HIGH
SCHOOL AGE
TO SHOW UP AT
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
THE DAY THAT THE FEDERAL COURT
ORDERED IT INTEGRATED.
SHE WAS FOLLOWED IN
FRONT OF THE SCHOOL
BY AN ANGRY CROWD,
MANY OF THEM SHOUTING
EPITHETS AT HER.
Man:
WHY, IT HAS TO BE THE MOST
FRIGHTENING THING.
I MEAN, BECAUSE SHE HAD A CROWD
OF WHITE PEOPLE BEHIND HER,
THREATENING TO KILL HER.
SHE HAD NOBODY.
I MEAN, THERE WAS NOT A BLACK
FACE IN SIGHT ANYWHERE,
NOBODY THAT SHE COULD
TURN TO AS A FRIEND
EXCEPT THAT THIS WOMAN
CAME OUT OF THE CROWD
AND GUIDED HER THROUGH THE MOB
AND ONTO THE BUS
AND GOT HER HOME SAFELY.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PARENTS AND THE
N.A.A.C.P. WENT BACK TO COURT.
THE LEADER OF THE STATE
ORGANIZATION, DAISY BATES,
BECAME THE STUDENTS'
STRONGEST SUPPORTER.
THE NATIONAL N.A.A.C.P.
SAW THIS CASE
AS A SHOWDOWN FOR DESEGREGATION
AND THEY ASSISTED
THE LOCAL LAWYERS.
WE CONSIDER THIS CASE IMPORTANT
AS ONE OF THE SEGREGATION CASES,
BUT IN ADDITION TO THE FACT
THAT THIS ONE INVOLVED
THE APPEARANCE
OF THE NATIONAL GUARD
ON THE SCENE
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN ANY OF OUR CASES,
IT'S THE ACTION OF THE GOVERNOR
THAT EVENTUALLY WILL HAVE TO BE
BROUGHT INTO COURT.
Reporter:
THEN YOU SEE IT
AS A STATE-FEDERAL
CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY?
OH, I DON'T THINK
THERE'S ANY QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
Narrator:
THE QUESTION WAS
WHETHER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
WOULD ASSERT ITS AUTHORITY.
THE PRESSURE ON
THE PRESIDENT INCREASED.
DEFIANCE OF FEDERAL LAW
SEEMED TO BE SPREADING
FROM LITTLE ROCK
HERE TO NORTH LITTLE ROCK,
TO NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, AND
TO CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.
(students talking loudly )
Man:
GET THE MICROPHONE IN HERE.
Narrator:
SOME PEOPLE BLAMED EISENHOWER
FOR THIS RESISTANCE,
SAYING HIS LACK OF LEADERSHIP
ON CIVIL RIGHTS
ENCOURAGED THE EXTREMISTS.
Man:
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S
POSITION WAS
THAT HE WAS THE PRESIDENT
OF ALL THE PEOPLE.
HE FELT THAT HIS ROLE
WAS TO TALK TO THE MODERATES
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY,
INCLUDING THE SOUTHERN STATES.
HE FELT THAT, AND WAS TOLD
BY MANY ADVISERS,
THAT GOVERNOR FAUBUS
COULD BE REASONED WITH
AND THAT AN AMICABLE
SOLUTION COULD BE FOUND
TO THE LITTLE ROCK CRISIS.
Narrator:
IN MID-SEPTEMBER, THE PRESIDENT
AND THE GOVERNOR HAD A MEETING
AT EISENHOWER'S VACATION HOME
IN NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
THE PRESIDENT THOUGHT THAT HE
HAD PERSUADED GOVERNOR FAUBUS
TO GO BACK AND ALLOW
THE BLACK CHILDREN
TO ENTER THE HIGH SCHOOL
PEACEABLY.
AND IT WAS QUITE
A SURPRISE TO HIM.
HE FELT LET DOWN
WHEN GOVERNOR FAUBUS DECIDED
AGAINST ALLOWING
THE BLACK CHILDREN
TO ENTER THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Narrator:
EISENHOWER HAD CONVINCED FAUBUS
THAT ULTIMATELY THE STATE COULD
NOT RESIST FEDERAL AUTHORITY.
FAUBUS CHANGED HIS TACTIC.
HE SIMPLY REMOVED
THE NATIONAL GUARD,
LEAVING ONLY CITY POLICE
IN AN EXPLOSIVE SITUATION
AS THE LITTLE ROCK NINE
ENTERED CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
Woman:
WE ENTERED THE SIDE
OF THE BUILDING...
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OUT FRONT.
AND WE WERE ENTERING THE SIDE,
AND I COULD JUST GET A GLIMPSE
AND ON THE CAR RADIO I COULD
HEAR THAT THERE WAS A MOB.
AND I KNEW WHAT A MOB MEANT.
AND I KNEW THAT THE SOUNDS
THAT CAME FROM THE CROWD
WERE VERY ANGRY.
SO WE ENTERED THE SIDE
OF THE BUILDING VERY, VERY FAST.
Reporter:
WE JUST GOT A REPORT
HERE ON THIS END
THAT THE STUDENTS ARE IN.
(crowd shouting )
Reporter:
THEY'RE TRYING...
THEY'RE TRYING TO...
TAKE IT DOWN THAT WAY.
YOU CAN SEE FROM HERE SOME OF
THE ACTION OCCURRING DOWN HERE.
(mob shouting angrily )
THE THREE OF US
REPRESENTED THE BLACK PRESS...
THAT WAS ALL.
AND WE WERE ON THE MALL
IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL.
AND THE WORD GOT
TO THE CROWD OUTSIDE
THAT "THE NIGGERS
ARE IN THE SCHOOL."
THEN THEY SAID TO US, "DID YOU
COME OUT HERE AS A DECOY
AND LET OTHER PEOPLE SLIPPING
INTO THE SIDE OF THIS BUILDING?"
SO I SAID, "HELL, NO!"
LIKE THAT, YOU SEE.
Narrator:
THE CROWD TURNED ON HICKS
AND ON HIS COMPANIONS,
MOSES NEWSOM AND ALEX WILSON.
Hicks:
SOMEBODY HAD A BRICK IN HIS HAND
AND INSTEAD OF THROWING
THE BRICK...
BECAUSE HE WAS TOO CLOSE...
HE HIT ALEX WILSON
UP THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD
WITH THIS BRICK.
OF COURSE, WILSON WAS MORE THAN
SIX FEET TALL, AN EX-MARINE.
HE WENT DOWN LIKE A TREE.
THE MOB WAS GETTING PAST
THE WOODEN SAWHORSES
BECAUSE THE POLICEMEN WOULD
NO LONGER FIGHT THEIR OWN
IN ORDER TO KEEP...
TO PROTECT US.
AND SO SOMEONE MADE A SUGGESTION
THAT IF THEY ALLOWED THE MOB
TO HANG ONE KID,
THEY COULD THEN
GET THE REST OUT.
AND A GENTLEMAN,
WHOM I BELIEVE TO BE
THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OF POLICE,
SAID, "HOW YOU GOING TO CHOOSE?
YOU GOING TO LET THEM
DRAW STRAWS?"
HE SAID, "I'LL GET THEM OUT."
AND WE WERE TAKEN
TO THE BASEMENT OF THIS PLACE
AND WE WERE PUT INTO TWO CARS,
GRAYISH-BLUE-COLOR FORDS.
AND THE MAN INSTRUCTED THEM,
HE SAID,
"ONCE YOU START DRIVING,
DO NOT STOP."
(people yelling and screaming )
Narrator:
THE RIOTING WAS HEADLINE NEWS.
THE NATION AND THE
WORLD SAW UNMISTAKABLY
THE FACE OF RESISTANCE.
FINALLY, PRESIDENT EISENHOWER
REALIZED HE HAD TO ACT
AND HE DID QUICKLY.
THAT NIGHT HE SENT
IN THE PARATROOPERS
OF THE 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION.
Eisenhower:
AN EXTREME SITUATION
HAS BEEN CREATED IN LITTLE ROCK.
THIS CHALLENGE MUST BE MET
AND WITH SUCH MEASURES
AS WILL PRESERVE TO
THE PEOPLE AS A WHOLE
THEIR LAWFULLY PROTECTED RIGHTS.
IF RESISTANCE TO THE FEDERAL
COURT ORDER CEASES AT ONCE,
THE FURTHER PRESENCE OF FEDERAL
TROOPS WILL BE UNNECESSARY,
AND A BLOT UPON THE FAIR NAME
AND HIGH HONOR OF
OUR NATION IN THE WORLD
WILL BE REMOVED.
MOB RULE CANNOT BE ALLOWED
TO OVERRIDE THE DECISIONS
OF OUR COURTS.
Faubus:
MY FELLOW CITIZENS,
WE ARE NOW
AN OCCUPIED TERRITORY.
IN THE NAME OF GOD,
WHOM WE ALL REVERE,
IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY
WE HOLD SO DEAR,
IN THE NAME OF DECENCY,
WHICH WE ALL CHERISH,
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA?
WELL, WE GOT INTO THE JEEP...
INTO THE STATION WAGON, RATHER...
AND THE CONVOY THAT WENT FROM
MRS. BATES' HOUSE TO THE SCHOOL
HAD A JEEP IN FRONT,
A JEEP BEHIND.
THEY BOTH HAD
MACHINE GUN MOUNTS.
AND THEN THE WHOLE SCHOOL WAS
RINGED WITH PARATROOPERS
AND HELICOPTERS HOVERING AROUND,
AND WE MARCHED UP THE STEPS
WITH THIS CIRCLE OF SOLDIERS
WITH BAYONETS DRAWN.
I FIGURED THAT WE HAD REALLY...
(chuckles )
WE HAD REALLY GONE INTO SCHOOL
THAT DAY.
AND WALKING UP THE STEPS
THAT DAY
WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST
FEELINGS I'VE EVER HAD.
I FIGURED I HAD
FINALLY CRACKED IT.
AND THERE WAS A FEELING
OF PRIDE AND HOPE;
THAT, YES, THIS IS
THE UNITED STATES,
YES, THERE IS A REASON
I SALUTE THE FLAG.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.
YOU KNOW, IF THESE GUYS JUST GO
WITH US THE FIRST TIME,
IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.
THE TROOPS DID NOT, HOWEVER,
MEAN THE END OF HARASSMENT.
IT MEANT THE DECLARATION
OF WAR.
Ray Charles:
♪ TELL YOUR MAMA ♪
♪ TELL YOUR PA ♪
♪ I'M GONNA SEND YOU
BACK TO ARKANSAS... ♪
Narrator:
IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A
SCHOOL YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
AT LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH.
WHEN WE GOT IN THE SCHOOL,
THEY THEN ASSIGNED US
AN INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER
TO WALK US FROM CLASS TO CLASS.
HE WAITED OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM,
AND EVERY TIME THE BELL RANG
AND CLASSES CHANGED,
HE WOULD WALK US,
WE'D HAVE OUR OWN PERSONAL GUARD
WALKING US TO THE NEXT CLASS.
THE TROOPS WERE WONDERFUL.
THERE WAS SOME FEAR THAT
THEY WERE DATING THE GIRLS
I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY WERE
DOING; THEY WERE WONDERFUL.
BUT THEY COULDN'T BE
WITH US EVERYWHERE.
THEY COULDN'T BE WITH US,
FOR EXAMPLE,
IN THE LADIES' BATHROOM.
THEY COULDN'T BE WITH... IN GYM.
YOU'D BE WALKING OUT
TO THE VOLLEYBALL COURT
AND SOMEONE WOULD BREAK A BOTTLE
AND TRIP YOU ON THE BOTTLE.
I HAVE SCARS ON MY
RIGHT KNEE FROM THAT.
OF COURSE WE COULDN'T HAVE
A NORMAL SCHOOL.
BUT WE HAD TO HAVE
AS CLOSE TO NORMAL AS POSSIBLE.
AND YOU COULDN'T FOLLOW EVERY
STUDENT AROUND
WITH A GUARD, INTO THE...
YOU KNOW, THE STORIES WERE
THAT THE MALE GUARDS
WERE GOING TO THE REST ROOMS
WITH THE FEMALE BLACK STUDENTS.
YOU COULDN'T DO
THINGS LIKE THAT,
AND YOU COULDN'T SIT WITH THEM
AT THE CAFETERIA.
THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY
INTEGRATION IF YOU DID THAT.
SO I WAS PROUD OF WHAT
WE DID AND WHAT WE DIDN'T DO.
Reporter:
DO YOU THINK YOU
COULD YOU GET USED
TO GOING TO SCHOOL
WITH COLORED
CHILDREN?
YES, SIR, I THINK SO.
I MEAN, IF I'M GOING
TO HAVE TO DO IT,
I MIGHT AS WELL
GET USED TO IT.
WELL, NOW,
WHAT ABOUT THIS?
DO YOU THINK
THAT THE TROUBLE IS
WITH THE STUDENTS
HERE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
AND IN THE SCHOOLS
IN LITTLE ROCK
OR IS IT WITH THE PARENTS
OR IS IT WITH OUTSIDERS
OR... WHERE IS
THE TROUBLE?
I THINK
IT'S THE PARENTS.
I MEAN, I SAW ALL
THESE CROWDS OUT HERE
AND THE MAN
KICKING THAT NEGRO
AND EVERYTHING.
AND YOU DON'T
SYMPATHIZE
WITH THAT SORT
OF ACTION AT ALL?
NO, SIR, I DON'T.
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
I THINK IT WAS JUST
DOWNRIGHT UN-AMERICAN.
I THINK IT'S THE
MOST TERRIBLE THING
THAT HAS EVER BEEN
SEEN IN AMERICA.
I MEAN, I GUESS I'M
SOUNDING PATRIOTIC
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT,
BUT I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT
ALL MEN WERE CREATED EQUAL.
AND I BEGAN TO CHANGE
FROM BEING SOMEBODY WHO WAS...
CONSIDERED MYSELF A MODERATE
WHO, IF I HAD MY WAY, WOULD HAVE
SAID, "LET'S DON'T INTEGRATE
BECAUSE IT'S THE STATE'S
RIGHT TO DECIDE,"
TO SOMEONE WHO FELT A REAL SENSE
OF COMPASSION FOR THESE STUDENTS
AND FELT LIKE THEY DESERVED
SOMETHING THAT I HAD.
AND I ALSO DEVELOPED
A REAL DISLIKE
FOR THE PEOPLE
THAT WERE OUT THERE
THAT WERE CAUSING THE PROBLEMS.
IT WAS VERY UNSETTLING TO ME.
I NEVER HAD ANYTHING
TO DO WITH ANY
UNTIL THEY CAME HERE.
I MEAN, THEY'D NEVER
LIVED, WHAT YOU'D SAY,
CLOSE ENOUGH TO US
OR WE WERE JUST NEVER
AROUND THEM REALLY.
ISN'T THAT PART OF WHAT
MAKES IT DIFFICULT
WHEN YOU LIVE 15, 17
YEARS OF YOUR LIFE
AND THEN START DOING
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
ALL OF A SUDDEN?
WELL, I THINK, LIKE
IF A SPANISH OR CHINESE
PERSON CAME HERE,
IT WOULDN'T BE HARD
TO GET ALONG WITH THEM.
IT'S JUST THAT THE NEGROES
ARE WHAT YOU MIGHT SAY
MORE DIFFERENT, TO US,
THAN A SPANISH
PERSON MIGHT BE.
IT'S EARLY MORNING HERE
AT 1121 CROSS STREET
IN LITTLE ROCK
AND A NEW SCHOOL DAY IS DAWNING.
MELBA?
YES, MOTHER?
YOU'D BETTER HURRY.
YOU'RE GOING TO BE
LATE FOR SCHOOL.
Reporter:
AS USUAL, THE GIRL IN THE FAMILY
IS RUNNING A LITTLE LATE.
THE GIRL IS MELBA PATTILLO,
15 YEARS OLD...
Pattillo:
YOU KNOW, I WORRIED
ABOUT SILLY THINGS
LIKE KEEPING MY SADDLE SHOES
STRAIGHT,
WHAT AM I GOING
TO WEAR TODAY,
THE THINGS THAT A 15-YEAR-OLD
GIRL DOES WORRY ABOUT,
BUT ALSO WHICH PART OF THE HALL
TO WALK IN THAT'S THE SAFEST.
WHO'S GOING
TO HIT ME WITH WHAT?
IS IT GOING TO BE
HOT SOUP TODAY?
THAT IT RUINS THE DRESS
MY GRANDMOTHER MADE FOR ME?
I MEAN, HOW'S THIS
DAY GOING TO GO?
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU GET OUT
AND YOU GET TO THE CAR.
AND THEN WE'D JOKE, WE'D KIND OF
PLAY WITH EACH OTHER,
AND YOUR STOMACH
WOULD GO BACK INTO ITS SEAT.
TO THE HEAD OF THE N.A.A.C.P.,
DAISY BATES', HOUSE,
AND WE'D HAVE TO FACE
A PRESS CONFERENCE.
Reporter:
MRS. BATES,
HOW DO YOU FEEL
THAT YOUR WORK BOTH
WITH THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES,
WITH THE CITY AUTHORITIES
AND WITH THE MILITARY
AUTHORITIES,
THAT THE SITUATION
IS DEVELOPING NOW?
THE MILITARY AUTHORITIES HAVE
BEEN VERY NICE TO THE CHILDREN,
AS WELL AS THE SCHOOL BOARD
AND THE CITY POLICE.
Narrator:
BY THANKSGIVING,
THE LITTLE ROCK NINE
HAD BECOME SEASONED VETERANS,
GIVING SOPHISTICATED
STATEMENTS TO THE PRESS
AT A DINNER HELD BY
MR. AND MRS. BATES.
MY NAME IS GLORIA RAY.
I AM THANKFUL
FOR HAVING A CHANCE
TO FULFILL MY
EDUCATIONAL DESIRES
AND FOR BEING A CITIZEN
IN A COUNTRY WHERE
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
RESPECTS AND PROTECTS THE
RIGHTS OF ALL ITS PEOPLE.
MY NAME IS TERRENCE ROBERTS,
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT
I KNOW THAT COMMUNISTS ENJOY
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SITUATIONS
SUCH AS THESE
TO TWIST THE MINDS OF PEOPLES
OF THE WORLD.
BUT I'M THANKFUL THAT IN AMERICA
THEIR ACTIONS ARE BEING FOILED
THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF MANY
DEMOCRATIC-MINDED CITIZENS.
I'M MINNIE JEAN BROWN.
I'M THANKFUL FOR THE MANY PEOPLE
WHO HAVE STOOD BY US
AND WORKED DILIGENTLY
IN OUR STRUGGLE
FOR A PERFECT DEMOCRACY...
Narrator:
AT SCHOOL, THE BLACK TEENAGERS
WERE STILL BEING HARASSED
BY A FEW DETERMINED WHITES.
SHORTLY BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
MINNIE JEAN BROWN STRUCK BACK.
FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS,
THERE HAD BEEN A NUMBER
OF WHITE KIDS FOLLOWING US...
A SERIES OF HASSLES, CONTINUOUS
CALLING US "NIGGERS"...
"NIGGER, NIGGER, NIGGER,"
ONE RIGHT AFTER THE OTHER.
AND MINNIE JEAN BROWN WAS
IN THE LUNCH LINE WITH ME.
AND THERE WAS THIS...
I WAS IN FRONT OF MINNIE,
MINNIE WAS BEHIND ME,
AND THERE WAS
THIS WHITE KID, FELLA,
WHO WAS MUCH SHORTER
THAN MINNIE.
MINNIE WAS ABOUT FIVE FOOT TEN.
AND THIS FELLOW
COULDN'T HAVE BEEN
MORE THAN FIVE-FIVE, FIVE-FOUR.
AND HE REMINDED ME OF A SMALL
DOG YELPING AT SOMEBODY'S LEG.
AND MINNIE HAD JUST
PICKED UP HER CHILI.
I COULD JUST SEE
HER LITTLE HEAD CLICK.
SHE CONSCIOUSLY SAID TO HERSELF,
"NO, MINNIE JEAN,
IF YOU DO THIS,
YOU KNOW YOU WON'T BE HERE."
BUT THEN THIS WAS A TIME
OF THE YEAR
WHEN WE ALL DIDN'T
WANT TO BE THERE.
AND BEFORE I COULD EVEN SAY,
"MINNIE, WHY DON'T YOU
TELL HIM TO SHUT UP,"
MINNIE HAD TAKEN THIS CHILI,
DUMPED IT ON THIS DUDE'S HEAD.
IT WAS JUST ABSOLUTE SILENCE
IN THE PLACE.
AND THEN THE HELP, ALL BLACK,
BROKE INTO APPLAUSE,
AND THE WHITE KIDS,
THE OTHER WHITE KIDS THERE,
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
THAT ANYBODY, I'M SURE,
HAD SEEN SOMEBODY BLACK
RETALIATE IN THAT SENSE.
Rains:
WHEN MINNIE JEAN WAS
KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL
FOLLOWING THE CHILI INCIDENT,
MAYBE 15-20 STUDENTS
BROUGHT CARDS
AND GAVE THEM OUT THAT SAID,
"ONE DOWN, EIGHT TO GO."
WHEN SCHOOL WAS OUT IN MAY,
THEY STILL HADN'T
GIVEN UP THE FIGHT.
THEY CAME OUT WITH
A TWO-COLOR CARD THAT SAID,
"IKE, GO HOME!
LIBERATION DAY, MAY 29, 1958,"
WHICH WAS GRADUATION DAY.
THEY WERE STILL FIGHTING
THE BATTLE EVEN THEN.
Narrator:
ON MAY 29, 1958,
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL PREPARED
TO GRADUATE 601 WHITE STUDENTS
AND ERNEST GREEN.
WE STILL DIDN'T KNOW
WHETHER SOME OUTSIDERS
MIGHT ROLL IN
FROM SOME OTHER STATES
AND FIRE-BOMB THE PLACE,
SO WE WERE A LITTLE NERVOUS
ABOUT IT, AS WAS ERNEST.
AND HE STOOD AROUND,
JOKED WITH THE STUDENTS.
WE WERE ALL JOKING TOGETHER
THERE WAITING TO PROCESS IN.
AND I DO REMEMBER THAT AS
THE STUDENTS' NAMES WERE CALLED
AND THEY'D GET UP
AND GO ACROSS THE PLATFORM
AND RECEIVE THEIR DIPLOMA,
THAT I REALLY HELD MY BREATH
WHEN ERNEST'S NAME WAS CALLED.
THERE WERE A LOT OF CLAPS
FOR THE STUDENTS, YOU KNOW.
THEY TALKED ABOUT WHO HAD
RECEIVED SCHOLARSHIPS,
WHO WAS AN HONOR STUDENT,
AND ALL THAT,
AS THEY CALLED THE NAMES OFF.
WHEN THEY CALLED MY NAME,
THERE WAS NOTHING,
JUST THE NAME, AND THERE WAS
THIS EERIE SILENCE...
NOBODY CLAPPED.
BUT I FIGURED
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO,
BECAUSE AFTER I GOT
THAT DIPLOMA, THAT WAS IT.
I HAD ACCOMPLISHED
WHAT I HAD COME THERE FOR.
Man and woman:
♪ I'M SO GLAD I'M FIGHTING
FOR MY RIGHTS ♪
♪ I'M SO GLAD
I'M FIGHTING FOR MY RIGHTS ♪
♪ I'M SO GLAD I'M FIGHTING
FOR MY RIGHTS ♪
♪ SINGIN' GLORY, HALLELUJAH,
I'M SO GLAD. ♪
ERNEST, WHAT'S IT
BEEN LIKE THIS YEAR?
HAS IT BEEN WHAT
YOU EXPECTED OR...?
WELL, FROM THE BEGINNING, IT
WASN'T QUITE WHAT WE EXPECTED,
BUT ADDING ALL THINGS TOGETHER
AND PUTTING ALL SIDES TOGETHER,
I THINK IT'S TURNED OUT TO BE,
UH, WELL,
I WOULD SAY AN INTERESTING YEAR.
I GUESS THAT WOULD BE
AN UNDERSTATEMENT,
BUT WHEN YOU PUT
ALL THE SIDES TOGETHER,
WE'VE HAD SOME NICE TIMES
AS WELL AS SOME ROUGH TIMES,
AND I THINK ALL IN ALL,
IT'S WORKED OUT RATHER NICELY.
BY THE TIME SCHOOL HAD ENDED, I
HAD SORT OF SETTLED INTO MYSELF
AND I COULD'VE GONE ON
FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS...
IT DIDN'T MATTER ANYMORE,
I WAS PAST FEELING.
I WAS INTO JUST
THAT KIND OF NUMB PAIN
WHERE YOU SAY,
"HEY, I CAN MAKE IT.
DO WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE AND
IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE."
BUT I CAME HOME AND, AND...
BY MYSELF.
I WALKED TO THE BACKYARD
AND I BURNED MY BOOKS.
I BURNED EVERYTHING THAT
I COULD BURN,
AND I JUST STOOD THERE CRYING,
LOOKING INTO THE FIRE
AND WONDERING WHETHER
I WOULD GO BACK,
BUT, UH...
NOT WANTING TO GO BACK.
Narrator:
MELBA PATTILLO DIDN'T HAVE
TO FACE THAT DECISION.
THE NEXT YEAR,
GOVERNOR FAUBUS CLOSED DOWN
ALL LITTLE ROCK'S HIGH SCHOOLS
TO HALT INTEGRATION.
FAUBUS WAS SO POPULAR THAT YEAR,
HE EASILY WON
HIS THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR.
(chanting):
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WE DON'T
WANT TO INTEGRATE!
(cheering )
Narrator:
FAUBUS'S TACTIC WAS
ALSO USED IN VIRGINIA,
WHERE THE GOVERNOR CLOSED DOWN
SCHOOL AFTER SCHOOL.
THERE WILL BE NO ENFORCED
INTEGRATION IN VIRGINIA.
I HAVE THE HIGHEST RESPECT
FOR THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
IF TROOPS ARE SENT
INTO VIRGINIA,
THEY WILL PATROL
EMPTY SCHOOLHOUSES.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR ALMOND CLOSED SCHOOLS
IN CHARLOTTESVILLE AND NORFOLK
AND OTHER TOWNS,
AND HE CALLED FOR UNYIELDING
REJECTION OF INTEGRATION.
THE FEDERAL COURTS
WERE ALSO UNYIELDING,
RULING AGAIN AND AGAIN
THAT THIS RESISTANCE
WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
BUT WHILE THE COURT CASES
WERE FOUGHT,
THE SCHOOLS STAYED CLOSED,
AND THE CHILDREN,
ESPECIALLY THE BLACK CHILDREN,
PAID THE PRICE.
SO THE CRISIS IN SCHOOL
DESEGREGATION CONTINUED.
IN THE FALL OF 1960
IN NEW ORLEANS,
FOUR LITTLE BLACK GIRLS
WERE SENT TO FIRST GRADE
IN WHITE SCHOOLS.
IT CAUSED A CITYWIDE RIOT.
THIS WAS SIX YEARS AFTER
THE SUPREME COURT'S RULING,
AND SEGREGATION WAS STILL
A FACT OF LIFE ACROSS THE SOUTH.
BUT IN THOSE SIX YEARS,
DESEGREGATION HAD BECOME
A FACT OF POLITICAL LIFE.
SCHOOLS WERE AN ISSUE
THAT TOUCHED ALL AMERICANS...
BLACK AND WHITE--
AND NATIONAL LEADERS WERE
BEGINNING TO RECOGNIZE THAT.
(sustained applause )
CAN WE HONESTLY SAY
THAT IT DOESN'T
AFFECT OUR SECURITY
AND THE FIGHT FOR PEACE
WHEN NEGROES AND OTHERS
ARE DENIED THEIR FULL
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS?
WHEN WE WHO...
WHEN WE IN THIS COUNTRY...
Narrator:
THIS KIND OF RHETORIC
RAISED BLACK HOPES
THAT THE NEW PRESIDENT
WOULD LEAD THE NATION
IN A NEW COMMITMENT
TO CIVIL RIGHTS.
IN 1961, A BLACK MAN
NAMED JAMES MEREDITH
WOULD TEST THAT COMMITMENT
WHEN HE FILED SUIT
FOR ADMISSION
TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI.
HIS LAWYERS WERE JACK GREENBERG
AND CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY
OF THE N.A.A.C.P.
WHEN THE MEREDITH CASE
WAS FILED,
IT COINCIDED WITH THE FREEDOM
RIDERS' ARRIVAL IN MISSISSIPPI,
WHICH OF COURSE
WAS NOT A GOOD CONTEXT
IN WHICH TO BRING THAT SUIT,
BUT THOSE WERE
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
WHICH WE COULD NOT CONTROL,
BECAUSE IT WAS
A GENUINE REVOLUTION
ON THE PART OF BLACK PEOPLE.
♪ ...SET ON FREEDOM ♪
♪ WELL, I'M WALKING
AND TALKING WITH... ♪
Narrator:
JAMES MEREDITH CALLED IT
A NEW SPIRIT AMONG BLACKS
AS SIT-INS AND FREEDOM RIDES
SPREAD FROM OTHER SOUTHERN
STATES INTO MISSISSIPPI.
THAT SPIRIT WAS PART OF
MEREDITH'S OWN READINESS
TO FACE THE STRUGGLES
HE KNEW WERE AHEAD.
♪ HALLELU, HALLELU,
HALLELU, HALLELUJAH. ♪
WHAT MADE YOU
DECIDE ON OLE MISS?
WELL, I THOUGHT
THAT I SHOULD GET
AN EDUCATION
IN MY OWN STATE.
AND OF COURSE OLE MISS,
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, IS THE BEST
UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE.
AND ALSO IT'S THE ONLY SCHOOL
THAT OFFERS THE COURSES
THAT I'M PARTICULARLY
INTERESTED IN.
YOU SAY YOU WERE
INTERESTED IN GOING
TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI
EVEN AS A BOY.
WERE YOU AWARE
AT THAT TIME
THAT NEGROES DID NOT
GO TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI?
WELL, I'VE BEEN AWARE
FOR A LONG TIME
OF THE SO-CALLED
PLACE FOR THE NEGRO.
YES, I'VE BEEN AWARE.
THEREFORE YOU'VE WANTED
TO OVERCOME THIS BARRIER
SINCE YOU WERE A BOY?
UH, THAT'S RIGHT.
I THINK THAT THE FACADE THAT
HE WOULD PRESENT TO THE PUBLIC
WAS ONE THAT WAS SOMEWHAT COLD,
SOMEWHAT COCKY,
BUT IT WAS NECESSARY TO DO THAT
IN ORDER TO PROTECT HIMSELF,
BECAUSE AFTER ALL,
HE WAS A HUMAN BEING
WITH FEELINGS, WITH FEAR.
FRIENDS,
I'M A MISSISSIPPI SEGREGATIONIST
AND I AM PROUD OF IT.
(applause )
Narrator:
MISSISSIPPI, FROM
ITS GOVERNOR ON DOWN,
WAS THE MOST MILITANT
OF THE SEGREGATIONIST STATES.
IT WAS THE HOME
OF THE CITIZENS' COUNCIL,
A GROUP FORMED SPECIFICALLY
TO DEFEAT INTEGRATION.
IN 1955, THE CITIZENS' COUNCIL
HAD HELPED CRUSH
THE FIRST ATTEMPTS
AT DESEGREGATION IN THE STATE
BY USING ECONOMIC THREATS
AND VIOLENCE.
WE MUST ELIMINATE THE COWARDS
FROM OUR FRONT LINES.
YOU DID NOT ELECT ME
GOVERNOR OF MISSISSIPPI
TO BARGAIN YOUR HERITAGE AWAY
IN A SMOKE-FILLED HOTEL ROOM.
THE GOVERNOR
TOOK A VERY ACTIVE ROLE
IN TALKING ABOUT THE THREATS
THAT THE STATE WOULD MAKE
ON ITS BLACKS
WHO WOULD TRY
TO ENTER THE SCHOOL.
IT WAS AN EFFORT TO INSTILL
FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF BLACKS
AND IT WAS ALSO AN EFFORT,
AND A VERY SUCCESSFUL ONE,
TO AROUSE FEAR AND A KIND
OF FRENZY IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY
TO FIGHT BACK.
Narrator:
MYRLIE EVERS' HUSBAND,
MEDGAR EVERS,
WAS HEAD OF THE STATE NAACP.
EVERS HIMSELF HAD ONCE TRIED
TO INTEGRATE OLE MISS
AND NOW HE COUNSELED
JAMES MEREDITH.
IT WAS A LONG,
HARD LEGAL BATTLE.
FINALLY, AFTER NINE MONTHS,
THE DISTRICT COURT RULED
THERE WAS NO POLICY OF
SEGREGATION AT OLE MISS.
IT WAS SO UNREAL FOR THE...
MISSISSIPPI TO ARGUE
AND FOR THE JUDGE TO HOLD
THAT THERE WAS NO POLICY
OF SEGREGATION
AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI.
EVERYONE IN THE STATE
OF MISSISSIPPI,
AND, I AM SURE, ALMOST EVERYONE
IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY,
KNEW THAT THERE WAS SEGREGATION
IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
AND FOR THE UNIVERSITY TO ASSERT
THAT THERE WAS NO SEGREGATION
AND FOR THE COURT TO FIND
THAT THERE WAS NO SEGREGATION
WAS JUST LIKE
A LAND OF FANTASIA.
Narrator:
THE COURT OF APPEALS REVERSED
THE DECISION,
RULING OLE MISS MUST ACCEPT
JAMES MEREDITH.
THE QUESTION THEN,
AS IN LITTLE ROCK, WAS,
WHO WOULD ENFORCE THE ORDER?
A QUESTION THE COURT
ASKED DIRECTLY
TO THE PRESIDENT'S
REPRESENTATIVE.
IT WAS ALWAYS CLEAR AS CRYSTAL
AND I PERSONALLY
MADE A COMMITMENT,
KNOWING THE PRESIDENT
WOULD BACK IT UP,
TO THE FIFTH CIRCUIT, SITTING
EN BANC... ALL NINE OF THEM--
THAT WHATEVER FORCE
WAS NECESSARY
TO MAKE THEIR ORDER EFFECTIVE
WOULD BE APPLIED.
I HAVE MADE MY POSITION
IN THIS MATTER CRYSTAL CLEAR.
I HAVE SAID IN EVERY COUNTY
IN MISSISSIPPI
THAT NO SCHOOL IN OUR STATE
WILL BE INTEGRATED
WHILE I AM YOUR GOVERNOR.
I NOW CALL ON EVERY
PUBLIC OFFICIAL
AND EVERY PRIVATE CITIZEN
OF OUR GREAT STATE
TO JOIN WITH ME IN REFUSING
IN EVERY LEGAL AND
EVERY CONSTITUTIONAL WAY,
AND EVERY WAY, EVERY MANNER
AVAILABLE, MY FRIENDS,
TO SUBMIT TO ILLEGAL
USURPATION OF POWER
BY THE KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION.
Narrator:
THE CONFLICT WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR,
BUT THE POLITICS WERE NOT.
THE PRESIDENT AND HIS ADVISERS
WERE DETERMINED
MEREDITH WOULD GO TO OLE MISS.
BUT KENNEDY WAS ALSO DETERMINED
TO AVOID DIRECT INVOLVEMENT,
WHICH COULD COST HIM KEY
SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT.
THE PRESIDENT WANTED
A POLITICAL SOLUTION.
AND CAUGHT IN THE POLITICS
WAS OLE MISS.
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SUPPORTED BARNETT.
MOST OF THEM DID NOT
WANT TO INTEGRATE,
BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO SEE
THE UNIVERSITY SHUT DOWN
BECAUSE OF JAMES MEREDITH.
WELL, NONE
OF THE STUDENTS...
I THINK I SPEAK
FOR ALL OF THEM...
WANT THE
SCHOOL CLOSED.
AND I THINK
IF IT IS CLOSED,
IT'D BE TOO MUCH
PRESSURE ON MR. BARNETT
AND HE WILL HAVE
TO OPEN IT
WITHIN A DAY OR TWO
ANYWAY.
DO YOU THINK
IF THE SCHOOL
HAD TO BE CLOSED
IT WOULD
AFFECT THE REBELS,
THE FOOTBALL TEAM?
YES... THAT'S ONE
BAD THING ABOUT IT.
NOW, ALL THE STUDENTS
ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD
TO ALL THE FOOTBALL GAMES,
AND IF THE SCHOOL
IS CLOSED,
WE WANT THE BALL GAMES
PLAYED ANYWAY.
Narrator:
ON SEPTEMBER 20,
THE CONFLICT CAME TO A HEAD
WHEN GOVERNOR ROSS BARNETT
FLEW UP TO THE OXFORD CAMPUS
OF OLE MISS.
THERE, IN DEFIANCE OF
THE FEDERAL COURT ORDER,
HE PERSONALLY TURNED
JAMES MEREDITH AWAY.
HIS ACTIONS WERE LEGAL, HE SAID,
BASED ON THE PRE-CIVIL WAR
DOCTRINE OF INTERPOSITION.
THE DOCTRINE IS THAT
A STATE MAY INTERPOSE ITSELF
BETWEEN THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
AND SOME ACTION THAT IS THOUGHT
TO BE IMPOSED UPON THE STATE
OR SOME OF ITS SUBDIVISIONS
BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THE SUPREMACY CLAUSE,
WHICH PROVIDES THAT
IN CASE OF A CONFLICT
BETWEEN THE NATION
AND THE STATES,
THE NATION... THE LAW
OF THE NATION... PREVAILS
MAKES HASH OF THE DOCTRINE
OF INTERPOSITION,
AND ANY LAWYER WORTH HIS SALT
KNOWS THAT.
AND BARNETT WAS A LAWYER
WHO MADE A GOOD LIVING,
STILL MAKING A GOOD LIVING
OUT OF THE LAW,
AND HE KNEW BETTER THAN THAT.
(crowd cheering )
Narrator:
FIVE DAYS LATER,
ON SEPTEMBER 25,
ARMED WITH MORE COURT ORDERS
ON HIS BEHALF,
JAMES MEREDITH TRIED AGAIN
TO REGISTER
AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI...
THIS TIME AT ITS JACKSON OFFICE
AND THIS TIME ACCOMPANIED
BY JOHN DOAR
OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
AND U.S. MARSHAL JAMES McSHANE.
Reporter:
THIS IS HAGAN THOMPSON
AT THE STATE OFFICE BUILDING
IN JACKSON.
JAMES MEREDITH HAS JUST ARRIVED
IN THE CUSTODY
OF FEDERAL OFFICIALS
AND APPARENTLY MAKING HIS WAY UP
TO THE TENTH FLOOR TO REGISTER.
AND IN THEY GO, AND WE'LL SWITCH
NOW IN JUST A MOMENT.
THE CROWD IS BOOING LUSTILY.
INSIDE THE WOOLFOLK BUILDING,
THEY HAVE A CROWD OF SEVERAL
THOUSAND INSIDE AND OUT.
Narrator:
AGAIN, GOVERNOR BARNETT
WAS WAITING.
Barnett:
I TOOK AN OATH
WHEN I WAS INAUGURATED
GOVERNOR OF THIS STATE
TO UPHOLD AND TO TRY
TO MAINTAIN AND PERPETUATE
THE LAWS OF MISSISSIPPI.
GENTLEMEN, MY CONSCIENCE
IS CLEAR.
I'M ABIDING BY THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED STATES
AND THE CONSTITUTION
OF MISSISSIPPI
AND THE LAWS OF THE
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
I GOT TO ADMIT I WAS SURPRISED
WHEN I GOT TO THE DOOR
OF THE REGENT'S OFFICE
AND WHEN THE DOOR OPENED,
THERE WAS, ON THE THRESHOLD,
WAS THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE
OF MISSISSIPPI THERE,
BLOCKING THE DOOR.
I GOT TO SAY TO YOU THAT
I DIDN'T ANTICIPATE THAT.
AND HE HAD A PROCLAMATION
AND HE READ IT,
IN WHICH THE END LINE WAS,
"I REFUSE TO REGISTER YOU
UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE LAWS
OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI."
SO WE LEFT.
Narrator:
ONCE AGAIN, A GOVERNOR'S
ACTION HAD CREATED
A CONSTITUTIONAL TEST.
NOW THE QUESTION WAS,
WOULD PRESIDENT KENNEDY USE
THE U.S. ARMY,
AS PRESIDENT EISENHOWER HAD?
KENNEDY WAS STILL RELUCTANT.
INSTEAD, HE TRIED
SECRET TELEPHONE NEGOTIATIONS
WITH GOVERNOR BARNETT.
Barnett:
You don't understand
the situation down here.
Kennedy:
Well, the only thing is,
I got my responsibility.
This is not my order,
I just have to carry it out.
So I want to get together
and try to do it with you
in a way which is
the most satisfactory
and causes the least chance of
damage to people in Mississippi.
That's my interest.
Barnett:
Would you be willing
to wait a while
and let the people cool off
on the whole thing?
Barnett:
Couldn't you make a statement
to the effect, Mr. President,
that under the circumstances
existing in Mississippi...
That there'll be bloodshed...
You want to protect the life
of James Meredith
and all other people
and under the circumstances
at this time,
it just wouldn't be fair
to him or others
to try to register him?
Kennedy:
Well, then what time
would it be fair?
Barnett:
Well, we could wait...
I don't know.
It might be in two or three
weeks, it might cool off.
Kennedy:
Would you undertake to register
him in two weeks?
Barnett:
Well, you know I can't undertake
to register him myself,
but you all might make
some progress that way.
Kennedy:
Well, we'd be faced,
unless we had your support
and assurance...
Barnett:
I'm going to cooperate.
IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
HAD TOLD GOVERNOR BARNETT,
"WE'RE COMING IN AND WE'RE GOING
TO MAINTAIN ORDER
AND WE'RE GOING
TO REGISTER MEREDITH,"
THEY WOULD HAVE HAD MY COMPLETE
RESPECT AND COOPERATION.
THEY DIDN'T DO THAT.
AND BY THE SAME TOKEN,
THE GOVERNOR WAS SO OBSESSED
WITH THE IDEA OF MAINTAINING
OUR WAY OF LIFE THAT...
THAT WAS THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE.
AND WITH THOSE TWO POINTS
OF VIEW
AND WITH THE TWO
POLITICAL LEADERS
TRYING TO MAKE EACH OTHER
LOOK AS GOOD AS THEY COULD,
THE SITUATION JUST
GOT OUT OF HAND.
Narrator:
THE SITUATION IN OXFORD
WAS BECOMING VERY TENSE
AS HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
STREAMED INTO THE AREA
TO DEFEND OLE MISS
AND THE SOUTHERN WAY OF LIFE.
(siren wailing )
Katzenbach:
WE HAD HAD REPORTS THROUGHOUT,
NOT MERELY THE STUDENTS
BUT OF ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE
POURING IN IN CARS
IN ORDER TO PREVENT MEREDITH
FROM BEING ADMITTED TO OLE MISS.
ONE HAS TO REMEMBER ALSO
THAT THAT WAS THE SQUIRREL
HUNTING SEASON IN MISSISSIPPI
SO THERE WERE LITERALLY
HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF GUNS.
EVERY PICKUP TRUCK HAD
A COUPLE OF GUNS IN IT,
AND... SO THAT THE SITUATION WAS
REALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
Narrator:
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29...
THE OLE MISS CAMPUS WAS DESERTED
AS THE STUDENTS
FLOCKED TO JACKSON
FOR THE FOOTBALL GAME
AGAINST KENTUCKY.
THE HALF-TIME SPEAKER
WAS GOVERNOR ROSS BARNETT.
I LOVE MISSISSIPPI.
(crowd cheering wildly )
I LOVE HER PEOPLE.
(crowd cheers )
OUR CUSTOMS.
I LOVE AND I RESPECT
OUR HERITAGE.
(crowd cheering )
Narrator:
THE NEXT DAY,
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.
FINALLY, PRESIDENT KENNEDY
DECIDED THE TIME HAD COME
TO ENROLL JAMES MEREDITH
AT OLE MISS.
HE SENT SEVERAL HUNDRED
U.S. MARSHALS
TO THE CAMPUS TO PREPARE.
AND HE ANNOUNCED HE'D MAKE
A SPECIAL SPEECH
TO THE STATE THAT NIGHT.
SUNDAY EVENING, WHEN I FLEW DOWN
IN A GOVERNMENT PLANE
TO THE AIRSTRIP AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
AND WE HAD MARSHALS
ALREADY DOWN THERE...
WE HAD ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE
HUNDRED MARSHALS SWORN IN,
FROM THE PRISON GUARDS,
FROM THE BORDER PATROL,
FROM THE U.S. MARSHAL SERVICE,
FROM ANY OTHER PLACE
WE COULD FIND
REASONABLY TRAINED
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
AND THEY WERE THEMSELVES
AN IRRITANT TO THE STUDENTS,
WHO WERE RETURNING
FROM A FOOTBALL WEEKEND.
AND WE HAD NO PLACE
TO SORT OF HIDE THE MARSHALS.
WE WERE AROUND
THE LYCEUM BUILDING,
WHICH WAS THE CENTER
OF THE CAMPUS
AND, UNBEKNOWNST TO US,
A SORT OF A TRADITION
AND A PLACE OF GREAT HONOR.
STUDENTS CAME AND, OF COURSE,
THEY SAW THE MARSHALS.
I KNOW I GOT ANGRY
WHEN I SAW THE MARSHALS.
IT JUST... IT SEEMED A BETRAYAL;
IT MADE ME MAD.
YOU KNOW,
"WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE HERE?
"WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING,
AND PEOPLE HAVE
BEHAVED THEMSELVES."
AND, YOU KNOW,
"WHAT IS GOING ON?"
AND I CAUGHT MYSELF, REALLY,
WITH SOME OF THESE FEELINGS.
Narrator:
AFTER THE MARSHALS HAD
SECURED THEIR POSITIONS,
JAMES MEREDITH WAS FLOWN
INTO OXFORD AIRPORT
AND DRIVEN TO A SECRET LOCATION
AT OLE MISS.
THE CROWDS DIDN'T KNOW
WHERE HE WAS,
BUT THEY KNEW HE WAS ON CAMPUS.
AND AT 8:00, JUST AS
THE PRESIDENT WENT ON THE AIR,
OLE MISS TURNED
INTO A BATTLEFIELD.
(shouting, gunshots )
VERY FEW PEOPLE HEARD
THE PRESIDENT'S WORDS.
(gunshots and sirens )
(glass breaking )
Kennedy:
AMERICANS ARE FREE, IN SHORT,
TO DISAGREE WITH THE LAW,
BUT NOT TO DISOBEY IT.
FOR ANY GOVERNMENT OF LAWS
AND NOT OF MEN,
NO MAN, HOWEVER
PROMINENT OR POWERFUL,
AND NO MOB, HOWEVER
UNRULY OR BOISTEROUS,
IS ENTITLED TO DEFY
A COURT OF LAW.
THE EYES OF THE NATION
AND ALL THE WORLD
ARE UPON YOU AND UPON ALL OF US.
Narrator:
THE MARSHALS WERE ORDERED NOT
TO USE GUNS AGAINST THE RIOTERS,
WHO WERE SHOOTING AND
THROWING MOLOTOV COCKTAILS.
AND THE RIOTERS WERE
TARGETING THE MEDIA,
SMASHING CAMERAS
AND ATTACKING REPORTERS.
(siren wailing,
gunshots continue )
THERE WAS ONE FRESHMAN GIRL
THAT HAD BEEN THIS LITTLE FLOWER
OF SOUTHERN GENTILITY
WHEN I HAD MET HER.
AND SHE CAME UP TO ME
AND HER FACE WAS
ABSOLUTELY CONTORTED.
AND I ALMOST DIDN'T
RECOGNIZE HER.
AND SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS
BECAUSE SHE HAD PICKED
UP A BRICK
AND THROWN IT AT A MARSHAL
AND IT HAD ONLY HIT HIM
IN THE HEAD AND SCRATCHED HIM
AND SHE HAD NOT PUT HIS EYE OUT.
Kennedy(on phone):
Well, you see, we got to get
order up there,
and that's what we thought
we could have.
Barnett:
Mr. President, please,
why don't you give an order
to remove Meredith?
Kennedy:
How can I remove him, Governor,
when there's a riot
in the street
and he may step out
of that building
and something happen to him?
I can't remove him
under those conditions.
Barnett:
People are wiring me
and calling me,
saying, "Well, you've given up."
I had to say, "No, I'm not
giving up...
Not giving up any fight."
Kennedy:
Yeah, but we don't want...
Barnett:
"I never give up.
I have courage and faith,
and we'll win this fight."
You understand.
That's just
the Mississippi people.
Kennedy:
Yeah, I understand, but I don't
think anybody
in Mississippi or anyplace else
wants a lot of people killed.
Barnett:
Oh, no, no.
Kennedy:
Governor, that's
the most important thing.
Barnett:
I'll issue any statement,
any time,
about peace and violence.
Narrator:
WHILE THE PRESIDENT
AND THE GOVERNOR ARGUED,
THE RIOT WORSENED.
FINALLY, KATZENBACH ASKED
THE WHITE HOUSE FOR TROOPS.
IT TOOK HOURS FOR THEM
TO ARRIVE,
AND DURING THE NIGHT,
35 MARSHALS WERE SHOT
AND TWO PEOPLE...
A FRENCH JOURNALIST AND AN
OXFORD WORKER... WERE KILLED.
BUT BY DAWN, THE ARMY
HAD RESTORED ORDER.
OF COURSE THE PRESIDENT'S
GOING TO WIN IN THE END.
HE'S GOT THE WHOLE ARMED FORCES
OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE CAN CALL IN THE AIR FORCE.
HE CAN BRING NAVY SHIPS
UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
HE CAN CALL OUT THE ARMY,
AS HE DID.
HE CAN DROP PARACHUTERS IN.
I SUPPOSE HE COULD SHOOT
MISSILES AT OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI.
SO HE'S GOING TO WIN
AT THE END.
Ellis:
I RECALL DRIVING TO THE CAMPUS,
AND I GUESS WHEN
I GOT TO THE CIRCLE
WAS WHEN I REALLY SAW THE IMPACT
OF THE RIOT
THE PREVIOUS EVENING.
I REPORTED TO MY OFFICE.
AS I RECALL IT, THERE WEREN'T
VERY MANY OF THE STAFF THERE.
MANY OF THEM WERE TOO AFRAID
TO COME TO THE CAMPUS ON MONDAY.
AND LATER, JAMES MEREDITH
CAME TO MY PRIVATE OFFICE
AND I ACCOMMODATED
THE REGISTRATION THERE.
IT WASN'T A CAUSE
FOR LAUGHTER AND CHAMPAGNE,
BUT IT WAS A CAUSE
FOR SOME RELIEF.
AND IT WAS THE FACT THAT
THAT WAS OVER WITH.
I MEAN, IN A WAY,
OXFORD HAD BECOME THE SYMBOL
OF MASSIVE RESISTANCE
IN THE FINAL GASP
OF THE CIVIL WAR,
IF YOU WANT TO LOOK
AT IT THAT WAY.
AND IT WAS OVER, IT HAD ENDED.
Reporter:
SIR, THERE'S BEEN
A GREAT DEAL
OF TURMOIL
AND CONFLICT.
TWO PEOPLE HAVE
BEEN KILLED.
DO YOU HAVE ANY
FEELINGS OF GUILT?
HAVE YOU GIVEN IT
ANY SECOND THOUGHTS?
I'M VERY SORRY THAT ANYONE
HAD TO GET HURT OR KILLED.
BUT OF COURSE, I THINK THAT'S
AN UNFAIR QUESTION OF ME.
I DON'T BELIEVE
ANY OF YOU BELIEVE
THAT I HAD ANYTHING
TO DO WITH THAT.
HOW ARE YOU
GETTING ALONG
IN SCHOOL, SIR?
JUST FINE, JUST FINE.
HOW ARE
THE STUDENTS?
ANY
REACTIONS?
NO, JUST ACTING
LIKE STUDENTS, I SUPPOSE.
IS THIS A KIND
OF A LONELY LIFE
FOR YOU
DESPITE ALL THESE
PEOPLE AROUND YOU?
Meredith:
I'VE BEEN LIVING
A LONELY LIFE A LONG TIME.
Narrator:
IT WAS A LONELY VICTORY
FOR JAMES MEREDITH,
BUT IT WAS A VICTORY
FOR HIM AND THE COUNTRY.
THE CONSTITUTION HAD HELD
AND BEEN REAFFIRMED
IN A MAJOR CRISIS.
THOUSANDS OF BLACK PEOPLE
FELT THE VICTORY
AND SAW JAMES MEREDITH
AS AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW...
A SYMBOL,
LIKE THE LITTLE ROCK NINE,
OF THEIR OWN POWER
TO MOVE THE NATION.
(gospel music playing )
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:
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:
Narrator:
IN 1954, THE SUPREME COURT SAID
BLACK CHILDREN WOULD
GO TO SCHOOL WITH WHITE.
THE SOUTH SAID "NEVER."
(shouting )
Man:
IN THE NAME OF GOD,
WHOM WE ALL REVERE,
IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY
WE HOLD SO DEAR,
IN THE NAME OF DECENCY
WHICH WE ALL CHERISH,
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA?
Narrator:
WAS THIS THE START
OF A NEW CIVIL WAR?
♪ I KNOW THE ONE THING
WE DID RIGHT ♪
♪ WAS THE DAY WE
STARTED TO FIGHT ♪
♪ KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE,
HOLD ON ♪
♪ KEEP YOUR EYES
ON THE PRIZE, HOLD ON. ♪
DESEGREGATION IS
AGAINST THE BIBLE.
I FIND MY SCRIPTURE FOR THIS
IN GENESIS 9:27,
WHERE GOD DID SEGREGATE AND
SEPARATE THE THREE SONS OF NOAH,
SENDING ONE OUT TO BE A SERVANT
WHILE THE OTHER TWO
REMAINED IN THE TABERNACLE.
I SAY THAT GOD HAS GIVEN
NOWHERE IN HIS BIBLE
ANY RIGHT TO MEN
TO END A CURSE
THAT HE'S PLACED
UPON ANY HUMAN FLESH.
ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH
ARE IN FAVOR OF SEGREGATION,
AND SUPREME COURT
OR NO SUPREME COURT,
WE ARE GOING TO MAINTAIN
SEGREGATED SCHOOLS
DOWN IN DIXIE.
IT WASN'T FUNNY THEN;
IT'S STILL NOT FUNNY.
BUT SUDDENLY, WE HAVE THE 14th
AMENDMENT THAT TOOK 100 YEARS,
BROUGHT ON BY THE CIVIL WAR,
SUDDENLY MUST BE COMPLIED WITH:
EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW.
AND THAT WAS A RESISTANCE.
"THEY ARE NOT GOING
TO GET EQUAL TREATMENT.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
GO TO SCHOOL WITH
MY LITTLE DARLIN'?"
THAT IS WHY RESISTANCE.
Narrator:
IN THE LATE 1950s,
THE BATTLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
WAS FOUGHT IN THE CLASSROOMS
OF THE SOUTH.
THE SUPREME COURT HAD RULED
IN A CASE CALLED
BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION
THAT SEGREGATED SCHOOLS
WERE UNCONSTITUTIONAL
UNDER THE 14th AMENDMENT.
MANY SOUTHERNERS SAW
THE DECISION AS AN ATTACK
ON THEIR HERITAGE
AND TRADITIONS.
THE BATTLE LINES WERE DRAWN.
I THINK WE WERE NOT
REALLY QUITE PREPARED
FOR THE EXTENT
TO WHICH THE SOUTH
WOULD RESIST THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE BROWN DECISION.
IN FACT, THE SHUTTING DOWN
OF THE N.A.A.C.P. IN ALABAMA,
THE RESISTANCE EVIDENCED
IN PLACES LIKE
VIRGINIA AND ARKANSAS,
THE LEGISLATIVE
INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEES
IN FLORIDA AND IN OTHER STATES
REALLY FRIGHTENED US.
Narrator:
AND THE WHITE RESISTANCE COULD
ALSO BE VIOLENT.
IN FEBRUARY 1956, A BLACK WOMAN
NAMED AUTHERINE LUCY
WAS QUIETLY ADMITTED TO THE
ALL-WHITE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA.
BUT THE NIGHT AFTER SHE ARRIVED,
STUDENTS AND TOWNSPEOPLE
BEGAN A RIOT.
Crowd (chanting):
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
(cheering )
Narrator:
THE UNIVERSITY SUSPENDED LUCY
TEMPORARILY, IT SAID,
FOR HER OWN PROTECTION.
AND AUTHERINE LUCY SUED,
CLAIMING THAT MOB RULE WAS BEING
ALLOWED TO OVERTURN THE LAW.
WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT
THESE ACTIONS, I FEEL,
IS THAT LAWLESS ELEMENTS
OUTSIDE THE CAMPUS
SET THEMSELVES OVER
AND ABOVE THE LAW.
THEIR ACTIONS BROUGHT GREAT
DISCREDIT TO OUR NATION.
THE CHARGE
HAS BEEN MADE
AND MADE BY SOME
FAIRLY MODERATE PEOPLE...
GRADUALISTS, YOU
MIGHT CALL THEM...
THAT THE N.A.A.C.P.,
WHOSE GENERAL COUNSEL
YOU ARE,
IS MOVING
TOO FAR, TOO FAST;
THAT FOLLOWING
THE DECISION
OF THE SUPREME COURT,
YOU WOULD HAVE
BEEN WELL ADVISED
TO LET THINGS MOVE
ALONG GRADUALLY
FOR A WHILE,
THAT YOU CAN'T
OVERTHROW
THE PREJUDICES OF
300 YEARS OVERNIGHT.
MAYBE YOU CAN'T
OVERRIDE PREJUDICE
OVERNIGHT,
BUT THE EMANCIPATION
PROCLAMATION
WAS ISSUED
IN 19... 1863...
90-ODD YEARS AGO.
I BELIEVE IN GRADUALISM.
I ALSO BELIEVE THAT 90-ODD
YEARS IS PRETTY GRADUAL.
Narrator:
AUTHERINE LUCY WON HER CASE,
BUT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
EXPELLED HER ANYWAY
FOR SAYING THE UNIVERSITY HAD
USED THE RIOTS TO KEEP HER OUT.
ACROSS THE SOUTH, THE LUCY CASE
GAVE RESISTING WHITES HOPE.
IF THEY WERE WILLING TO USE
VIOLENCE TO FIGHT THE LAW,
IT SEEMED THEY COULD KEEP
BLACK CHILDREN IN BLACK SCHOOLS.
AND IT SEEMED THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT WOULD NOT STEP IN.
AFTER THE RIOTS, THE PRESIDENT
SPOKE ONLY OF EXTREMISTS
ON BOTH SIDES.
HE WORRIED, LIKE MUCH
OF THE COUNTRY,
ABOUT MOVING TOO FAST
ON SCHOOL INTEGRATION.
I PERSONALLY BELIEVE
IF YOU TRY TO GO
TOO FAR, TOO FAST
IN LAWS IN THIS DELICATE FIELD
THAT HAS INVOLVED THE EMOTIONS
OF SO MANY MILLIONS
OF AMERICANS,
YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE.
I BELIEVE WE'VE GOT TO HAVE LAWS
THAT GO ALONG WITH EDUCATION
AND UNDERSTANDING,
AND I BELIEVE IF YOU GO BEYOND
THAT AT ANY ONE TIME,
YOU CAUSE TROUBLE
RATHER THAN BENEFIT.
Narrator:
IT WAS OVER A YEAR BEFORE
THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WOULD FIND ITS CHANCE
TO FIGHT BACK
HERE IN LITTLE ROCK,
ARKANSAS, 1957.
LITTLE ROCK WAS A MODERATE
SOUTHERN CITY
IN A MODERATE SOUTHERN STATE.
BY 1956, BOTH THE STATE
UNIVERSITIES AND THE CITY BUSES
WERE INTEGRATED.
ITS SCHOOL BOARD MADE PLANS
TO DESEGREGATE SLOWLY.
THE FIRST YEAR, 1957,
NINE BLACK TEENAGERS WOULD
ATTEND ONE SCHOOL, CENTRAL HIGH.
LITTLE ROCK'S BLACK
LEADERS WERE HOPEFUL.
WE HAVE A VERY ENLIGHTENED GROUP
OF PEOPLE IN ARKANSAS.
AND THEY HAVE ACCEPTED
EVERYTHING ELSE.
THEY ACCEPTED BUS INTEGRATION
WITHOUT ANY FANFARE
AND THEY WOULD TAKE
THE SCHOOL INTEGRATION
AS JUST ANOTHER GOING TO SCHOOL.
THE BLACK CHILDREN WERE
NOT GETTING A CHANCE
AND THEY NEEDED IT.
THEY NEEDED IT MORE THAN ANYONE,
AND WE WERE VERY STRONGLY
IN FAVOR OF THAT,
AND COULD SEE THAT INTEGRATION
WOULD IMPROVE THAT.
BUT WE DID, AT THAT STAGE,
HAVE FEARS,
AND THEY WERE, I GUESS,
JUST NATURALLY INBORN,
EMOTIONAL FEARS.
AND SO WE NEEDED SOME HELP
FROM THE OFFICIALS...
THE STATE OFFICIALS,
THE COUNTY, THE CITY OFFICIALS
AND PRIMARILY
FROM GOVERNOR FAUBUS
AS TO WHAT HE TOLD THE PEOPLE,
WHETHER IT WAS THE LAW OR NOT.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR ORVAL FAUBUS
OF ARKANSAS WAS A MODERATE
BY SOUTHERN STANDARDS,
A MAN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
HAD SUPPORTED.
BUT IN HIS LAST ELECTION,
HE'D FACED TOUGH OPPONENTS,
AND HE KNEW HE'D NEED
THE SEGREGATIONIST VOTE
IF HE WANTED TO BE REELECTED.
THE NIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL OPENED,
FAUBUS MADE A DECISION.
I HAVE, THEREFORE, IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE SOLEMN RESPONSIBILITIES
AND THE OATH OF MY OFFICE,
TAKEN THE FOLLOWING ACTION:
UNITS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD
HAVE BEEN
AND ARE NOW BEING MOBILIZED
WITH THE MISSION TO MAINTAIN OR
RESTORE THE PEACE AND GOOD ORDER
OF THIS COMMUNITY.
ADVANCE UNITS ARE
ALREADY ON DUTY
ON THE GROUNDS OF
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
Narrator:
THE ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD
RINGED THE SCHOOL
WITH ORDERS TO ADMIT
ONLY THE WHITE STUDENTS.
IT SHOCKED THE COUNTRY.
STATE TROOPS WERE NOW BEING USED
TO PREVENT ENFORCEMENT
OF FEDERAL LAW.
AT THE CENTER OF THE CRISIS
WERE THESE NINE TEENAGERS
SELECTED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD
BECAUSE OF THEIR
EXCELLENT GRADES.
THE FIRST DAY, EIGHT OF THE NINE
WENT TO SCHOOL TOGETHER,
ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR PARENTS
AND MINISTERS.
THEY EXPECTED SOME HARASSMENT,
BUT NO REAL TROUBLE.
Man:
YOU COULD CUT IT WITH A KNIFE,
THE TENSION OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL
WITH THESE PEOPLE
WHO HAD COME IN
FROM OTHER PARTS
OF THE STATE, OTHER STATES.
THERE WERE LICENSE PLATES
FROM ALL OTHER STATES
THAT WERE THERE,
PEOPLE WHO HAD COME IN AND WERE
OUTSIDE OUR SCHOOL.
Narrator:
THE EIGHT CHILDREN
AND THE ADULTS WITH THEM
WERE TURNED AWAY BY
THE NATIONAL GUARD.
THE NINTH STUDENT,
ELIZABETH ECKFORD,
HAD MISSED THE CALL TO GATHER
WITH THE OTHERS BEFORE SCHOOL.
ELIZABETH ECKFORD WALKED ALONE
AND MET A MOB.
CAN YOU TELL ME
YOUR NAME, PLEASE?
ARE YOU GOING TO GO TO
SCHOOL HERE AT CENTRAL HIGH?
YOU DON'T CARE TO SAY
ANYTHING, IS THAT RIGHT?
THIS GIRL HERE
WAS THE FIRST NEGRO
APPARENTLY OF HIGH
SCHOOL AGE
TO SHOW UP AT
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
THE DAY THAT THE FEDERAL COURT
ORDERED IT INTEGRATED.
SHE WAS FOLLOWED IN
FRONT OF THE SCHOOL
BY AN ANGRY CROWD,
MANY OF THEM SHOUTING
EPITHETS AT HER.
Man:
WHY, IT HAS TO BE THE MOST
FRIGHTENING THING.
I MEAN, BECAUSE SHE HAD A CROWD
OF WHITE PEOPLE BEHIND HER,
THREATENING TO KILL HER.
SHE HAD NOBODY.
I MEAN, THERE WAS NOT A BLACK
FACE IN SIGHT ANYWHERE,
NOBODY THAT SHE COULD
TURN TO AS A FRIEND
EXCEPT THAT THIS WOMAN
CAME OUT OF THE CROWD
AND GUIDED HER THROUGH THE MOB
AND ONTO THE BUS
AND GOT HER HOME SAFELY.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PARENTS AND THE
N.A.A.C.P. WENT BACK TO COURT.
THE LEADER OF THE STATE
ORGANIZATION, DAISY BATES,
BECAME THE STUDENTS'
STRONGEST SUPPORTER.
THE NATIONAL N.A.A.C.P.
SAW THIS CASE
AS A SHOWDOWN FOR DESEGREGATION
AND THEY ASSISTED
THE LOCAL LAWYERS.
WE CONSIDER THIS CASE IMPORTANT
AS ONE OF THE SEGREGATION CASES,
BUT IN ADDITION TO THE FACT
THAT THIS ONE INVOLVED
THE APPEARANCE
OF THE NATIONAL GUARD
ON THE SCENE
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN ANY OF OUR CASES,
IT'S THE ACTION OF THE GOVERNOR
THAT EVENTUALLY WILL HAVE TO BE
BROUGHT INTO COURT.
Reporter:
THEN YOU SEE IT
AS A STATE-FEDERAL
CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY?
OH, I DON'T THINK
THERE'S ANY QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
Narrator:
THE QUESTION WAS
WHETHER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
WOULD ASSERT ITS AUTHORITY.
THE PRESSURE ON
THE PRESIDENT INCREASED.
DEFIANCE OF FEDERAL LAW
SEEMED TO BE SPREADING
FROM LITTLE ROCK
HERE TO NORTH LITTLE ROCK,
TO NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, AND
TO CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.
(students talking loudly )
Man:
GET THE MICROPHONE IN HERE.
Narrator:
SOME PEOPLE BLAMED EISENHOWER
FOR THIS RESISTANCE,
SAYING HIS LACK OF LEADERSHIP
ON CIVIL RIGHTS
ENCOURAGED THE EXTREMISTS.
Man:
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S
POSITION WAS
THAT HE WAS THE PRESIDENT
OF ALL THE PEOPLE.
HE FELT THAT HIS ROLE
WAS TO TALK TO THE MODERATES
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY,
INCLUDING THE SOUTHERN STATES.
HE FELT THAT, AND WAS TOLD
BY MANY ADVISERS,
THAT GOVERNOR FAUBUS
COULD BE REASONED WITH
AND THAT AN AMICABLE
SOLUTION COULD BE FOUND
TO THE LITTLE ROCK CRISIS.
Narrator:
IN MID-SEPTEMBER, THE PRESIDENT
AND THE GOVERNOR HAD A MEETING
AT EISENHOWER'S VACATION HOME
IN NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
THE PRESIDENT THOUGHT THAT HE
HAD PERSUADED GOVERNOR FAUBUS
TO GO BACK AND ALLOW
THE BLACK CHILDREN
TO ENTER THE HIGH SCHOOL
PEACEABLY.
AND IT WAS QUITE
A SURPRISE TO HIM.
HE FELT LET DOWN
WHEN GOVERNOR FAUBUS DECIDED
AGAINST ALLOWING
THE BLACK CHILDREN
TO ENTER THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Narrator:
EISENHOWER HAD CONVINCED FAUBUS
THAT ULTIMATELY THE STATE COULD
NOT RESIST FEDERAL AUTHORITY.
FAUBUS CHANGED HIS TACTIC.
HE SIMPLY REMOVED
THE NATIONAL GUARD,
LEAVING ONLY CITY POLICE
IN AN EXPLOSIVE SITUATION
AS THE LITTLE ROCK NINE
ENTERED CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
Woman:
WE ENTERED THE SIDE
OF THE BUILDING...
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OUT FRONT.
AND WE WERE ENTERING THE SIDE,
AND I COULD JUST GET A GLIMPSE
AND ON THE CAR RADIO I COULD
HEAR THAT THERE WAS A MOB.
AND I KNEW WHAT A MOB MEANT.
AND I KNEW THAT THE SOUNDS
THAT CAME FROM THE CROWD
WERE VERY ANGRY.
SO WE ENTERED THE SIDE
OF THE BUILDING VERY, VERY FAST.
Reporter:
WE JUST GOT A REPORT
HERE ON THIS END
THAT THE STUDENTS ARE IN.
(crowd shouting )
Reporter:
THEY'RE TRYING...
THEY'RE TRYING TO...
TAKE IT DOWN THAT WAY.
YOU CAN SEE FROM HERE SOME OF
THE ACTION OCCURRING DOWN HERE.
(mob shouting angrily )
THE THREE OF US
REPRESENTED THE BLACK PRESS...
THAT WAS ALL.
AND WE WERE ON THE MALL
IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL.
AND THE WORD GOT
TO THE CROWD OUTSIDE
THAT "THE NIGGERS
ARE IN THE SCHOOL."
THEN THEY SAID TO US, "DID YOU
COME OUT HERE AS A DECOY
AND LET OTHER PEOPLE SLIPPING
INTO THE SIDE OF THIS BUILDING?"
SO I SAID, "HELL, NO!"
LIKE THAT, YOU SEE.
Narrator:
THE CROWD TURNED ON HICKS
AND ON HIS COMPANIONS,
MOSES NEWSOM AND ALEX WILSON.
Hicks:
SOMEBODY HAD A BRICK IN HIS HAND
AND INSTEAD OF THROWING
THE BRICK...
BECAUSE HE WAS TOO CLOSE...
HE HIT ALEX WILSON
UP THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD
WITH THIS BRICK.
OF COURSE, WILSON WAS MORE THAN
SIX FEET TALL, AN EX-MARINE.
HE WENT DOWN LIKE A TREE.
THE MOB WAS GETTING PAST
THE WOODEN SAWHORSES
BECAUSE THE POLICEMEN WOULD
NO LONGER FIGHT THEIR OWN
IN ORDER TO KEEP...
TO PROTECT US.
AND SO SOMEONE MADE A SUGGESTION
THAT IF THEY ALLOWED THE MOB
TO HANG ONE KID,
THEY COULD THEN
GET THE REST OUT.
AND A GENTLEMAN,
WHOM I BELIEVE TO BE
THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OF POLICE,
SAID, "HOW YOU GOING TO CHOOSE?
YOU GOING TO LET THEM
DRAW STRAWS?"
HE SAID, "I'LL GET THEM OUT."
AND WE WERE TAKEN
TO THE BASEMENT OF THIS PLACE
AND WE WERE PUT INTO TWO CARS,
GRAYISH-BLUE-COLOR FORDS.
AND THE MAN INSTRUCTED THEM,
HE SAID,
"ONCE YOU START DRIVING,
DO NOT STOP."
(people yelling and screaming )
Narrator:
THE RIOTING WAS HEADLINE NEWS.
THE NATION AND THE
WORLD SAW UNMISTAKABLY
THE FACE OF RESISTANCE.
FINALLY, PRESIDENT EISENHOWER
REALIZED HE HAD TO ACT
AND HE DID QUICKLY.
THAT NIGHT HE SENT
IN THE PARATROOPERS
OF THE 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION.
Eisenhower:
AN EXTREME SITUATION
HAS BEEN CREATED IN LITTLE ROCK.
THIS CHALLENGE MUST BE MET
AND WITH SUCH MEASURES
AS WILL PRESERVE TO
THE PEOPLE AS A WHOLE
THEIR LAWFULLY PROTECTED RIGHTS.
IF RESISTANCE TO THE FEDERAL
COURT ORDER CEASES AT ONCE,
THE FURTHER PRESENCE OF FEDERAL
TROOPS WILL BE UNNECESSARY,
AND A BLOT UPON THE FAIR NAME
AND HIGH HONOR OF
OUR NATION IN THE WORLD
WILL BE REMOVED.
MOB RULE CANNOT BE ALLOWED
TO OVERRIDE THE DECISIONS
OF OUR COURTS.
Faubus:
MY FELLOW CITIZENS,
WE ARE NOW
AN OCCUPIED TERRITORY.
IN THE NAME OF GOD,
WHOM WE ALL REVERE,
IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY
WE HOLD SO DEAR,
IN THE NAME OF DECENCY,
WHICH WE ALL CHERISH,
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA?
WELL, WE GOT INTO THE JEEP...
INTO THE STATION WAGON, RATHER...
AND THE CONVOY THAT WENT FROM
MRS. BATES' HOUSE TO THE SCHOOL
HAD A JEEP IN FRONT,
A JEEP BEHIND.
THEY BOTH HAD
MACHINE GUN MOUNTS.
AND THEN THE WHOLE SCHOOL WAS
RINGED WITH PARATROOPERS
AND HELICOPTERS HOVERING AROUND,
AND WE MARCHED UP THE STEPS
WITH THIS CIRCLE OF SOLDIERS
WITH BAYONETS DRAWN.
I FIGURED THAT WE HAD REALLY...
(chuckles )
WE HAD REALLY GONE INTO SCHOOL
THAT DAY.
AND WALKING UP THE STEPS
THAT DAY
WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST
FEELINGS I'VE EVER HAD.
I FIGURED I HAD
FINALLY CRACKED IT.
AND THERE WAS A FEELING
OF PRIDE AND HOPE;
THAT, YES, THIS IS
THE UNITED STATES,
YES, THERE IS A REASON
I SALUTE THE FLAG.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.
YOU KNOW, IF THESE GUYS JUST GO
WITH US THE FIRST TIME,
IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.
THE TROOPS DID NOT, HOWEVER,
MEAN THE END OF HARASSMENT.
IT MEANT THE DECLARATION
OF WAR.
Ray Charles:
♪ TELL YOUR MAMA ♪
♪ TELL YOUR PA ♪
♪ I'M GONNA SEND YOU
BACK TO ARKANSAS... ♪
Narrator:
IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A
SCHOOL YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
AT LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH.
WHEN WE GOT IN THE SCHOOL,
THEY THEN ASSIGNED US
AN INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER
TO WALK US FROM CLASS TO CLASS.
HE WAITED OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM,
AND EVERY TIME THE BELL RANG
AND CLASSES CHANGED,
HE WOULD WALK US,
WE'D HAVE OUR OWN PERSONAL GUARD
WALKING US TO THE NEXT CLASS.
THE TROOPS WERE WONDERFUL.
THERE WAS SOME FEAR THAT
THEY WERE DATING THE GIRLS
I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY WERE
DOING; THEY WERE WONDERFUL.
BUT THEY COULDN'T BE
WITH US EVERYWHERE.
THEY COULDN'T BE WITH US,
FOR EXAMPLE,
IN THE LADIES' BATHROOM.
THEY COULDN'T BE WITH... IN GYM.
YOU'D BE WALKING OUT
TO THE VOLLEYBALL COURT
AND SOMEONE WOULD BREAK A BOTTLE
AND TRIP YOU ON THE BOTTLE.
I HAVE SCARS ON MY
RIGHT KNEE FROM THAT.
OF COURSE WE COULDN'T HAVE
A NORMAL SCHOOL.
BUT WE HAD TO HAVE
AS CLOSE TO NORMAL AS POSSIBLE.
AND YOU COULDN'T FOLLOW EVERY
STUDENT AROUND
WITH A GUARD, INTO THE...
YOU KNOW, THE STORIES WERE
THAT THE MALE GUARDS
WERE GOING TO THE REST ROOMS
WITH THE FEMALE BLACK STUDENTS.
YOU COULDN'T DO
THINGS LIKE THAT,
AND YOU COULDN'T SIT WITH THEM
AT THE CAFETERIA.
THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY
INTEGRATION IF YOU DID THAT.
SO I WAS PROUD OF WHAT
WE DID AND WHAT WE DIDN'T DO.
Reporter:
DO YOU THINK YOU
COULD YOU GET USED
TO GOING TO SCHOOL
WITH COLORED
CHILDREN?
YES, SIR, I THINK SO.
I MEAN, IF I'M GOING
TO HAVE TO DO IT,
I MIGHT AS WELL
GET USED TO IT.
WELL, NOW,
WHAT ABOUT THIS?
DO YOU THINK
THAT THE TROUBLE IS
WITH THE STUDENTS
HERE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
AND IN THE SCHOOLS
IN LITTLE ROCK
OR IS IT WITH THE PARENTS
OR IS IT WITH OUTSIDERS
OR... WHERE IS
THE TROUBLE?
I THINK
IT'S THE PARENTS.
I MEAN, I SAW ALL
THESE CROWDS OUT HERE
AND THE MAN
KICKING THAT NEGRO
AND EVERYTHING.
AND YOU DON'T
SYMPATHIZE
WITH THAT SORT
OF ACTION AT ALL?
NO, SIR, I DON'T.
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
I THINK IT WAS JUST
DOWNRIGHT UN-AMERICAN.
I THINK IT'S THE
MOST TERRIBLE THING
THAT HAS EVER BEEN
SEEN IN AMERICA.
I MEAN, I GUESS I'M
SOUNDING PATRIOTIC
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT,
BUT I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT
ALL MEN WERE CREATED EQUAL.
AND I BEGAN TO CHANGE
FROM BEING SOMEBODY WHO WAS...
CONSIDERED MYSELF A MODERATE
WHO, IF I HAD MY WAY, WOULD HAVE
SAID, "LET'S DON'T INTEGRATE
BECAUSE IT'S THE STATE'S
RIGHT TO DECIDE,"
TO SOMEONE WHO FELT A REAL SENSE
OF COMPASSION FOR THESE STUDENTS
AND FELT LIKE THEY DESERVED
SOMETHING THAT I HAD.
AND I ALSO DEVELOPED
A REAL DISLIKE
FOR THE PEOPLE
THAT WERE OUT THERE
THAT WERE CAUSING THE PROBLEMS.
IT WAS VERY UNSETTLING TO ME.
I NEVER HAD ANYTHING
TO DO WITH ANY
UNTIL THEY CAME HERE.
I MEAN, THEY'D NEVER
LIVED, WHAT YOU'D SAY,
CLOSE ENOUGH TO US
OR WE WERE JUST NEVER
AROUND THEM REALLY.
ISN'T THAT PART OF WHAT
MAKES IT DIFFICULT
WHEN YOU LIVE 15, 17
YEARS OF YOUR LIFE
AND THEN START DOING
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
ALL OF A SUDDEN?
WELL, I THINK, LIKE
IF A SPANISH OR CHINESE
PERSON CAME HERE,
IT WOULDN'T BE HARD
TO GET ALONG WITH THEM.
IT'S JUST THAT THE NEGROES
ARE WHAT YOU MIGHT SAY
MORE DIFFERENT, TO US,
THAN A SPANISH
PERSON MIGHT BE.
IT'S EARLY MORNING HERE
AT 1121 CROSS STREET
IN LITTLE ROCK
AND A NEW SCHOOL DAY IS DAWNING.
MELBA?
YES, MOTHER?
YOU'D BETTER HURRY.
YOU'RE GOING TO BE
LATE FOR SCHOOL.
Reporter:
AS USUAL, THE GIRL IN THE FAMILY
IS RUNNING A LITTLE LATE.
THE GIRL IS MELBA PATTILLO,
15 YEARS OLD...
Pattillo:
YOU KNOW, I WORRIED
ABOUT SILLY THINGS
LIKE KEEPING MY SADDLE SHOES
STRAIGHT,
WHAT AM I GOING
TO WEAR TODAY,
THE THINGS THAT A 15-YEAR-OLD
GIRL DOES WORRY ABOUT,
BUT ALSO WHICH PART OF THE HALL
TO WALK IN THAT'S THE SAFEST.
WHO'S GOING
TO HIT ME WITH WHAT?
IS IT GOING TO BE
HOT SOUP TODAY?
THAT IT RUINS THE DRESS
MY GRANDMOTHER MADE FOR ME?
I MEAN, HOW'S THIS
DAY GOING TO GO?
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU GET OUT
AND YOU GET TO THE CAR.
AND THEN WE'D JOKE, WE'D KIND OF
PLAY WITH EACH OTHER,
AND YOUR STOMACH
WOULD GO BACK INTO ITS SEAT.
TO THE HEAD OF THE N.A.A.C.P.,
DAISY BATES', HOUSE,
AND WE'D HAVE TO FACE
A PRESS CONFERENCE.
Reporter:
MRS. BATES,
HOW DO YOU FEEL
THAT YOUR WORK BOTH
WITH THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES,
WITH THE CITY AUTHORITIES
AND WITH THE MILITARY
AUTHORITIES,
THAT THE SITUATION
IS DEVELOPING NOW?
THE MILITARY AUTHORITIES HAVE
BEEN VERY NICE TO THE CHILDREN,
AS WELL AS THE SCHOOL BOARD
AND THE CITY POLICE.
Narrator:
BY THANKSGIVING,
THE LITTLE ROCK NINE
HAD BECOME SEASONED VETERANS,
GIVING SOPHISTICATED
STATEMENTS TO THE PRESS
AT A DINNER HELD BY
MR. AND MRS. BATES.
MY NAME IS GLORIA RAY.
I AM THANKFUL
FOR HAVING A CHANCE
TO FULFILL MY
EDUCATIONAL DESIRES
AND FOR BEING A CITIZEN
IN A COUNTRY WHERE
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
RESPECTS AND PROTECTS THE
RIGHTS OF ALL ITS PEOPLE.
MY NAME IS TERRENCE ROBERTS,
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT
I KNOW THAT COMMUNISTS ENJOY
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SITUATIONS
SUCH AS THESE
TO TWIST THE MINDS OF PEOPLES
OF THE WORLD.
BUT I'M THANKFUL THAT IN AMERICA
THEIR ACTIONS ARE BEING FOILED
THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF MANY
DEMOCRATIC-MINDED CITIZENS.
I'M MINNIE JEAN BROWN.
I'M THANKFUL FOR THE MANY PEOPLE
WHO HAVE STOOD BY US
AND WORKED DILIGENTLY
IN OUR STRUGGLE
FOR A PERFECT DEMOCRACY...
Narrator:
AT SCHOOL, THE BLACK TEENAGERS
WERE STILL BEING HARASSED
BY A FEW DETERMINED WHITES.
SHORTLY BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
MINNIE JEAN BROWN STRUCK BACK.
FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS,
THERE HAD BEEN A NUMBER
OF WHITE KIDS FOLLOWING US...
A SERIES OF HASSLES, CONTINUOUS
CALLING US "NIGGERS"...
"NIGGER, NIGGER, NIGGER,"
ONE RIGHT AFTER THE OTHER.
AND MINNIE JEAN BROWN WAS
IN THE LUNCH LINE WITH ME.
AND THERE WAS THIS...
I WAS IN FRONT OF MINNIE,
MINNIE WAS BEHIND ME,
AND THERE WAS
THIS WHITE KID, FELLA,
WHO WAS MUCH SHORTER
THAN MINNIE.
MINNIE WAS ABOUT FIVE FOOT TEN.
AND THIS FELLOW
COULDN'T HAVE BEEN
MORE THAN FIVE-FIVE, FIVE-FOUR.
AND HE REMINDED ME OF A SMALL
DOG YELPING AT SOMEBODY'S LEG.
AND MINNIE HAD JUST
PICKED UP HER CHILI.
I COULD JUST SEE
HER LITTLE HEAD CLICK.
SHE CONSCIOUSLY SAID TO HERSELF,
"NO, MINNIE JEAN,
IF YOU DO THIS,
YOU KNOW YOU WON'T BE HERE."
BUT THEN THIS WAS A TIME
OF THE YEAR
WHEN WE ALL DIDN'T
WANT TO BE THERE.
AND BEFORE I COULD EVEN SAY,
"MINNIE, WHY DON'T YOU
TELL HIM TO SHUT UP,"
MINNIE HAD TAKEN THIS CHILI,
DUMPED IT ON THIS DUDE'S HEAD.
IT WAS JUST ABSOLUTE SILENCE
IN THE PLACE.
AND THEN THE HELP, ALL BLACK,
BROKE INTO APPLAUSE,
AND THE WHITE KIDS,
THE OTHER WHITE KIDS THERE,
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
THAT ANYBODY, I'M SURE,
HAD SEEN SOMEBODY BLACK
RETALIATE IN THAT SENSE.
Rains:
WHEN MINNIE JEAN WAS
KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL
FOLLOWING THE CHILI INCIDENT,
MAYBE 15-20 STUDENTS
BROUGHT CARDS
AND GAVE THEM OUT THAT SAID,
"ONE DOWN, EIGHT TO GO."
WHEN SCHOOL WAS OUT IN MAY,
THEY STILL HADN'T
GIVEN UP THE FIGHT.
THEY CAME OUT WITH
A TWO-COLOR CARD THAT SAID,
"IKE, GO HOME!
LIBERATION DAY, MAY 29, 1958,"
WHICH WAS GRADUATION DAY.
THEY WERE STILL FIGHTING
THE BATTLE EVEN THEN.
Narrator:
ON MAY 29, 1958,
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL PREPARED
TO GRADUATE 601 WHITE STUDENTS
AND ERNEST GREEN.
WE STILL DIDN'T KNOW
WHETHER SOME OUTSIDERS
MIGHT ROLL IN
FROM SOME OTHER STATES
AND FIRE-BOMB THE PLACE,
SO WE WERE A LITTLE NERVOUS
ABOUT IT, AS WAS ERNEST.
AND HE STOOD AROUND,
JOKED WITH THE STUDENTS.
WE WERE ALL JOKING TOGETHER
THERE WAITING TO PROCESS IN.
AND I DO REMEMBER THAT AS
THE STUDENTS' NAMES WERE CALLED
AND THEY'D GET UP
AND GO ACROSS THE PLATFORM
AND RECEIVE THEIR DIPLOMA,
THAT I REALLY HELD MY BREATH
WHEN ERNEST'S NAME WAS CALLED.
THERE WERE A LOT OF CLAPS
FOR THE STUDENTS, YOU KNOW.
THEY TALKED ABOUT WHO HAD
RECEIVED SCHOLARSHIPS,
WHO WAS AN HONOR STUDENT,
AND ALL THAT,
AS THEY CALLED THE NAMES OFF.
WHEN THEY CALLED MY NAME,
THERE WAS NOTHING,
JUST THE NAME, AND THERE WAS
THIS EERIE SILENCE...
NOBODY CLAPPED.
BUT I FIGURED
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO,
BECAUSE AFTER I GOT
THAT DIPLOMA, THAT WAS IT.
I HAD ACCOMPLISHED
WHAT I HAD COME THERE FOR.
Man and woman:
♪ I'M SO GLAD I'M FIGHTING
FOR MY RIGHTS ♪
♪ I'M SO GLAD
I'M FIGHTING FOR MY RIGHTS ♪
♪ I'M SO GLAD I'M FIGHTING
FOR MY RIGHTS ♪
♪ SINGIN' GLORY, HALLELUJAH,
I'M SO GLAD. ♪
ERNEST, WHAT'S IT
BEEN LIKE THIS YEAR?
HAS IT BEEN WHAT
YOU EXPECTED OR...?
WELL, FROM THE BEGINNING, IT
WASN'T QUITE WHAT WE EXPECTED,
BUT ADDING ALL THINGS TOGETHER
AND PUTTING ALL SIDES TOGETHER,
I THINK IT'S TURNED OUT TO BE,
UH, WELL,
I WOULD SAY AN INTERESTING YEAR.
I GUESS THAT WOULD BE
AN UNDERSTATEMENT,
BUT WHEN YOU PUT
ALL THE SIDES TOGETHER,
WE'VE HAD SOME NICE TIMES
AS WELL AS SOME ROUGH TIMES,
AND I THINK ALL IN ALL,
IT'S WORKED OUT RATHER NICELY.
BY THE TIME SCHOOL HAD ENDED, I
HAD SORT OF SETTLED INTO MYSELF
AND I COULD'VE GONE ON
FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS...
IT DIDN'T MATTER ANYMORE,
I WAS PAST FEELING.
I WAS INTO JUST
THAT KIND OF NUMB PAIN
WHERE YOU SAY,
"HEY, I CAN MAKE IT.
DO WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE AND
IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE."
BUT I CAME HOME AND, AND...
BY MYSELF.
I WALKED TO THE BACKYARD
AND I BURNED MY BOOKS.
I BURNED EVERYTHING THAT
I COULD BURN,
AND I JUST STOOD THERE CRYING,
LOOKING INTO THE FIRE
AND WONDERING WHETHER
I WOULD GO BACK,
BUT, UH...
NOT WANTING TO GO BACK.
Narrator:
MELBA PATTILLO DIDN'T HAVE
TO FACE THAT DECISION.
THE NEXT YEAR,
GOVERNOR FAUBUS CLOSED DOWN
ALL LITTLE ROCK'S HIGH SCHOOLS
TO HALT INTEGRATION.
FAUBUS WAS SO POPULAR THAT YEAR,
HE EASILY WON
HIS THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR.
(chanting):
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
WE DON'T WANT TO INTEGRATE!
TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WE DON'T
WANT TO INTEGRATE!
(cheering )
Narrator:
FAUBUS'S TACTIC WAS
ALSO USED IN VIRGINIA,
WHERE THE GOVERNOR CLOSED DOWN
SCHOOL AFTER SCHOOL.
THERE WILL BE NO ENFORCED
INTEGRATION IN VIRGINIA.
I HAVE THE HIGHEST RESPECT
FOR THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
IF TROOPS ARE SENT
INTO VIRGINIA,
THEY WILL PATROL
EMPTY SCHOOLHOUSES.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR ALMOND CLOSED SCHOOLS
IN CHARLOTTESVILLE AND NORFOLK
AND OTHER TOWNS,
AND HE CALLED FOR UNYIELDING
REJECTION OF INTEGRATION.
THE FEDERAL COURTS
WERE ALSO UNYIELDING,
RULING AGAIN AND AGAIN
THAT THIS RESISTANCE
WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
BUT WHILE THE COURT CASES
WERE FOUGHT,
THE SCHOOLS STAYED CLOSED,
AND THE CHILDREN,
ESPECIALLY THE BLACK CHILDREN,
PAID THE PRICE.
SO THE CRISIS IN SCHOOL
DESEGREGATION CONTINUED.
IN THE FALL OF 1960
IN NEW ORLEANS,
FOUR LITTLE BLACK GIRLS
WERE SENT TO FIRST GRADE
IN WHITE SCHOOLS.
IT CAUSED A CITYWIDE RIOT.
THIS WAS SIX YEARS AFTER
THE SUPREME COURT'S RULING,
AND SEGREGATION WAS STILL
A FACT OF LIFE ACROSS THE SOUTH.
BUT IN THOSE SIX YEARS,
DESEGREGATION HAD BECOME
A FACT OF POLITICAL LIFE.
SCHOOLS WERE AN ISSUE
THAT TOUCHED ALL AMERICANS...
BLACK AND WHITE--
AND NATIONAL LEADERS WERE
BEGINNING TO RECOGNIZE THAT.
(sustained applause )
CAN WE HONESTLY SAY
THAT IT DOESN'T
AFFECT OUR SECURITY
AND THE FIGHT FOR PEACE
WHEN NEGROES AND OTHERS
ARE DENIED THEIR FULL
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS?
WHEN WE WHO...
WHEN WE IN THIS COUNTRY...
Narrator:
THIS KIND OF RHETORIC
RAISED BLACK HOPES
THAT THE NEW PRESIDENT
WOULD LEAD THE NATION
IN A NEW COMMITMENT
TO CIVIL RIGHTS.
IN 1961, A BLACK MAN
NAMED JAMES MEREDITH
WOULD TEST THAT COMMITMENT
WHEN HE FILED SUIT
FOR ADMISSION
TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI.
HIS LAWYERS WERE JACK GREENBERG
AND CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY
OF THE N.A.A.C.P.
WHEN THE MEREDITH CASE
WAS FILED,
IT COINCIDED WITH THE FREEDOM
RIDERS' ARRIVAL IN MISSISSIPPI,
WHICH OF COURSE
WAS NOT A GOOD CONTEXT
IN WHICH TO BRING THAT SUIT,
BUT THOSE WERE
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
WHICH WE COULD NOT CONTROL,
BECAUSE IT WAS
A GENUINE REVOLUTION
ON THE PART OF BLACK PEOPLE.
♪ ...SET ON FREEDOM ♪
♪ WELL, I'M WALKING
AND TALKING WITH... ♪
Narrator:
JAMES MEREDITH CALLED IT
A NEW SPIRIT AMONG BLACKS
AS SIT-INS AND FREEDOM RIDES
SPREAD FROM OTHER SOUTHERN
STATES INTO MISSISSIPPI.
THAT SPIRIT WAS PART OF
MEREDITH'S OWN READINESS
TO FACE THE STRUGGLES
HE KNEW WERE AHEAD.
♪ HALLELU, HALLELU,
HALLELU, HALLELUJAH. ♪
WHAT MADE YOU
DECIDE ON OLE MISS?
WELL, I THOUGHT
THAT I SHOULD GET
AN EDUCATION
IN MY OWN STATE.
AND OF COURSE OLE MISS,
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, IS THE BEST
UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE.
AND ALSO IT'S THE ONLY SCHOOL
THAT OFFERS THE COURSES
THAT I'M PARTICULARLY
INTERESTED IN.
YOU SAY YOU WERE
INTERESTED IN GOING
TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI
EVEN AS A BOY.
WERE YOU AWARE
AT THAT TIME
THAT NEGROES DID NOT
GO TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI?
WELL, I'VE BEEN AWARE
FOR A LONG TIME
OF THE SO-CALLED
PLACE FOR THE NEGRO.
YES, I'VE BEEN AWARE.
THEREFORE YOU'VE WANTED
TO OVERCOME THIS BARRIER
SINCE YOU WERE A BOY?
UH, THAT'S RIGHT.
I THINK THAT THE FACADE THAT
HE WOULD PRESENT TO THE PUBLIC
WAS ONE THAT WAS SOMEWHAT COLD,
SOMEWHAT COCKY,
BUT IT WAS NECESSARY TO DO THAT
IN ORDER TO PROTECT HIMSELF,
BECAUSE AFTER ALL,
HE WAS A HUMAN BEING
WITH FEELINGS, WITH FEAR.
FRIENDS,
I'M A MISSISSIPPI SEGREGATIONIST
AND I AM PROUD OF IT.
(applause )
Narrator:
MISSISSIPPI, FROM
ITS GOVERNOR ON DOWN,
WAS THE MOST MILITANT
OF THE SEGREGATIONIST STATES.
IT WAS THE HOME
OF THE CITIZENS' COUNCIL,
A GROUP FORMED SPECIFICALLY
TO DEFEAT INTEGRATION.
IN 1955, THE CITIZENS' COUNCIL
HAD HELPED CRUSH
THE FIRST ATTEMPTS
AT DESEGREGATION IN THE STATE
BY USING ECONOMIC THREATS
AND VIOLENCE.
WE MUST ELIMINATE THE COWARDS
FROM OUR FRONT LINES.
YOU DID NOT ELECT ME
GOVERNOR OF MISSISSIPPI
TO BARGAIN YOUR HERITAGE AWAY
IN A SMOKE-FILLED HOTEL ROOM.
THE GOVERNOR
TOOK A VERY ACTIVE ROLE
IN TALKING ABOUT THE THREATS
THAT THE STATE WOULD MAKE
ON ITS BLACKS
WHO WOULD TRY
TO ENTER THE SCHOOL.
IT WAS AN EFFORT TO INSTILL
FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF BLACKS
AND IT WAS ALSO AN EFFORT,
AND A VERY SUCCESSFUL ONE,
TO AROUSE FEAR AND A KIND
OF FRENZY IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY
TO FIGHT BACK.
Narrator:
MYRLIE EVERS' HUSBAND,
MEDGAR EVERS,
WAS HEAD OF THE STATE NAACP.
EVERS HIMSELF HAD ONCE TRIED
TO INTEGRATE OLE MISS
AND NOW HE COUNSELED
JAMES MEREDITH.
IT WAS A LONG,
HARD LEGAL BATTLE.
FINALLY, AFTER NINE MONTHS,
THE DISTRICT COURT RULED
THERE WAS NO POLICY OF
SEGREGATION AT OLE MISS.
IT WAS SO UNREAL FOR THE...
MISSISSIPPI TO ARGUE
AND FOR THE JUDGE TO HOLD
THAT THERE WAS NO POLICY
OF SEGREGATION
AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI.
EVERYONE IN THE STATE
OF MISSISSIPPI,
AND, I AM SURE, ALMOST EVERYONE
IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY,
KNEW THAT THERE WAS SEGREGATION
IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
AND FOR THE UNIVERSITY TO ASSERT
THAT THERE WAS NO SEGREGATION
AND FOR THE COURT TO FIND
THAT THERE WAS NO SEGREGATION
WAS JUST LIKE
A LAND OF FANTASIA.
Narrator:
THE COURT OF APPEALS REVERSED
THE DECISION,
RULING OLE MISS MUST ACCEPT
JAMES MEREDITH.
THE QUESTION THEN,
AS IN LITTLE ROCK, WAS,
WHO WOULD ENFORCE THE ORDER?
A QUESTION THE COURT
ASKED DIRECTLY
TO THE PRESIDENT'S
REPRESENTATIVE.
IT WAS ALWAYS CLEAR AS CRYSTAL
AND I PERSONALLY
MADE A COMMITMENT,
KNOWING THE PRESIDENT
WOULD BACK IT UP,
TO THE FIFTH CIRCUIT, SITTING
EN BANC... ALL NINE OF THEM--
THAT WHATEVER FORCE
WAS NECESSARY
TO MAKE THEIR ORDER EFFECTIVE
WOULD BE APPLIED.
I HAVE MADE MY POSITION
IN THIS MATTER CRYSTAL CLEAR.
I HAVE SAID IN EVERY COUNTY
IN MISSISSIPPI
THAT NO SCHOOL IN OUR STATE
WILL BE INTEGRATED
WHILE I AM YOUR GOVERNOR.
I NOW CALL ON EVERY
PUBLIC OFFICIAL
AND EVERY PRIVATE CITIZEN
OF OUR GREAT STATE
TO JOIN WITH ME IN REFUSING
IN EVERY LEGAL AND
EVERY CONSTITUTIONAL WAY,
AND EVERY WAY, EVERY MANNER
AVAILABLE, MY FRIENDS,
TO SUBMIT TO ILLEGAL
USURPATION OF POWER
BY THE KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION.
Narrator:
THE CONFLICT WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR,
BUT THE POLITICS WERE NOT.
THE PRESIDENT AND HIS ADVISERS
WERE DETERMINED
MEREDITH WOULD GO TO OLE MISS.
BUT KENNEDY WAS ALSO DETERMINED
TO AVOID DIRECT INVOLVEMENT,
WHICH COULD COST HIM KEY
SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT.
THE PRESIDENT WANTED
A POLITICAL SOLUTION.
AND CAUGHT IN THE POLITICS
WAS OLE MISS.
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SUPPORTED BARNETT.
MOST OF THEM DID NOT
WANT TO INTEGRATE,
BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO SEE
THE UNIVERSITY SHUT DOWN
BECAUSE OF JAMES MEREDITH.
WELL, NONE
OF THE STUDENTS...
I THINK I SPEAK
FOR ALL OF THEM...
WANT THE
SCHOOL CLOSED.
AND I THINK
IF IT IS CLOSED,
IT'D BE TOO MUCH
PRESSURE ON MR. BARNETT
AND HE WILL HAVE
TO OPEN IT
WITHIN A DAY OR TWO
ANYWAY.
DO YOU THINK
IF THE SCHOOL
HAD TO BE CLOSED
IT WOULD
AFFECT THE REBELS,
THE FOOTBALL TEAM?
YES... THAT'S ONE
BAD THING ABOUT IT.
NOW, ALL THE STUDENTS
ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD
TO ALL THE FOOTBALL GAMES,
AND IF THE SCHOOL
IS CLOSED,
WE WANT THE BALL GAMES
PLAYED ANYWAY.
Narrator:
ON SEPTEMBER 20,
THE CONFLICT CAME TO A HEAD
WHEN GOVERNOR ROSS BARNETT
FLEW UP TO THE OXFORD CAMPUS
OF OLE MISS.
THERE, IN DEFIANCE OF
THE FEDERAL COURT ORDER,
HE PERSONALLY TURNED
JAMES MEREDITH AWAY.
HIS ACTIONS WERE LEGAL, HE SAID,
BASED ON THE PRE-CIVIL WAR
DOCTRINE OF INTERPOSITION.
THE DOCTRINE IS THAT
A STATE MAY INTERPOSE ITSELF
BETWEEN THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
AND SOME ACTION THAT IS THOUGHT
TO BE IMPOSED UPON THE STATE
OR SOME OF ITS SUBDIVISIONS
BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THE SUPREMACY CLAUSE,
WHICH PROVIDES THAT
IN CASE OF A CONFLICT
BETWEEN THE NATION
AND THE STATES,
THE NATION... THE LAW
OF THE NATION... PREVAILS
MAKES HASH OF THE DOCTRINE
OF INTERPOSITION,
AND ANY LAWYER WORTH HIS SALT
KNOWS THAT.
AND BARNETT WAS A LAWYER
WHO MADE A GOOD LIVING,
STILL MAKING A GOOD LIVING
OUT OF THE LAW,
AND HE KNEW BETTER THAN THAT.
(crowd cheering )
Narrator:
FIVE DAYS LATER,
ON SEPTEMBER 25,
ARMED WITH MORE COURT ORDERS
ON HIS BEHALF,
JAMES MEREDITH TRIED AGAIN
TO REGISTER
AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF MISSISSIPPI...
THIS TIME AT ITS JACKSON OFFICE
AND THIS TIME ACCOMPANIED
BY JOHN DOAR
OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
AND U.S. MARSHAL JAMES McSHANE.
Reporter:
THIS IS HAGAN THOMPSON
AT THE STATE OFFICE BUILDING
IN JACKSON.
JAMES MEREDITH HAS JUST ARRIVED
IN THE CUSTODY
OF FEDERAL OFFICIALS
AND APPARENTLY MAKING HIS WAY UP
TO THE TENTH FLOOR TO REGISTER.
AND IN THEY GO, AND WE'LL SWITCH
NOW IN JUST A MOMENT.
THE CROWD IS BOOING LUSTILY.
INSIDE THE WOOLFOLK BUILDING,
THEY HAVE A CROWD OF SEVERAL
THOUSAND INSIDE AND OUT.
Narrator:
AGAIN, GOVERNOR BARNETT
WAS WAITING.
Barnett:
I TOOK AN OATH
WHEN I WAS INAUGURATED
GOVERNOR OF THIS STATE
TO UPHOLD AND TO TRY
TO MAINTAIN AND PERPETUATE
THE LAWS OF MISSISSIPPI.
GENTLEMEN, MY CONSCIENCE
IS CLEAR.
I'M ABIDING BY THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED STATES
AND THE CONSTITUTION
OF MISSISSIPPI
AND THE LAWS OF THE
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
I GOT TO ADMIT I WAS SURPRISED
WHEN I GOT TO THE DOOR
OF THE REGENT'S OFFICE
AND WHEN THE DOOR OPENED,
THERE WAS, ON THE THRESHOLD,
WAS THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE
OF MISSISSIPPI THERE,
BLOCKING THE DOOR.
I GOT TO SAY TO YOU THAT
I DIDN'T ANTICIPATE THAT.
AND HE HAD A PROCLAMATION
AND HE READ IT,
IN WHICH THE END LINE WAS,
"I REFUSE TO REGISTER YOU
UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE LAWS
OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI."
SO WE LEFT.
Narrator:
ONCE AGAIN, A GOVERNOR'S
ACTION HAD CREATED
A CONSTITUTIONAL TEST.
NOW THE QUESTION WAS,
WOULD PRESIDENT KENNEDY USE
THE U.S. ARMY,
AS PRESIDENT EISENHOWER HAD?
KENNEDY WAS STILL RELUCTANT.
INSTEAD, HE TRIED
SECRET TELEPHONE NEGOTIATIONS
WITH GOVERNOR BARNETT.
Barnett:
You don't understand
the situation down here.
Kennedy:
Well, the only thing is,
I got my responsibility.
This is not my order,
I just have to carry it out.
So I want to get together
and try to do it with you
in a way which is
the most satisfactory
and causes the least chance of
damage to people in Mississippi.
That's my interest.
Barnett:
Would you be willing
to wait a while
and let the people cool off
on the whole thing?
Barnett:
Couldn't you make a statement
to the effect, Mr. President,
that under the circumstances
existing in Mississippi...
That there'll be bloodshed...
You want to protect the life
of James Meredith
and all other people
and under the circumstances
at this time,
it just wouldn't be fair
to him or others
to try to register him?
Kennedy:
Well, then what time
would it be fair?
Barnett:
Well, we could wait...
I don't know.
It might be in two or three
weeks, it might cool off.
Kennedy:
Would you undertake to register
him in two weeks?
Barnett:
Well, you know I can't undertake
to register him myself,
but you all might make
some progress that way.
Kennedy:
Well, we'd be faced,
unless we had your support
and assurance...
Barnett:
I'm going to cooperate.
IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
HAD TOLD GOVERNOR BARNETT,
"WE'RE COMING IN AND WE'RE GOING
TO MAINTAIN ORDER
AND WE'RE GOING
TO REGISTER MEREDITH,"
THEY WOULD HAVE HAD MY COMPLETE
RESPECT AND COOPERATION.
THEY DIDN'T DO THAT.
AND BY THE SAME TOKEN,
THE GOVERNOR WAS SO OBSESSED
WITH THE IDEA OF MAINTAINING
OUR WAY OF LIFE THAT...
THAT WAS THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE.
AND WITH THOSE TWO POINTS
OF VIEW
AND WITH THE TWO
POLITICAL LEADERS
TRYING TO MAKE EACH OTHER
LOOK AS GOOD AS THEY COULD,
THE SITUATION JUST
GOT OUT OF HAND.
Narrator:
THE SITUATION IN OXFORD
WAS BECOMING VERY TENSE
AS HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
STREAMED INTO THE AREA
TO DEFEND OLE MISS
AND THE SOUTHERN WAY OF LIFE.
(siren wailing )
Katzenbach:
WE HAD HAD REPORTS THROUGHOUT,
NOT MERELY THE STUDENTS
BUT OF ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE
POURING IN IN CARS
IN ORDER TO PREVENT MEREDITH
FROM BEING ADMITTED TO OLE MISS.
ONE HAS TO REMEMBER ALSO
THAT THAT WAS THE SQUIRREL
HUNTING SEASON IN MISSISSIPPI
SO THERE WERE LITERALLY
HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF GUNS.
EVERY PICKUP TRUCK HAD
A COUPLE OF GUNS IN IT,
AND... SO THAT THE SITUATION WAS
REALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
Narrator:
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29...
THE OLE MISS CAMPUS WAS DESERTED
AS THE STUDENTS
FLOCKED TO JACKSON
FOR THE FOOTBALL GAME
AGAINST KENTUCKY.
THE HALF-TIME SPEAKER
WAS GOVERNOR ROSS BARNETT.
I LOVE MISSISSIPPI.
(crowd cheering wildly )
I LOVE HER PEOPLE.
(crowd cheers )
OUR CUSTOMS.
I LOVE AND I RESPECT
OUR HERITAGE.
(crowd cheering )
Narrator:
THE NEXT DAY,
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.
FINALLY, PRESIDENT KENNEDY
DECIDED THE TIME HAD COME
TO ENROLL JAMES MEREDITH
AT OLE MISS.
HE SENT SEVERAL HUNDRED
U.S. MARSHALS
TO THE CAMPUS TO PREPARE.
AND HE ANNOUNCED HE'D MAKE
A SPECIAL SPEECH
TO THE STATE THAT NIGHT.
SUNDAY EVENING, WHEN I FLEW DOWN
IN A GOVERNMENT PLANE
TO THE AIRSTRIP AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
AND WE HAD MARSHALS
ALREADY DOWN THERE...
WE HAD ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE
HUNDRED MARSHALS SWORN IN,
FROM THE PRISON GUARDS,
FROM THE BORDER PATROL,
FROM THE U.S. MARSHAL SERVICE,
FROM ANY OTHER PLACE
WE COULD FIND
REASONABLY TRAINED
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
AND THEY WERE THEMSELVES
AN IRRITANT TO THE STUDENTS,
WHO WERE RETURNING
FROM A FOOTBALL WEEKEND.
AND WE HAD NO PLACE
TO SORT OF HIDE THE MARSHALS.
WE WERE AROUND
THE LYCEUM BUILDING,
WHICH WAS THE CENTER
OF THE CAMPUS
AND, UNBEKNOWNST TO US,
A SORT OF A TRADITION
AND A PLACE OF GREAT HONOR.
STUDENTS CAME AND, OF COURSE,
THEY SAW THE MARSHALS.
I KNOW I GOT ANGRY
WHEN I SAW THE MARSHALS.
IT JUST... IT SEEMED A BETRAYAL;
IT MADE ME MAD.
YOU KNOW,
"WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE HERE?
"WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING,
AND PEOPLE HAVE
BEHAVED THEMSELVES."
AND, YOU KNOW,
"WHAT IS GOING ON?"
AND I CAUGHT MYSELF, REALLY,
WITH SOME OF THESE FEELINGS.
Narrator:
AFTER THE MARSHALS HAD
SECURED THEIR POSITIONS,
JAMES MEREDITH WAS FLOWN
INTO OXFORD AIRPORT
AND DRIVEN TO A SECRET LOCATION
AT OLE MISS.
THE CROWDS DIDN'T KNOW
WHERE HE WAS,
BUT THEY KNEW HE WAS ON CAMPUS.
AND AT 8:00, JUST AS
THE PRESIDENT WENT ON THE AIR,
OLE MISS TURNED
INTO A BATTLEFIELD.
(shouting, gunshots )
VERY FEW PEOPLE HEARD
THE PRESIDENT'S WORDS.
(gunshots and sirens )
(glass breaking )
Kennedy:
AMERICANS ARE FREE, IN SHORT,
TO DISAGREE WITH THE LAW,
BUT NOT TO DISOBEY IT.
FOR ANY GOVERNMENT OF LAWS
AND NOT OF MEN,
NO MAN, HOWEVER
PROMINENT OR POWERFUL,
AND NO MOB, HOWEVER
UNRULY OR BOISTEROUS,
IS ENTITLED TO DEFY
A COURT OF LAW.
THE EYES OF THE NATION
AND ALL THE WORLD
ARE UPON YOU AND UPON ALL OF US.
Narrator:
THE MARSHALS WERE ORDERED NOT
TO USE GUNS AGAINST THE RIOTERS,
WHO WERE SHOOTING AND
THROWING MOLOTOV COCKTAILS.
AND THE RIOTERS WERE
TARGETING THE MEDIA,
SMASHING CAMERAS
AND ATTACKING REPORTERS.
(siren wailing,
gunshots continue )
THERE WAS ONE FRESHMAN GIRL
THAT HAD BEEN THIS LITTLE FLOWER
OF SOUTHERN GENTILITY
WHEN I HAD MET HER.
AND SHE CAME UP TO ME
AND HER FACE WAS
ABSOLUTELY CONTORTED.
AND I ALMOST DIDN'T
RECOGNIZE HER.
AND SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS
BECAUSE SHE HAD PICKED
UP A BRICK
AND THROWN IT AT A MARSHAL
AND IT HAD ONLY HIT HIM
IN THE HEAD AND SCRATCHED HIM
AND SHE HAD NOT PUT HIS EYE OUT.
Kennedy(on phone):
Well, you see, we got to get
order up there,
and that's what we thought
we could have.
Barnett:
Mr. President, please,
why don't you give an order
to remove Meredith?
Kennedy:
How can I remove him, Governor,
when there's a riot
in the street
and he may step out
of that building
and something happen to him?
I can't remove him
under those conditions.
Barnett:
People are wiring me
and calling me,
saying, "Well, you've given up."
I had to say, "No, I'm not
giving up...
Not giving up any fight."
Kennedy:
Yeah, but we don't want...
Barnett:
"I never give up.
I have courage and faith,
and we'll win this fight."
You understand.
That's just
the Mississippi people.
Kennedy:
Yeah, I understand, but I don't
think anybody
in Mississippi or anyplace else
wants a lot of people killed.
Barnett:
Oh, no, no.
Kennedy:
Governor, that's
the most important thing.
Barnett:
I'll issue any statement,
any time,
about peace and violence.
Narrator:
WHILE THE PRESIDENT
AND THE GOVERNOR ARGUED,
THE RIOT WORSENED.
FINALLY, KATZENBACH ASKED
THE WHITE HOUSE FOR TROOPS.
IT TOOK HOURS FOR THEM
TO ARRIVE,
AND DURING THE NIGHT,
35 MARSHALS WERE SHOT
AND TWO PEOPLE...
A FRENCH JOURNALIST AND AN
OXFORD WORKER... WERE KILLED.
BUT BY DAWN, THE ARMY
HAD RESTORED ORDER.
OF COURSE THE PRESIDENT'S
GOING TO WIN IN THE END.
HE'S GOT THE WHOLE ARMED FORCES
OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE CAN CALL IN THE AIR FORCE.
HE CAN BRING NAVY SHIPS
UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
HE CAN CALL OUT THE ARMY,
AS HE DID.
HE CAN DROP PARACHUTERS IN.
I SUPPOSE HE COULD SHOOT
MISSILES AT OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI.
SO HE'S GOING TO WIN
AT THE END.
Ellis:
I RECALL DRIVING TO THE CAMPUS,
AND I GUESS WHEN
I GOT TO THE CIRCLE
WAS WHEN I REALLY SAW THE IMPACT
OF THE RIOT
THE PREVIOUS EVENING.
I REPORTED TO MY OFFICE.
AS I RECALL IT, THERE WEREN'T
VERY MANY OF THE STAFF THERE.
MANY OF THEM WERE TOO AFRAID
TO COME TO THE CAMPUS ON MONDAY.
AND LATER, JAMES MEREDITH
CAME TO MY PRIVATE OFFICE
AND I ACCOMMODATED
THE REGISTRATION THERE.
IT WASN'T A CAUSE
FOR LAUGHTER AND CHAMPAGNE,
BUT IT WAS A CAUSE
FOR SOME RELIEF.
AND IT WAS THE FACT THAT
THAT WAS OVER WITH.
I MEAN, IN A WAY,
OXFORD HAD BECOME THE SYMBOL
OF MASSIVE RESISTANCE
IN THE FINAL GASP
OF THE CIVIL WAR,
IF YOU WANT TO LOOK
AT IT THAT WAY.
AND IT WAS OVER, IT HAD ENDED.
Reporter:
SIR, THERE'S BEEN
A GREAT DEAL
OF TURMOIL
AND CONFLICT.
TWO PEOPLE HAVE
BEEN KILLED.
DO YOU HAVE ANY
FEELINGS OF GUILT?
HAVE YOU GIVEN IT
ANY SECOND THOUGHTS?
I'M VERY SORRY THAT ANYONE
HAD TO GET HURT OR KILLED.
BUT OF COURSE, I THINK THAT'S
AN UNFAIR QUESTION OF ME.
I DON'T BELIEVE
ANY OF YOU BELIEVE
THAT I HAD ANYTHING
TO DO WITH THAT.
HOW ARE YOU
GETTING ALONG
IN SCHOOL, SIR?
JUST FINE, JUST FINE.
HOW ARE
THE STUDENTS?
ANY
REACTIONS?
NO, JUST ACTING
LIKE STUDENTS, I SUPPOSE.
IS THIS A KIND
OF A LONELY LIFE
FOR YOU
DESPITE ALL THESE
PEOPLE AROUND YOU?
Meredith:
I'VE BEEN LIVING
A LONELY LIFE A LONG TIME.
Narrator:
IT WAS A LONELY VICTORY
FOR JAMES MEREDITH,
BUT IT WAS A VICTORY
FOR HIM AND THE COUNTRY.
THE CONSTITUTION HAD HELD
AND BEEN REAFFIRMED
IN A MAJOR CRISIS.
THOUSANDS OF BLACK PEOPLE
FELT THE VICTORY
AND SAW JAMES MEREDITH
AS AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW...
A SYMBOL,
LIKE THE LITTLE ROCK NINE,
OF THEIR OWN POWER
TO MOVE THE NATION.
(gospel music playing )
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