American Experience (1988–…): Season 19, Episode 3 - Eyes on the Prize: Parts 5 & 6 - Is This America?/Bridge to Freedom - full transcript
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OF EYES ON THE PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE BY:
SELMA, ALABAMA... 1965.
Man:
I DON'T NEED TO LEAVE.
WE'VE COME
TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
Woman:
IF YOU CAN'T VOTE,
YOU AIN'T FREE.
AND IF YOU AIN'T FREE,
WELL, THEN YOU'RE A SLAVE.
WE'RE WILLING TO BE
BEATEN FOR DEMOCRACY.
YEARS OF STRUGGLE CAME DOWN
TO THIS CLIMACTIC BATTLE
FOR VOTING RIGHTS.
BEFORE IT ENDED,
BLACK AND WHITE AMERICANS
GAVE THEIR LIVES.
BUT WOULD THAT BE ENOUGH?
Man:
YOU BEAT PEOPLE BLOODY
IN ORDER THAT THEY WILL NOT
HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO VOTE!
♪ 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. ♪
IN THE AREAS OF THE COUNTRY
WHERE THE GOVERNMENT HAS PROVEN
ITSELF UNABLE OR UNWILLING
WHEN THEY ARE BEING BRUTALLY
AND UNJUSTLY ATTACKED,
THEN THE NEGROES THEMSELVES
SHOULD TAKE
WHATEVER STEPS NECESSARY
TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.
Narrator:
TO MANY AMERICANS,
BLACK AND WHITE,
THIS WAS THEIR WORST NIGHTMARE...
RACE RIOTS IN NORTHERN CITIES
DURING THE SUMMER OF 1964.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
WAS TEN YEARS OLD.
NONVIOLENCE HAD
BEEN THE STRATEGY.
BUT COULD NONVIOLENCE WORK
IN A SOCIETY WHICH GREW
ANGRIER EACH DAY?
ON BEHALF OF THE
NOBEL COMMITTEE...
Narrator:
TO THE WORLD,
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.,
HAD COME TO SYMBOLIZE
THE SUCCESS OF
NONVIOLENT STRATEGY.
HE RECEIVED THE NOBEL
PEACE PRIZE IN DECEMBER 1964.
DIPLOMA
AND A GOLD MEDAL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Narrator:
BUT IN AMERICA,
YOUNG MILITANTS WERE BEGINNING
TO CHALLENGE KING'S LEADERSHIP.
DALLAS COUNTY, SELMA, ALABAMA.
FOR MORE THAN A YEAR,
ORGANIZERS FROM
THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE...
S.N.C.C... HAD WORKED
WITH LOCAL RESIDENTS
IN WAGING A VOTER
REGISTRATION CAMPAIGN.
THEY MET SOLID RESISTANCE.
Man:
EVERYONE NOT UNDER ARREST,
YOU'RE GOING TO
LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.
Narrator:
BY THE END OF 1964,
S.N.C.C. WAS EXHAUSTED, WITH
LITTLE MONEY TO CONTINUE.
SELMA'S BLACK LEADERS
TURNED TO MARTIN LUTHER KING
AND THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE FOR HELP.
TODAY MARKS THE BEGINNING
OF A DETERMINED, ORGANIZED,
MOBILIZED CAMPAIGN.
Narrator:
KING'S PRESENCE
REOPENED AN OLD RIVALRY
BETWEEN THE MINISTERS
OF S.C.L.C.
AND THE YOUNG
ORGANIZERS OF S.N.C.C.
WE FELT THAT THERE SHOULD BE
A PROJECTION AND AN ORGANIZATION
OF INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP,
OF LEADERSHIP
FROM THE COMMUNITY,
WHEREAS THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
TOOK THE POSITION THAT MARTIN
WAS A CHARISMATIC LEADER
WHO WAS MAINLY RESPONSIBLE
FOR RAISING MONEY
AND THEY RAISED MOST OF THE
MONEY OFF OF HIS LEADERSHIP.
BUT THIS DIFFERENCES
IN LEADERSHIP
THEN LED TO DIFFERENCES
IN STYLE OF WORK.
WE WANTED A MOVEMENT THAT WOULD
SURVIVE THE LOSS OF OUR LIVES;
THEREFORE, THE NECESSITY TO
BUILD A BROAD-BASED MOVEMENT
AND NOT JUST
A CHARISMATIC LEADER.
Narrator:
S.N.C.C. AND S.C.L.C.
PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES
AND LAUNCHED A COMBINED
EFFORT ON JANUARY 18, 1965.
THE DALLAS COUNTY COURTHOUSE
STEPS BECAME A DRAMATIC STAGE
AS PROSPECTIVE VOTERS LINED UP
FOR THE REGISTRAR'S
OFFICE INSIDE.
THE KEY ACTOR WAS
SHERIFF JIM CLARK.
Clark:
ARE YOU A RESIDENT
OF DALLAS COUNTY?
YOU MOVE BACK OFF THE SIDEWALK,
THEN... GET ON BACK THERE.
GET ON BACK, MOVE OFF.
HOW FAR DO I
HAVE TO MOVE?
MOVE OFF...
MOVE OFF, MOVE OFF.
YOU GET BACK OFF
THE SIDEWALK.
I SAID OFF THE SIDEWALK.
MOVE BACK THERE.
YOU ARE BLOCKING
THE TRAFFIC
AND YOU HAVE TO GET
IN THE LINE.
THERE'S NO TRAFFIC,
THERE'S NO LINE.
Narrator:
MOVEMENT LEADERS COUNTED ON
CLARK TO DRAW MEDIA ATTENTION...
THE KIND OF ATTENTION THAT
WOULD INTEREST WASHINGTON
AND WIN VOTING
RIGHTS LEGISLATION.
I AM A SEGREGATIONIST.
I DO NOT BELIEVE IN
BIRACIAL COMMITTEES.
Narrator:
SELMA'S POLITICAL LEADERS
UNDERSTOOD THE MOVEMENT'S
TACTICS
AND WERE DESPERATE NOT TO
GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE.
MAYOR JOSEPH SMITHERMAN
AND HIS PUBLIC SAFETY
DIRECTOR, WILSON BAKER,
HOPED TO RESTRAIN
THE VOLATILE SHERIFF CLARK
AS HE DEALT WITH
THE DEMONSTRATORS.
THEY PICKED SELMA JUST LIKE A
MOVIE PRODUCER WOULD PICK A SET.
YOU HAD THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS.
I MEAN, YOU'D HAVE HAD
TO SEEN CLARK IN HIS DAY.
HE HAD A HELMET LINER
LIKE GENERAL PATTON.
HE HAD THE CLOTHES...
THE EISENHOWER JACKET
AND THE SWAGGER STICK...
AND THEN BAKER WAS
VERY IMPRESSIVE.
I GUESS I WAS THE LEAST OF ALL.
I WAS 145 POUNDS AND A CREWCUT
AND BIG EARS.
SO YOU HAD A YOUNG MAYOR WITH
NO BACKGROUND OR EXPERIENCE.
OUR CITY AND OUR COUNTY
HAS BEEN SUBJECTED
TO THE GREATEST PRESSURES
I THINK ANY COMMUNITY IN THE
COUNTRY HAS HAD TO WITHSTAND.
WE'VE HAD IN OUR AREA HERE
OUTSIDE AGITATION GROUPS
OF ALL LEVELS.
WE'VE HAD MARTIN
LUTHER COON... UH, KING...
PARDON ME, SIR...
MARTIN LUTHER KING,
WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE OF THE NAZI
PARTY, THE STATES' RIGHTS PARTY.
BOTH OF THESE GROUPS
HAVE COME IN.
THEY HAVE CONTINUALLY
HARASSED AND AGITATED US
FOR APPROXIMATELY THREE
OR FOUR WEEKS.
Narrator:
MORE THAN HALF OF DALLAS
COUNTY'S CITIZENS WERE BLACK,
BUT LESS THAN 1% WERE
REGISTERED BY 1965.
THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE SOUTH,
CUSTOM AND LAW
HAD LONG PREVENTED
BLACKS FROM REGISTERING.
IN SELMA, THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE
WAS OPEN ONLY TWO DAYS A MONTH.
REGISTRARS WOULD ARRIVE LATE,
LEAVE EARLY
AND TAKE LONG LUNCH HOURS.
FEW BLACKS WHO LINED UP
WOULD GET IN,
AND GETTING IN WAS NO GUARANTEE
OF BEING REGISTERED.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
KNEW THE PROBLEM.
AND NOW, HAVING SOUNDLY DEFEATED
CONSERVATIVE BARRY GOLDWATER
IN THE RECENT ELECTION,
HE SET THIS GOAL.
I PROPOSE THAT WE ELIMINATE
EVERY REMAINING OBSTACLE
TO THE RIGHT AND THE
OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE.
Narrator:
BUT JOHNSON'S STAFF HAD DOUBTS
ABOUT PUSHING FOR
MORE LEGISLATION.
I THINK THOSE OF US WHO HAD BEEN
INVOLVED DAY IN AND DAY OUT
IN CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION,
IN GETTING THE 1964 CIVIL
RIGHTS ACT THROUGH CONGRESS
WERE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE
DRAGGING OUR FEET
AND WANTED BREATHING ROOM.
THE PRESIDENT DIDN'T WANT THAT.
HE SAID, "GET IT AND GET IT NOW,
"BECAUSE WE'LL NEVER HAVE
A BETTER OPPORTUNITY
"TO GET LEGISLATION ON ANY
SUBJECT, INCLUDING CIVIL RIGHTS,
THAN WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IN 1965."
WE HAVE THE MAJORITY TO DO IT,
AND WE CAN DO IT.
Narrator:
ALTHOUGH SHERIFF CLARK
TRIED TO CONTROL HIS TEMPER,
THE STRAIN BEGAN TO SHOW.
IN MID-JANUARY, HE ARRESTED
MRS. AMELIA BOYNTON,
A HIGHLY RESPECTED
COMMUNITY LEADER.
ANGERED BY MRS. BOYNTON'S
ARREST,
105 LOCAL TEACHERS MARCHED
TO THE COURTHOUSE IN PROTEST,
KNOWING THEY MIGHT BE FIRED
BY THE WHITE SCHOOL BOARD.
THIS COURTHOUSE IS
A SERIOUS PLACE OF BUSINESS.
YOU SEEM TO THINK
YOU CAN TAKE IT FOR...
JUST TO BE A DISNEYLAND
OR SOMETHING ON PARADE.
DO YOU HAVE BUSINESS
IN THE COURTHOUSE?
Man:
WE JUST WANT
TO PASS THROUGH.
DO YOU HAVE ANY BUSINESS
IN THE COURTHOUSE?
THE ONLY BUSINESS
WE HAVE WAS TO COME BY
FOR THE BOARD
OF REGISTRARS
TO REGISTER.
THE BOARD OF REGISTRARS IS
NOT IN SESSION THIS AFTERNOON,
AS YOU WERE INFORMED.
Clark:
YOU CAME DOWN
TO MAKE A MOCKERY
OUT OF THIS COURTHOUSE
AND WE'RE NOT GOING
TO HAVE IT.
NOW, MOVE, MOVE,
MOVE, MOVE!
OFF THE SIDEWALK,
GET OFF THE SIDEWALK.
SO I SAW THEN THAT HE WAS
NOT GOING TO ARREST US,
AS I REALLY WANTED HIM TO DO.
THEREFORE, WE ASKED
THE TEACHERS THEN WOULD REGROUP
AND WE MARCHED BACK,
NOT TO THE SCHOOL
BUT TO BROWN CHAPEL CHURCH,
AT WHICH TIME
THERE WAS A RALLY HELD.
Leader and congregation:
♪ THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE ♪
♪ I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE ♪
♪ I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE... ♪
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS' MARCH
WAS THE FIRST BLACK MIDDLE-CLASS
DEMONSTRATION IN SELMA.
SHEYANN WEBB AND RACHEL WEST
WERE SCHOOLCHILDREN AT THE TIME.
AND IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE HOW
MANY TEACHERS HAD PARTICIPATED.
I REMEMBER VIVIDLY ON THAT DAY
WHEN I SAW MY TEACHERS
MARCHING WITH ME, YOU KNOW,
JUST FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
AND IT WAS... TEACHERS THERE WAS
SOMEWHAT LIKE
UP IN THE UPPER CLASS, YOU KNOW.
PEOPLE LOOKED UP
TO TEACHERS THEN
AND LOOKED UP TO PREACHERS.
THEY WERE SOMEWHAT LIKE LEADERS
FOR US BACK THEN.
THEN THE UNDERTAKERS GOT A GROUP
AND THEY MARCHED.
THE BEAUTICIANS GOT A GROUP;
THEY MARCHED.
EVERYBODY MARCHED AFTER
THE TEACHERS MARCHED,
BECAUSE TEACHERS
HAD MORE INFLUENCE
THAN THEY EVER DREAMED
IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE WANT YOU
TO KNOW, GENTLEMEN,
THAT EVERY ONE OF YOU,
WE KNOW YOUR
BADGE NUMBERS,
WE KNOW YOUR NAMES...
Narrator:
IN MID-FEBRUARY,
REVEREND C.T. VIVIAN,
AN S.C.L.C. ORGANIZER,
CONFRONTED SHERIFF CLARK
AND HIS DEPUTIES
ON THE COURTHOUSE STEPS.
BUT BELIEVE ME,
THERE WERE THOSE
THAT FOLLOWED HITLER,
LIKE YOU BLINDLY FOLLOW
THIS SHERIFF CLARK,
WHO DIDN'T THINK
THEIR DAY WOULD COME.
BUT THEY ALSO WERE PULLED
INTO A COURTROOM
AND THEY WERE ALSO GIVEN
THEIR DEATH SENTENCES.
YOU'RE NOT THIS BAD
A RACIST,
BUT YOU'RE RACIST
IN THE SAME WAY
THAT HITLER
WAS A RACIST.
AND YOU'RE BLINDLY
FOLLOWING A MAN
THAT'S LEADING YOU
DOWN A ROAD
THAT'S GOING TO BRING YOU
INTO FEDERAL COURT.
NOW, I AM REPRESENTING
PEOPLE IN DALLAS COUNTY,
AND I HAVE THAT
RIGHT TO DO SO.
NOW, AND AS
I REPRESENT THEM,
AND THEY CAN SPEAK
FOR THEMSELVES...
IS WHAT I'M SAYING TRUE?
Crowd:
YES!
IS IT WHAT YOU THINK
AND WHAT YOU BELIEVE?
Crowd:
YES!
FOR THIS IS NOT
A LOCAL PROBLEM,
GENTLEMEN.
THIS IS
A NATIONAL PROBLEM.
YOU CAN'T KEEP ANYONE
IN THE UNITED STATES
FROM VOTING
WITHOUT HURTING
THE RIGHTS
OF ALL OTHER
CITIZENS.
DEMOCRACY'S
BUILT ON THIS.
THIS IS WHY EVERY MAN
HAS THE RIGHT TO VOTE,
REGARDLESS.
AND HE STARTED SHOUTING AT ME
THAT I WAS A HITLER,
I WAS A BRUTE,
THAT I WAS A NAZI.
I DON'T REMEMBER
EVERYTHING HE CALLED ME.
AND I DID LOSE MY TEMPER THEN.
WE HAVE COME
TO BE HERE
BECAUSE THEY
ARE REGISTERING
AT THIS TIME.
TURN THAT LIGHT OUT.
I CAN'T ENFORCE THE LAW
WITH A LIGHT IN MY FACE.
WE HAVE COME
TO REGISTER,
AND THIS IS OUR
REASON FOR BEING HERE.
YOU'RE BLINDING ME
WITH THAT LIGHT.
MOVE BACK.
YOU CAN ARREST US,
SHERIFF CLARK.
YOU CAN ARREST US.
Man:
IF YOU WANT TO
ARREST US, ARREST US.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BEAT US.
NO, YOU DON'T
HAVE TO BEAT US.
I DON'T REMEMBER
EVEN HITTING HIM,
BUT I WENT TO THE DOCTOR
AND GOT AN X-RAY
AND FOUND OUT I HAD
A LINEAR FRACTURE
IN A FINGER ON MY LEFT HAND.
WITH JIM CLARK,
IT WAS A CLEAR ENGAGEMENT
BETWEEN THE FORCES OF MOVEMENT
AND THE FORCES OF THE STRUCTURE
THAT WOULD DESTROY MOVEMENT.
IT WAS A CLEAR ENGAGEMENT
BETWEEN THOSE WHO WISHED
THE FULLNESS OF THEIR
PERSONALITIES TO BE MET
AND THOSE THAT WOULD DESTROY US
PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY.
YOU DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THAT.
THIS IS WHAT MOVEMENT MEANT.
MOVEMENT MEANT THAT FINALLY
WE WERE ENCOUNTERING,
ON A MASS SCALE,
THE EVIL THAT HAD BEEN
DESTROYING US ON A MASS SCALE.
YOU DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THAT.
YOU CONTINUE TO ANSWER IT.
IF WE'RE WRONG,
WHY DON'T YOU ARREST US?
WHY DON'T YOU
GET OUT IN FRONT
OF THE CAMERA
IT'S NOT A MATTER OF
BEING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.
IT'S A MATTER OF
FACING YOUR SHERIFF
AND FACING YOUR JUDGE.
WE'RE WILLING TO BE
BEATEN FOR DEMOCRACY.
AND YOU MISUSE DEMOCRACY
IN THE STREET.
YOU BEAT PEOPLE BLOODY
IN ORDER THAT THEY WILL
NOT HAVE
THE PRIVILEGE TO VOTE.
WHY DON'T YOU GO ON?
YOU BEAT ME
ON THE SIDE
AND THEN HIDE YOUR BLOWS.
I DON'T NEED TO LEAVE.
WE HAVE COME TO
REGISTER TO VOTE.
Officer:
YOU'RE UNDER ARREST.
Vivian:
IS EVERYBODY UNDER ARREST?
LET'S ALL GO!
I'M HERE TO TELL YOU TONIGHT
THAT THE BUSINESSMEN,
THE MAYOR OF THIS CITY,
THE POLICE COMMISSIONER
OF THIS CITY
AND EVERYBODY IN THE WHITE
POWER STRUCTURE OF THIS CITY
MUST TAKE A RESPONSIBILITY F
EVERYTHING THAT JIM CLARK DOES
IN THIS COMMUNITY.
IT'S TIME FOR US
TO SAY TO THESE MEN
THAT IF YOU DON'T DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT,
WE WILL HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE
BUT TO ENGAGE IN BROADER
AND MORE DRASTIC FORMS
OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
IN ORDER TO BRING THE
ATTENTION OF THE NATION
TO THIS WHOLE ISSUE
IN SELMA, ALABAMA.
Narrator:
THE CAMPAIGN IN SELMA ESCALATED
WHEN VIOLENCE ERUPTED DURING
A MARCH IN A NEIGHBORING TOWN.
THE MARCH IN MARION, ALABAMA,
WAS A NIGHTTIME MARCH,
AND A NIGHTTIME MARCH
WAS ALWAYS DANGEROUS.
AND THERE WAS ALWAYS DISCUSSION
WITHIN THE MOVEMENT
WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE
NIGHTTIME MARCHES,
BECAUSE THEY KNEW
THEY WERE DANGEROUS.
WE WENT UP THERE THIS NIGHT
AND WE KNEW THERE WAS GOING
TO BE TROUBLE RIGHT AWAY,
BECAUSE LOCAL FOLKS CAME UP
TO US AND THREATENED US,
SPRAYED OUR CAMERAS WITH BLACK
PAINT SO WE COULDN'T SHOOT,
ORDERED US TO PUT THE CAMERAS
DOWN AND HARASSED US,
AND IT WAS A VERY TENSE
SITUATION.
THE WHOLE TOWN WAS SURROUNDED
THAT NIGHT BY AUXILIARY POLICE,
STATE TROOPERS, SHERIFFS
AND EVERYBODY WHO WANTED
TO COME IN, REALLY,
WHO FELT LIKE BEATING FOLK UP.
WE WENT AROUND THE
SIDE OF THE CHURCH
IN AN EFFORT TO GET
BACK INTO THE CHURCH.
SOME OF US TRIED TO GO BACK
IN THE FRONT DOOR
AND SOME OF US JUST WENT
WHERE WE COULD,
BECAUSE AS WE MOVED,
THEY ALSO MOVED.
THEY WAS WHIPPING US AS WE WENT.
SOMEBODY WALKED UP BEHIND ME
AND HIT ME WITH AN AX HANDLE...
HIT ME IN THE HEAD
WITH AN AX HANDLE, DREW BLOOD,
WHICH REQUIRED STITCHES AND I
WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL.
BUT BEFORE I LEFT,
A WHITE MAN WALKED UP TO ME
AND HE SAID, "ARE YOU HURT?
DO YOU NEED A DOCTOR?"
AND I WAS STUNNED AND I PUT MY
HAND TO THE BACK OF MY HEAD
AND I PULLED IT BACK AND IT WAS
FULL OF BLOOD.
AND I SAID TO HIM, "YEAH,
I THINK I DO... I'M BLEEDING."
AND THEN HE THRUST HIS FACE
RIGHT UP AGAINST MINE
AND HE SAID, "WELL,
WE DON'T HAVE DOCTORS
FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU."
Narrator:
THAT SAME NIGHT, A YOUNG MAN
NAMED JIMMY LEE JACKSON
ATTEMPTED TO PROTECT HIS MOTHER
FROM A SIMILAR ATTACK.
HE WAS SHOT AT POINT-BLANK RANGE
BY AN ALABAMA STATE TROOPER
AND DIED EIGHT DAYS LATER.
Crowd:
♪ DEEP IN MY HEART,
I DO BELIEVE ♪
♪ WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY. ♪
HE WAS MURDERED
BY THE IRRESPONSIBILITY
OF EVERY POLITICIAN,
FROM GOVERNORS ON DOWN,
WHO HAS FED HIS CONSTITUENTS
THE STALE BREAD OF HATRED
AND THE SPOILED MEAT OF RACISM.
HE WAS MURDERED BY THE TIMIDITY
OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
THAT CAN SPEND MILLIONS
OF DOLLARS A DAY
TO KEEP TROOPS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
AND CANNOT PROTECT THE
LIVES OF ITS OWN CITIZENS
SEEKING THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
Choir:
♪ WE'VE BEEN 'BUKED ♪
♪ AND WE'VE BEEN SCORNED ♪
♪ BUT WE'LL NEVER TURN BACK. ♪
I JUST THOUGHT
DURING THAT PERIOD
IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH;
TOO MANY, TOO MANY FUNERALS.
AND SOME OF US WOULD SAY,
"HOW MANY MORE?"
WE WAS INFURIATED TO THE POINT
THAT WE WANTED TO CARRY
JIMMY'S BODY TO GEORGE WALLACE
AND DUMP IT ON THE
STEPS OF THE CAPITOL.
WE HAD GOT ABOUT LIKE
THE WHITE FOLK ARE.
WE HAD DETERMINED, DECIDED THAT
WE WERE GOING TO GET KILLED
OR WE WAS GOING TO BE FREE.
AND BE FRANK ABOUT IT.
AND ALL OF US, JUST ABOUT,
FELT THAT WAY.
SO WE HAD INTENDED TO DO
EVERYTHING WE COULD,
SO WE WAS MAD,
I GUESS YOU'D SAY,
AND WE SAID THAT WE WOULD
TAKE JIMMY DOWN
AND JUST PUT HIS CASKET ON
THE DOORSTEPS OF THE CAPITOL.
IF YOU WENT BACK TO SOME OF THE
CLASSICAL STRATEGIES OF GANDHI,
WHEN YOU HAVE, SAY, GREAT
VIOLATION OF THE PEOPLE
AND THERE'S A GREAT
SENSE OF INJURY,
YOU HAVE TO GIVE PEOPLE
A HONORABLE MEANS AND CONTEXT
IN WHICH TO EXPRESS
AND ELIMINATE THEIR GRIEF
AND SPEAK DECISIVELY AND
SUCCINCTLY BACK TO THE ISSUE.
OTHERWISE, YOUR MOVEMENT
WILL BREAK DOWN
IN VIOLENCE AND CHAOS.
Narrator:
AS A RESPONSE
TO JIMMY LEE JACKSON'S DEATH,
S.C.L.C. PROPOSED
A SYMBOLIC MARCH
THAT WOULD BEGIN IN SELMA
AND TRAVEL 54 MILES
TO THE CAPITOL IN MONTGOMERY.
SO, AGREEING TO GO TO MONTGOMERY
WAS THAT KIND OF TOOL
THAT WOULD ABSORB A TREMENDOUS
AMOUNT OF ENERGY AND EFFORT
AND IT WOULD KEEP THE ISSUE
OF DISENFRANCHISEMENT
AND THE WHOLE POINT OF WALKING
FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY...
IT WOULD TAKE YOU
FIVE TO SIX DAYS,
WHICH WOULD GIVE YOU THE TIME
TO DISCUSS IN THE NATION
THROUGH THE PAPERS, RADIO,
TELEVISION
AND GOING AROUND SPEAKING,
WHAT THE REAL ISSUES WERE.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR WALLACE WAS DETERMINED
THAT THE MARCH WOULD NOT
TAKE PLACE.
SUCH ACTION WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED
ON THE PART OF ANY OTHER GROUP
OF CITIZENS OR NON-CITIZENS
OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA
AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED
IN THIS INSTANCE.
GOVERNMENT MUST PROCEED
IN AN ORDERLY MANNER,
AND LAWFUL AND LAW-ABIDING
CITIZENS
MUST TRANSACT THEIR BUSINESS
WITH THE GOVERNMENT
IN SUCH A MANNER.
THERE WILL BE NO MARCH BETWEEN
SELMA, ALABAMA, AND MONTGOMERY,
AND I HAVE SO INSTRUCTED THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
Narrator:
DESPITE THE GOVERNOR'S BAN,
600 PEOPLE GATHERED AT
BROWN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH
ON SUNDAY, MARCH 7, TO BEGIN
THE MARCH TO MONTGOMERY.
DR. KING WAS PREACHING
IN ATLANTA.
HOSEA WILLIAMS AND
JOHN LEWIS LED THE MARCH.
LEWIS CHOSE TO MARCH EVEN
THOUGH HIS ORGANIZATION...
THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE...
OPPOSED S.C.L.C.'s STRATEGY
AND DECIDED NOT TO TAKE PART.
SURPRISINGLY, AS THEY WALKED
THROUGH THE CENTER OF TOWN,
THERE WERE NO POLICE IN SIGHT.
THE ROUTE OUT OF SELMA
CROSSED OVER THE
EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE.
SHEYANN AND I WENT TO
THE EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE,
THERE WHERE I TURNED
AROUND AND LEFT SHEYANN,
SIMPLY BECAUSE, I'M TELLING YOU,
I WAS AFRAID.
Narrator:
WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE
WERE ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS
UNDER ORDERS FROM GOVERNOR
WALLACE TO STOP THE MARCHERS.
CLARK'S POSSE WAS
ON THE SIDELINES.
Policeman:
IT WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL
TO YOUR SAFETY
TO CONTINUE THIS MARCH,
AND I'M SAYING THAT THIS
IS AN UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY.
YOU'RE TO DISPERSE.
YOU ARE ORDERED TO DISPERSE.
GO HOME OR GO TO YOUR CHURCH.
THIS MARCH WILL NOT CONTINUE.
IS THAT CLEAR TO YOU?
I'VE GOT NOTHING
FURTHER TO SAY TO YOU.
ALL I COULD REMEMBER
WAS OUTBURSTS OF TEAR GAS
AND I SAW PEOPLE BEING BEATEN,
AND I BEGAN TO JUST TRY TO RUN
HOME AS FAST AS I COULD.
AND AS I BEGAN TO RUN HOME,
I SAW HORSES BEHIND ME,
AND I WILL NEVER FORGET.
A FREEDOM FIGHTER PICKED
ME UP... HOSEA WILLIAMS.
I TOLD HIM TO PUT ME DOWN,
HE WASN'T RUNNING FAST ENOUGH.
AND I RAN, AND I RAN,
AND I RAN.
WE WERE ABOUT TWO BLOCKS AWAY
FROM THE BRIDGE
AND WE WENT BACK
TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE BACK.
BUT THE POLICE WERE RIDING ALONG
ON HORSEBACK BEATING PEOPLE.
AND THE TEAR GAS WAS SO THICK
YOU COULDN'T GET TO WHERE
PEOPLE WERE IN NEED OF HELP.
AND SO WE REALLY HAD TO TURN
THE CHURCH INTO A HOSPITAL
JUST TO GET PEOPLE
BACK TO THEIR SENSES
AND IT WAS A HORRIBLE
TWO OR THREE HOURS.
Narrator:
SHOCK GAVE WAY TO ANGER.
THERE WAS TALK OF RETALIATION.
THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO
CAME BACK TO THE CHURCH
AND STARTED TALKING ABOUT
GOING TO GET THEIR GUNS.
YOU HAD TO TALK THEM DOWN.
AND YOU HAD TO TALK THEM DOWN
BY SIMPLY ASKING QUESTIONS...
WHAT KIND OF GUN YOU GOT?
.32? .38?
HOW'S THAT GOING TO HOLD UP
AGAINST THE AUTOMATIC RIFLES
AND 10-GAUGE SHOTGUNS
THAT THEY'VE GOT?
AND HOW MANY YOU GOT?
THERE ARE AT LEAST 200 SHOTGUNS
OUT THERE WITH BUCKSHOT IN THEM.
YOU EVER SEE BUCKSHOT?
YOU EVER SEE WHAT BUCKSHOT DOES
TO A DEER?
AND MOST OF THEM HAD.
AND YOU MAKE PEOPLE THINK ABOUT
THE SPECIFICS OF VIOLENCE
AND THEN THEY REALIZE HOW
SUICIDAL AND NONSENSICAL IT IS.
Narrator:
THE DAY AFTER "BLOODY SUNDAY,"
GOVERNOR WALLACE REPRIMANDED
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
FOR THE SCENE ON THE BRIDGE.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED
THAT... IT ENRAGED ME,
BECAUSE I DIDN'T INTEND FOR IT
TO HAPPEN THAT WAY.
BUT I DIDN'T WANT THEM
TO GET BEYOND THAT POINT
WHERE THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE
THAT TOLD ME
THERE MIGHT BE SOME VIOLENCE.
Narrator:
SUNDAY NIGHT,
THE TELEVISION NETWORKS
BROKE INTO REGULAR PROGRAMMING
TO SHOW THESE SCENES
TO A NATIONAL AUDIENCE.
ABC INTERRUPTED ITS PRIMETIME
MOVIE, JUDGMENT AT NUREMBURG,
A FILM ABOUT NAZI WAR CRIMES.
WHEN THAT BEATING HAPPENED
AT THE FOOT OF THE BRIDGE,
IT LOOKED LIKE A WAR.
THAT WENT ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
AND THEN PEOPLE... THE WRATH OF
THE NATION CAME DOWN ON US.
GOVERNOR WALLACE HAD MADE CLEAR
HIS INTENTION TO
PREVENT THIS MARCH
ON THE GROUNDS OF PUBLIC SAFETY
AND DANGER ON THE HIGHWAYS.
WHILE WE KNEW THERE
WOULD BE A CONFRONTATION...
STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIALS WERE PREPARED
FOR MAJOR DISORDER...
WE HAD NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT
LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
WOULD SET UPON NONVIOLENT
AND PEACEFUL CITIZENS
IN THE WAY IN WHICH THEY DID.
ON PRIOR OCCASIONS,
THIS HAS NOT OCCURRED.
SHAME ON YOU, GEORGE WALLACE,
FOR THE WET ROPES THAT
BRUISED THE MUSCLES,
FOR THE BULLWHIPS
THAT CUT THE FLESH,
FOR THE CLUBS
THAT BROKE THE BONES
AND FOR THE TEAR GAS THAT
SEARED THE EYES AND THE NOSE
AND THE NOSTRILS AND THE LUNGS
AND CHOKED PEOPLE
INTO INSENSIBILITY.
THIS IS NOT THE AMERICAN WAY.
WHEN THIS HAPPENED AT SELMA
AND I SAW IT ON TELEVISION,
TO ME IT EXPANDED
BEYOND CIVIL RIGHTS,
BEYOND WHETHER YOU VOTE OR
WHERE YOU SIT IN A RESTAURANT
OR IN A CAFE OR ON PLANES
OR TRAINS OR BUSES;
IT BECAME A MATTER
OF HUMAN LIFE,
AND IT BECAME AN ISSUE
THAT TRANSCENDED ANY OF
THOSE WE WERE VOTING ON.
IT BECAME BIGGER THAN THAT.
AFTER THE BEATING ON THE BRIDGE,
WE IMMEDIATELY SENT OUT A CALL
FOR OUR FRIENDS.
WE DIDN'T THINK WE COULD
PROVIDE... WE COULD COUNT ON
POLICE PROTECTION.
PEOPLE SAID WE SHOULD
SEND IN THE NATIONAL GUARD.
WE DIDN'T THINK THAT THEY
WOULD SEND IN THE NATIONAL GUARD
TO PROTECT BLACK PEOPLE.
AND SO WE SENT OUT A CALL
TO PEOPLE OF GOODWILL.
Narrator:
FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY,
PEOPLE CAME TO SELMA,
AMONG THEM, 450 WHITE CLERGYMEN.
Reese:
HERE ARE A GROUP OF PEOPLE,
BLACK AND WHITE,
SAYING TO US, "WE ARE HERE
"TO SHARE WITH THE PEOPLE
OF SELMA
"IN THIS STRUGGLE
FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
"WE HAVE SEEN ON
THE TELEVISION SCREEN
"THE VIOLENCE THAT TOOK PLACE
AND WE'RE HERE
TO SHARE WITH YOU."
Man:
♪ OH, GOVERNOR WALLACE,
OH, YEAH ♪
♪ YOU NEVER CAN JAIL US ALL,
GOVERNOR WALLACE... ♪
Reese:
AND YOU COULD FEEL
A CHANGE IN THE ATMOSPHERE,
A SPIRIT OF INSPIRATION,
MOTIVATION AND, SEEMINGLY, HOPE
COMING BACK INTO THE EYES AND
INTO THE MINDS OF THESE PEOPLE,
AND THEN RENEWED COMMITMENT
TO THE NONVIOLENT METHOD.
Narrator:
THEY PLANNED TO MARCH
ON TUESDAY.
BUT PRESIDENT JOHNSON
WANTED THEM TO WAIT
UNTIL THEY COULD BE SURE
THERE WOULD BE NO VIOLENCE.
IN MONTGOMERY, ANOTHER JOHNSON,
FEDERAL JUDGE FRANK JOHNSON,
BANNED THE MARCH
PENDING A HEARING.
DR. KING HAD NEVER
VIOLATED A FEDERAL ORDER,
BUT THERE WAS INCREASING
PRESSURE TO MARCH,
ESPECIALLY FROM S.N.C.C.
MY NAME IS
JAMES FORMAN.
I'M EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
OF THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE.
Narrator:
THE S.C.L.C. MINISTERS LEFT THE
DECISION ABOUT MARCHING TO KING.
THE YOUNG MEMBERS OF S.N.C.C.,
ANGERED BY SUNDAY'S ATTACK,
WANTED TO BE SURE KING WOULDN'T
BACK DOWN.
FEDERAL INJUNCTIONS AND COURT
INJUNCTIONS
HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN
IN THE PAST,
AND THE PEOPLE HERE HAVE
TO MAKE UP THEIR MINDS
AND MAKE CERTAIN DECISIONS
THEMSELVES
ABOUT WHAT IT IS
THAT THEY WANT TO DO.
Narrator:
THERE WAS PRIVATE DISAGREEMENT,
BUT PUBLIC UNITY.
THERE'S NO DISAGREEMENT
BETWEEN S.N.C.C. AND S.C.L.C.,
AND THAT'S NOT AT ISSUE HERE.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE
TO THE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE
THAT THE MARCH THAT TUESDAY
WOULD GO FORWARD, ALL RIGHT.
BUT SOME OF US ALSO KNEW THAT
DR. KING HAD TOLD JUDGE JOHNSON
THAT HE WAS GOING
TO CALL OFF THE MARCH.
SO WE HAD A MEETING FROM ABOUT
11:00 TO 5:00 THAT MORNING
WHERE WE WERE TRYING
TO LAY OUT TO HIM
THE NECESSITY
TO KEEP HIS WORD TO THE PEOPLE
THAT THE MARCH WOULD GO FORWARD
AND THAT IT WOULD NOT
BE CALLED OFF.
WE HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE
BUT TO KEEP MOVING
WITH DETERMINATION.
WE'VE GONE TOO FAR NOW
TO TURN BACK.
AND, IN A REAL SENSE,
WE ARE MOVING
AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO STOP
BECAUSE ALABAMA,
AND BECAUSE OUR NATION,
HAS A DATE WITH DESTINY.
Narrator:
TUESDAY, MARCH 9.
2,000 MARCHERS SET OUT
TO CROSS THE PETTUS BRIDGE.
THIS TIME,
THERE WERE POLITICIANS,
LABOR AND CHURCH LEADERS,
MEMBERS OF S.N.C.C.,
THE WIDOW OF A U.S. SENATOR
AND A FEW SOUTHERN WHITES.
THEY WERE SIDE BY SIDE
WITH THOSE WHO HAD BEEN
BEATEN TWO DAYS EARLIER.
Policeman:
YOU ARE ORDERED TO STOP.
STAND WHERE YOU ARE.
THIS MARCH WILL NOT CONTINUE.
Narrator:
THE MARCHERS ASKED
TO KNEEL AND PRAY.
Preacher:
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT AMERICA
WAS FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLES
THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL...
NOT JUST WHITE MEN, BUT ALL MEN.
WE DON'T HAVE MUCH MONEY,
BUT WE DO HAVE OUR BODIES,
AND WE LAY THEM ON THE ALTAR
FOR THEE AND FOR
OUR FREEDOM TODAY.
Narrator:
THEN DR. KING TURNED
THE MARCHERS AROUND
AND WALKED BACK
ACROSS THE BRIDGE.
SOME EXPRESSED RELIEF,
OTHERS SHOCK.
Man:
ALL OF A SUDDEN, I REALIZED
THAT THE PEOPLE IN FRONT
WERE TURNING AROUND
AND COMING BACK,
AND I WAS AGHAST.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
ARE WE NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH
WITH THIS CONFRONTATION?
THE TRUTH OF IT WAS THAT THERE
WAS NOTHING MUCH ELSE TO DO.
WE'D BEEN ORDERED BY A JUDGE
NOT TO GO ANY FURTHER.
IF WE HAD RUN
INTO THAT POLICE LINE,
THEY WOULD HAVE BEATEN US UP
WITH COURT APPROVAL.
Narrator:
S.N.C.C. MEMBERS WOULD CALL
THE TURNAROUND A SELLOUT,
WORSENING THE SPLIT
BETWEEN THEM A S.C.L.C.
FOR OTHERS, THERE WAS
A SENSE OF CONFUSION.
Miller:
WE WAITED TO HEAR
DR. KING'S EXPLANATION
OF WHY THIS HAD BEEN.
WE NEVER FULLY UNDERSTOOD.
BUT WE DID UNDERSTAND
HIS SAYING,
"AS MANY OF YOU AS CAN, COULD
YOU STAY A FEW MORE DAYS?
COULD YOU REMAIN?"
MOST OF US HAD COME
WITHOUT EVEN A TOOTHBRUSH,
BECAUSE WE THOUGHT IT WAS
A ONE-DAY EVENT.
BUT NEVERTHELESS,
A NUMBER OF US DECIDED TO STAY,
I AMONG THEM.
Narrator:
LATER THAT EVENING,
REVEREND MILLER,
ALONG WITH MINISTERS CLARK OLSON
AND JAMES REEB,
WERE RETURNING FROM DINNER.
UNFAMILIAR WITH THE TOWN,
THEY TOOK A WRONG TURN
PAST THE SILVER MOON CAFE.
AND AS WE STARTED WALKING,
FROM ACROSS THE STREET, THERE
APPEARED FOUR OR FIVE WHITE MEN,
AND THEY YELLED AT US,
"HEY, YOU NIGGERS!"
AND WE DID NOT
LOOK ACROSS AT THEM,
BUT WE JUST SORT OF
QUICKENED OUR PACE...
WE DIDN'T RUN, BUT CONTINUED
WALKING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
AND THEY APPARENTLY
CAME ACROSS THE STREET
FROM OUR LEFT AND BEHIND US,
AND ONE OF THEM
WAS CARRYING A CLUB.
AND CLARK SAID HE TURNED
AROUND AND SAW THE CLUB
JUST AS IT WAS SWUNG,
AND JIM REEB, BEING
CLOSEST TO THE CURB,
CAUGHT THE FULL
IMPACT OF THAT BLOW.
Narrator:
JAMES REEB DIED TWO DAYS LATER.
Man and woman:
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ TO BE FREE IN YOUR LIFE? ♪
Narrator:
NEWS OF THE ATTACK
PROVOKED A NATIONAL OUTCRY.
DEMONSTRATORS PROTESTED
THE VIOLENCE IN SELMA.
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ TO BE FREE IN YOUR LIFE? ♪
Narrator:
SOME BLACKS WERE ANGRY
THAT THE DEATH OF
A WHITE MINISTER
STIRRED A NATION
THAT HAD IGNORED
THE DEATH OF JIMMY LEE JACKSON.
WHAT IT SEEMED TO ME IS THAT
THE MOVEMENT ITSELF
IS PLAYING INTO THE HANDS
OF RACISM.
BECAUSE WHAT YOU WANT IS
A NATION TO BE UPSET
WHEN ANYBODY IS KILLED,
AND ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE OF US
IS KILLED.
THEN, SO WE JUST PLAYED
INTO THE HANDS OF RACISM.
AND IT'S ALMOST LIKE, YOU KNOW,
FOR US TO BE RECOGNIZED
A WHITE PERSON MUST BE KILLED.
WELL, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?
Narrator:
WHEN THE POLICE BARRICADED
THE AREA AROUND BROWN CHAPEL,
S.N.C.C. WITHDREW FROM THE
SELMA CAMPAIGN IN FRUSTRATION.
THE BARRICADES WERE TO
KEEP HOSTILE WHITES OUT,
THE PROTESTERS IN.
ONE GROUP, LED BY JIMMY WEBB,
BROKE FREE OF THE BARRICADE.
THEY WERE STOPPED
BY CLARK'S MEN.
Policeman:
I CAN'T FOLLOW YOU, AND
I'M NOT GOING TO FOLLOW YOU
AND GIVE YOU
PERSONAL PROTECTION.
I AM TELLING YOU,
FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT,
YOU HAD BETTER TURN AROUND
AND GET OUT OF THIS AREA.
YOU'RE NOT GOING
TO THE COURTHOUSE IN A GROUP
UNDER THE CONDITIONS
THAT YOU COME HERE.
I ASSURE YOU THAT.
ALL WE WOULD LIKE
TO DO, SIR, IS TO
GO...
THE COURTHOUSE
IS CLOSED.
WE DON'T WANT
TO GO IN THE
COURTHOUSE.
ALL WE WANT TO DO IS GO
TO THE LAWN OF THE COURTHOUSE
AND KNEEL IN PRAYER,
AND WE'LL GLADLY RETURN...
YOU TAKE YOUR PRAYERS
BACK TO YOUR CHURCH.
THAT'S THE PROPER PLACE
TO PRAY.
I'M SURE THAT GOD
WILL HEAR YOUR PRAYER
JUST AS WELL DOWN THERE
AS HE WILL UP HERE,
BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING ON
THIS COURTHOUSE LAWN.
SIR, WHENEVER
THERE ARE MEN WHO ARE
IN SINFUL CONDITIONS,
PRAYERS SHOULD BE UTTERED
WHEREVER THEY ARE.
WHY DON'T YOU PRAY
WHERE YOU ARE?
GO BACK DOWN THERE
AND PRAY.
YOU THINK
YOU'RE LILY WHITE?
NO, I DON'T.
DO YOU THINK
YOU'RE NOT SINFUL?
NO, I DON'T.
WELL, THEN GO BACK
TO YOUR CHURCH AND PRAY.
WELL, SIR, CAN WE PRAY
TOGETHER, YOU AND I?
YOU DO YOUR PRAYING,
I'LL DO MINE, BIG BOY.
I DON'T WANT YOU
TO PRAY FOR ME.
WELL, WILL YOU
PRAY FOR US?
BECAUSE I DON'T THINK YOUR
PRAYERS GET ABOVE YOUR HEAD.
WELL, WILL YOU
PRAY FOR US?
NO, I'M NOT GOING
TO PRAY FOR YOU.
I'LL TEND TO MY BUSINESS,
YOU TEND TO YOURS.
NOW, YOU GOT TO MOVE
THESE PEOPLE OUT OF HERE.
Man:
WE'RE TRYING TO PROTECT YOU.
Woman:
YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO
LOVE BEFORE YOU CAN PRAY.
I DON'T HAVE TO LOVE ANYBODY
I DON'T WANT TO LOVE.
YOU DO YOUR OWN LOVING.
YOU LOVE YOUR LITTLE NIGGERS,
I'LL LOVE WHO I PLEASE.
DO YOU BELIEVE
IN EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL?
I BELIEVE
IN JUSTICE.
DO YOU BELIEVE
IN EQUAL JUSTICE?
I DON'T BELIEVE
IN EQUAL NOTHING.
THERE'S NO TWO PEOPLE
IN THIS WORLD ALIKE.
THEY'RE NOT EQUAL
UNDER ANY TERMS OR CONDITIONS.
THERE'S NO TWO PEAS
IN THE WORLD ALIKE,
NO TWO PIECES
OF MONEY NOR NOTHING ELSE.
THEN, SIR, ARE YOU SAYING
THAT IF I HAVE A QUARTER
AND I'M BLACK
AND YOU HAVE A QUARTER
AND YOU'RE WHITE,
THEN MY QUARTER ISN'T
WORTH AS MUCH AS YOURS?
THAT'S YOUR QUARTER.
I'LL DECIDE WHAT
MY QUARTER IS WORTH.
YOU USE YOURS
AND I'LL USE MINE.
Man:
YOU BUY YOU A CATFISH
SANDWICH WITH YOURS.
I HAVE NOTHING ELSE
TO SAY.
WHAT'S THE DEAL HERE NOW?
YOU PEOPLE IN THIS SMALL GROUP
WANT TO TURN AND WALK ON BACK
TO THE REST OF THE GROUP
DOWN THERE WAITING ON YOU?
DO WE HAVE
YOUR PROTECTION?
WE'LL DO
EVERYTHING WE CAN,
JUST GO ON BACK DOWN THERE.
YOU DIDN'T HAVE
ANY COMING UP HERE.
Narrator:
PLANS FOR THE MARCH
TO MONTGOMERY
REMAINED AT A STANDSTILL
PENDING A FEDERAL
COURT DECISION.
NOW, PROTECTING THE MARCHERS
BECAME AN ISSUE
FOR BOTH PRESIDENT JOHNSON
AND GOVERNOR WALLACE.
WE GOT A REPORT
HOW MUCH IT WOULD TAKE
TO GUARANTEE ABSOLUTE PROTECTION
FOR EVERYONE,
AND WE DIDN'T HAVE
THE RESOURCES,
SO I CALLED ON
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
UNDER ARTICLE FOUR, SECTION
FOUR OF THE CONSTITUTION,
TO SEND US TROOPS TO
HELP US MAINTAIN ORDER.
Narrator:
WALLACE MET WITH
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
IN WASHINGTON ON MARCH 13.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MEETING
WAS THAT THE PRESIDENT
TOTALLY SNOWED HIM.
GOVERNOR WALLACE
DIDN'T QUITE GROVEL,
BUT HE WAS SO PLIANT
BY THE END OF THE TWO HOURS,
WITH PRESIDENT JOHNSON
PUTTING HIS ARM AROUND HIM
AND SQUEEZING HIM
AND TELLING HIM IT'S
A MOMENT OF HISTORY
AND "HOW DO WE WANT TO BE
REMEMBERED IN HISTORY?
"DO WE WANT TO BE REMEMBERED
AS PETTY LITTLE MEN
"OR DO WE WANT TO BE
REMEMBERED AS GREAT FIGURES
THAT FACED UP TO OUR
MOMENTS OF CRISIS?"
AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THEN HE LED
GOVERNOR WALLACE OUT
IN THE HOPES THAT
GOVERNOR WALLACE...
WHO WAS BY THAT TIME
LIKE A RUBBER BAND...
WOULD GIVE A PRESS STATEMENT
THAT CONFIRMED HIS DETERMINATION
TO PROTECT THE MARCHERS
AT SELMA,
COMPLY WITH THE COURT
ORDER FROM JUDGE JOHNSON
AND ACT LIKE
A RESPONSIBLE GOVERNOR.
WELL, ALL I CAN SAY IS
THAT I AM VERY HOPEFUL
THAT WE CAN HAVE A SOLUTION
TO THE PROBLEMS THAT CONFRONT US
IN THIS REGARD
AND THAT I DID REQUEST, I DID
MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN
HAVE A CESSATION, SOMETIME,
OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS,
ALTHOUGH I RECOGNIZE THE
RIGHT TO PEACEFULLY ASSEMBLE,
BUT I DO THINK THERE ARE
LIMITATIONS,
BUT THAT'S ALL FOR THE MOMENT.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR WALLACE
STILL REFUSED TO PAY
FOR PROTECTING THE MARCHERS.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON,
SENSING THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY,
ADDRESSED CONGRESS
ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
WHAT HAPPENED IN SELMA
IS PART OF A FAR
LARGER MOVEMENT
WHICH REACHES INTO EVERY
SECTION AND STATE OF AMERICA.
Narrator:
EIGHT DAYS AFTER BLOODY SUNDAY,
FOUR DAYS AFTER REEB'S DEATH,
THE PRESIDENT ASKED FOR A
COMPREHENSIVE VOTING RIGHTS BILL
AND ASTONISHED THE NATION
BY USING THE WORDS
OF THE MOVEMENT.
THEIR CAUSE MUST
BE OUR CAUSE, TOO.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST NEGROES,
BUT REALLY, IT'S ALL OF US
WHO MUST OVERCOME THE CRIPPLING
LEGACY OF BIGOTRY AND INJUSTICE.
AND WE SHALL OVERCOME.
LYNDON JOHNSON CAME ON,
THE LATE PRESIDENT,
AND SAID, "WE SHALL OVERCOME."
AND THAT JUST LIKE...
UH, YOU'D STUCK A DAGGER IN YOUR
HEART OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, WHAT'S THIS GUY DOING?
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD RESPECT
FOR YOUR COUNTRY...
THE SOUTH'S VERY PATRIOTIC...
BUT IT JUST DESTROYED EVERYTHING
YOU'D BEEN ALLEGEDLY
FIGHTING FOR.
WE WERE ALL SITTING
AROUND TOGETHER.
AND MARTIN WAS SITTING
IN A CHAIR,
LOOKING TOWARD THE TV SET.
AND WHEN L.B.J. SAID,
"AND WE SHALL OVERCOME,"
WE ALL CHEERED.
AND I LOOKED OVER TOWARD MARTIN.
MARTIN WAS VERY QUIETLY
SITTING IN THE CHAIR
AND A TEAR RAN DOWN HIS CHEEK.
IT WAS A VICTORY
LIKE NONE OTHER.
IT WAS AN AFFIRMATION
OF THE MOVEMENT.
Narrator:
BUT S.N.C.C. DIDN'T
SEE ANY VICTORY.
IN MONTGOMERY, WHERE THEY
HAD MOVED OPERATIONS,
THEY WERE BEING BEATEN
BY ALABAMA POLICE
AS THEY TRIED TO CONFRONT
GOVERNOR WALLACE.
HEY, CAN WE GET A DOCTOR?
CAN WE GET A DOCTOR?!
THERE'S ONLY ONE MAN
IN THIS COUNTRY
THAT CAN STOP GEORGE WALLACE
AND THOSE POSSES.
WE CAN PRESENT THOUSANDS
AND THOUSANDS
OF BODIES IN THE STREETS
IF WE WANT TO,
AND WE CAN HAVE
ALL OF THE SOUL FORCE
AND THE MORAL COMMITMENT
AROUND THIS WORLD,
BUT A LOT OF THESE PROBLEMS
WILL NOT BE SOLVED
UNTIL THAT PLACE CALLED THE
WHITE HOUSE BEGINS TO SHAKE
AND GETS ON THE PHONE AND SAYS,
"NOW LISTEN, GEORGE,
"WE'RE COMING DOWN THERE
AND THROW YOU IN JAIL
IF YOU DON'T STOP THAT MESS."
THAT'S THE ONLY WAY IT'S GOING
TO BE STOPPED.
IT'S NOT JUST THE
SHERIFF OF THIS COUNTY
OR THE MAYOR, OR THE POLICE
COMMISSIONER OR GEORGE WALLACE.
THIS PROBLEM GOES TO THE VERY
BOTTOM OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND YOU KNOW I SAID IT TODAY,
AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN...
IF WE CAN'T SIT AT THE TABLE,
LET'S KNOCK THE
LEGS OFF!
EXCUSE ME.
THERE ARE POINTS
THAT WE AGREE ON
AND THERE ARE STILL POINTS
THAT WE MUST NEGOTIATE
BEFORE WE COME TO A FINAL
RESOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM.
Narrator:
MARTIN LUTHER KING TRIED
TO CALM THE SITUATION
IN MONTGOMERY
WHILE WAITING, STILL, FOR THE
COURT DECISION ON THE MARCH.
Man:
PULL IT BACK.
LET ME GIVE YOU THIS STATEMENT,
WHICH I THINK WILL COME...
Man:
GET THE MIKE DOWN,
GET THE MIKE DOWN.
AS AN EXPRESSION OF
DEEP JOY TO ALL OF US.
JUDGE JOHNSON HAS JUST RULED
THAT WE HAVE A LEGAL
AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT
TO MARCH FROM SELMA
TO MONTGOMERY.
Narrator:
THE JUDGE'S ACTION
CLEARED THE WAY FOR THE MARCH,
BUT GOVERNOR WALLACE
STILL REFUSED TO PROVIDE
SO PRESIDENT JOHNSON FEDERALIZED
THE ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD.
SUNDAY, MARCH 21.
ONLY 62 DAYS AFTER
THE CAMPAIGN BEGAN,
3,200 PEOPLE GATHERED
AT BROWN CHAPEL CHURCH
FOR THE JOURNEY TO MONTGOMERY.
King:
WE ARE GOING TO WALK
NONVIOLENTLY AND PEACEFULLY
TO LET THE NATION
AND THE WORLD KNOW
WE ARE TIRED NOW.
WE'VE LIVED WITH SLAVERY
AND SEGREGATION 345 YEARS.
WE WAITED A LONG TIME
FOR FREEDOM.
WE ARE TRYING
TO REMIND THE NATION
OF THE URGENCY OF THE MOMENT.
NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE REAL
THE PROMISES OF DEMOCRACY.
NOW IS THE TIME
TO TRANSFORM ALABAMA...
THE HEART OF DIXIE...
TO A STATE WITH
A HEART FOR BROTHERHOOD
AND PEACE AND GOODWILL.
NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE
JUSTICE A REALITY
FOR ALL OF GOD'S CHILDREN.
LET'S MOVE THE LINE
A LITTLE FASTER.
Man:
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ THUS OUR STRENGTH
FROM DAY TO DAY ♪
♪ AS WE WALK THE NARROW WAY ♪
♪ WE'RE GOING FORWARD,
WE'RE GOING FORWARD ♪
♪ ONE DAY WE'RE
GOING TO BE FREE ♪
♪ OH, WE'RE MARCHING ON... ♪
♪ TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ THUS OUR STRENGTH
FROM DAY TO DAY ♪
♪ AS WE WALK THE NARROW WAY ♪
♪ WE'RE GOING FORWARD ♪
♪ WE'RE GOING FORWARD ♪
♪ ONE DAY WE'RE
GOING TO BE FREE. ♪
Reporter:
DO YOU HAVE ANY FEELINGS
ABOUT THIS MARCH?
NO, I'M GLAD TO GET RID OF
THE ONES THAT ARE LEAVING.
BUT I WISH THEY'D COME BACK
AND GET THE REST OF THEM.
DARLING, HOW
ARE YOU DOING?
WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL.
WHY ARE YOU MARCHING?
SO WE CAN BE FREE
AND JUSTICE.
AND SO OTHER
PEOPLE CAN BE FREE
AND SO THE TROOPERS
CAN'T HIT NO ONE.
King:
ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT.
I'M FROM KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI,
AND I'VE ANSWERED A CALL
FOR THE INTERRACIAL COUNCIL
THERE IN KANSAS CITY
TO JOIN THE MARCH HERE.
THESE IDEALS THAT HAVE BEEN
EXPRESSED HERE BY ALL THE PEOPLE
HAVE BEEN MINE FOR A LONG TIME.
I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW.
WELL, I'M FROM HOLLYWOOD,
CALIFORNIA.
I'M AN ACTOR, AND I JUST
DECIDED, "I'VE GOT TO COME.
I'VE GOT TO SEE
WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT."
AND I FEEL VERY DEEPLY
ABOUT THE SITUATION,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I REALIZE
WHAT THE NEGRO POSITION IS,
BECAUSE HERE I AM,
CALLED A "WHITE NIGGER."
Man:
♪ PICK 'EM UP
AND LAY 'EM DOWN ♪
Choir:
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ PICK 'EM UP
AND LAY 'EM DOWN ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ PICK 'EM UP
AND LAY 'EM DOWN... ♪
Narrator:
THE ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD,
UNDER FEDERAL DIRECTION,
KEPT THE HECKLERS AT A DISTANCE
AND CHECKED FOR BOMBS.
11 MILES OUTSIDE SELMA,
THE MARCHERS LEFT DALLAS COUNTY
AND CAME INTO NEIGHBORING
LOWNDES COUNTY.
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FEET ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT... ♪
Narrator:
WHILE IN LOWNDES COUNTY,
SOME S.N.C.C. MEMBERS
SEIZED THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DO SOME ORGANIZING
OF THEIR OWN.
♪ MAKE ME WANT
TO SKIP A BEAT ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT... ♪
WE WERE AGAINST THE MARCH.
I, TOO, WAS AGAINST IT.
BUT AGAIN, I SAID IT WAS
A FAIT ACCOMPLI.
WE COULDN'T STOP IT,
KING WAS GOING TO HAVE IT,
AND THERE WAS WAY TO STOP IT,
SO WHAT WE HAD TO DO NOW
IS MAKE A POSITIVE
OUT OF A NEGATIVE.
WHAT I DID WAS, WHEN IT ENTERED
LOWNDES COUNTY,
I WOULD SEEK OUT ALL THE PEOPLE
FROM LOWNDES COUNTY
WHO CAME TO THE MARCH.
I WOULD GET THEM, WRITE DOWN
THEIR NAMES, RECORD IT,
THEIR ADDRESSES, AND TELL THEM,
"LISTEN, WE'RE GOING TO STAY
IN LOWNDES COUNTY,
WE'RE NOT JUST GOING
TO PASS THROUGH."
SO THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY WAS
BUILT OFF OF THE MOBILIZATION
THAT KING SPROUT OUT
INSIDE OF LOWNDES COUNTY.
AND HE DID US A PERFECT JOB.
Man:
♪ DID THE RAIN COME DOWN? ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ LORD, I THOUGHT
I WOULD DROWN ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ OH, THE MUD SURE WAS DEEP... ♪
Narrator:
AS THEY APPROACHED MONTGOMERY,
S.C.L.C. HEARD OF A PLOT AGAINST
MARTIN LUTHER KING'S LIFE,
BUT KING REFUSED
TO LEAVE THE MARCH.
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ THAT'S WHY WE'RE MOVIN'
IN A CREEP ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
MARTIN ALWAYS WORE
THE GOOD PREACHER BLUE SUIT
AND I... I FIGURED
SINCE WE COULDN'T
STOP HIM FROM MARCHING,
WE JUST HAD TO KIND OF
BELIEVE THAT IT WAS TRUE
WHEN WHITE FOLKS SAID
WE ALL LOOK ALIKE.
SO EVERYBODY THAT WAS
ABOUT MARTIN'S SIZE
AND HAD ON A BLUE SUIT
I PUT IN THE FRONT
OF THE LINE WITH HIM.
AND WE ALL JUST LINED UP.
BUT THERE WERE SOME
VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE
WHO FELT AS THOUGH THEY WERE
BEING PUSHED BACK.
BUT ALL OF THE PREACHERS
LOVED THE CHANCE TO
GET UP FRONT IN THE FRONT LINE
WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING,
BUT I DON'T THINK TO THIS DAY
MOST OF THEM KNOW
WHY THEY WERE UP THERE.
Choir:
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND... ♪
Narrator:
54 MILES AND FIVE DAYS MARCHING.
THEY WERE NOW 25,000 STRONG.
♪ AS WE TRAVEL
THE NARROW WAY... ♪
Lewis:
TO ME, THERE WAS NEVER A
MARCH LIKE THIS ONE BEFORE
AND THERE HASN'T BEEN ONE SINCE.
IT WAS A SENSE OF
COMMUNITY MOVING THERE
AND AS YOU WALKED,
YOU SAW PEOPLE COMING,
WAVING, BRINGING YOU FOOD
OR BRINGING YOU
SOMETHING TO DRINK.
YOU SAW THE POWER OF
THE MOST POWERFUL COUNTRY
ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
Narrator:
IN THE EUPHORIA OF THE MOMENT,
NO ONE COULD KNOW
THE TRADITIONAL
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
WOULD NEVER AGAIN BE THE SAME.
THE FRAGILE COALITION THAT HAD
SHAPED THE MOVEMENT FOR SO LONG
WAS COMING TO AN END.
Coretta Scott King:
IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT
TO GO BACK TO MONTGOMERY,
BECAUSE, YOU SEE, FOR US IT WAS
RETURNING TO MONTGOMERY
AFTER TEN YEARS.
AND I KEPT THINKING
ABOUT TEN YEARS EARLIER...
HOW WE WERE VISIBLY JUST BLACKS,
AND WHEN YOU LOOKED
AT THAT MARCH,
YOU HAD CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND
NUNS AND YOU HAD OTHER CLERGY
AND YOU HAD A LOT
OF WHITE PEOPLE.
IT WAS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL
THING TO PASS DEXTER AVENUE
AND GO TOWARD THE CAPITOL,
MARCHING TOGETHER
AND LISTENING TO
MARTIN'S SPEECH.
Martin Luther King:
WE MUST COME TO SEE
THAT THE END WE SEEK IS
A SOCIETY AT PEACE WITH ITSELF,
A SOCIETY THAT CAN LIVE
WITH ITS CONSCIENCE,
AND THAT WILL BE A DAY
NOT OF THE WHITE MAN,
NOT OF THE BLACK MAN,
THAT WILL BE THE DAY
OF MAN AS MAN.
HOWEVER DIFFICULT THE MOMENT,
HOWEVER FRUSTRATING THE HOUR,
IT WILL NOT BE LONG,
BECAUSE TRUTH CRUSHED
TO EARTH WILL RISE AGAIN.
HOW LONG?
NOT LONG.
BECAUSE NO LIE CAN LIVE FOREVER.
HOW LONG?
NOT LONG.
BECAUSE THE ARC OF THE
MORAL UNIVERSE IS LONG,
BUT IT BENDS TOWARD JUSTICE.
HOW LONG? NOT LONG.
BECAUSE MINE EYES
HAVE SEEN THE GLORY
OF THE COMING OF THE LORD.
HE IS TRAMPLING OUT THE VINTAGE
WHERE THE GRAPES
OF WRATH ARE STORED.
HE HAS LOOSED
THE FATEFUL LIGHTNING
OF HIS TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD.
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON.
GLORY, HALLELUJAH.
GLORY, HALLELUJAH.
GLORY, HALLELUJAH!
GLORY, HALLELUJAH!
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON.
Narrator:
THAT NIGHT, VIOLA LIUZZO,
A WHITE HOUSEWIFE FROM MICHIGAN,
WAS MURDERED BY KLANSMEN
AS SHE TRANSPORTED
MARCHERS BACK TO SELMA.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON SIGNED THE
VOTING RIGHTS BILL INTO LAW
ON AUGUST 6, 1965.
BY THE FOLLOWING SUMMER,
9,000 BLACKS REGISTERED
TO VOTE IN DALLAS COUNTY.
AUGUST 11, FIVE DAYS AFTER THE
VOTING RIGHTS BILL WAS SIGNED,
THE WATTS AREA OF
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,
EXPLODED IN RACIAL VIOLENCE.
MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE
WERE INJURED; 34 DIED.
IT SIGNALED A NEW DIRECTION
FOR THE MOVEMENT,
THE NEXT PHASE OF AMERICA'S
CIVIL RIGHTS YEARS.
Choir:
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ YES, WE WANT OUR FREEDOM. ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM... ♪
♪ YES, WE WANT OUR FREEDOM. ♪
♪ WHOA, OUT IN THE CHURCH,
WE'RE GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LET IT SHINE,
LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LORD, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF
MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LORD, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF
MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LORD, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF
MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE,
LET IT SHINE... ♪
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
FUNDING FOR THE RE-RELEASE
OF EYES ON THE PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE BY:
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
FUNDING FOR THE RE-RELEASE
OF EYES ON THE PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE BY:
SELMA, ALABAMA... 1965.
Man:
I DON'T NEED TO LEAVE.
WE'VE COME
TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
Woman:
IF YOU CAN'T VOTE,
YOU AIN'T FREE.
AND IF YOU AIN'T FREE,
WELL, THEN YOU'RE A SLAVE.
WE'RE WILLING TO BE
BEATEN FOR DEMOCRACY.
YEARS OF STRUGGLE CAME DOWN
TO THIS CLIMACTIC BATTLE
FOR VOTING RIGHTS.
BEFORE IT ENDED,
BLACK AND WHITE AMERICANS
GAVE THEIR LIVES.
BUT WOULD THAT BE ENOUGH?
Man:
YOU BEAT PEOPLE BLOODY
IN ORDER THAT THEY WILL NOT
HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO VOTE!
♪ 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. ♪
IN THE AREAS OF THE COUNTRY
WHERE THE GOVERNMENT HAS PROVEN
ITSELF UNABLE OR UNWILLING
WHEN THEY ARE BEING BRUTALLY
AND UNJUSTLY ATTACKED,
THEN THE NEGROES THEMSELVES
SHOULD TAKE
WHATEVER STEPS NECESSARY
TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.
Narrator:
TO MANY AMERICANS,
BLACK AND WHITE,
THIS WAS THEIR WORST NIGHTMARE...
RACE RIOTS IN NORTHERN CITIES
DURING THE SUMMER OF 1964.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
WAS TEN YEARS OLD.
NONVIOLENCE HAD
BEEN THE STRATEGY.
BUT COULD NONVIOLENCE WORK
IN A SOCIETY WHICH GREW
ANGRIER EACH DAY?
ON BEHALF OF THE
NOBEL COMMITTEE...
Narrator:
TO THE WORLD,
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.,
HAD COME TO SYMBOLIZE
THE SUCCESS OF
NONVIOLENT STRATEGY.
HE RECEIVED THE NOBEL
PEACE PRIZE IN DECEMBER 1964.
DIPLOMA
AND A GOLD MEDAL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Narrator:
BUT IN AMERICA,
YOUNG MILITANTS WERE BEGINNING
TO CHALLENGE KING'S LEADERSHIP.
DALLAS COUNTY, SELMA, ALABAMA.
FOR MORE THAN A YEAR,
ORGANIZERS FROM
THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE...
S.N.C.C... HAD WORKED
WITH LOCAL RESIDENTS
IN WAGING A VOTER
REGISTRATION CAMPAIGN.
THEY MET SOLID RESISTANCE.
Man:
EVERYONE NOT UNDER ARREST,
YOU'RE GOING TO
LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.
Narrator:
BY THE END OF 1964,
S.N.C.C. WAS EXHAUSTED, WITH
LITTLE MONEY TO CONTINUE.
SELMA'S BLACK LEADERS
TURNED TO MARTIN LUTHER KING
AND THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE FOR HELP.
TODAY MARKS THE BEGINNING
OF A DETERMINED, ORGANIZED,
MOBILIZED CAMPAIGN.
Narrator:
KING'S PRESENCE
REOPENED AN OLD RIVALRY
BETWEEN THE MINISTERS
OF S.C.L.C.
AND THE YOUNG
ORGANIZERS OF S.N.C.C.
WE FELT THAT THERE SHOULD BE
A PROJECTION AND AN ORGANIZATION
OF INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP,
OF LEADERSHIP
FROM THE COMMUNITY,
WHEREAS THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
TOOK THE POSITION THAT MARTIN
WAS A CHARISMATIC LEADER
WHO WAS MAINLY RESPONSIBLE
FOR RAISING MONEY
AND THEY RAISED MOST OF THE
MONEY OFF OF HIS LEADERSHIP.
BUT THIS DIFFERENCES
IN LEADERSHIP
THEN LED TO DIFFERENCES
IN STYLE OF WORK.
WE WANTED A MOVEMENT THAT WOULD
SURVIVE THE LOSS OF OUR LIVES;
THEREFORE, THE NECESSITY TO
BUILD A BROAD-BASED MOVEMENT
AND NOT JUST
A CHARISMATIC LEADER.
Narrator:
S.N.C.C. AND S.C.L.C.
PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES
AND LAUNCHED A COMBINED
EFFORT ON JANUARY 18, 1965.
THE DALLAS COUNTY COURTHOUSE
STEPS BECAME A DRAMATIC STAGE
AS PROSPECTIVE VOTERS LINED UP
FOR THE REGISTRAR'S
OFFICE INSIDE.
THE KEY ACTOR WAS
SHERIFF JIM CLARK.
Clark:
ARE YOU A RESIDENT
OF DALLAS COUNTY?
YOU MOVE BACK OFF THE SIDEWALK,
THEN... GET ON BACK THERE.
GET ON BACK, MOVE OFF.
HOW FAR DO I
HAVE TO MOVE?
MOVE OFF...
MOVE OFF, MOVE OFF.
YOU GET BACK OFF
THE SIDEWALK.
I SAID OFF THE SIDEWALK.
MOVE BACK THERE.
YOU ARE BLOCKING
THE TRAFFIC
AND YOU HAVE TO GET
IN THE LINE.
THERE'S NO TRAFFIC,
THERE'S NO LINE.
Narrator:
MOVEMENT LEADERS COUNTED ON
CLARK TO DRAW MEDIA ATTENTION...
THE KIND OF ATTENTION THAT
WOULD INTEREST WASHINGTON
AND WIN VOTING
RIGHTS LEGISLATION.
I AM A SEGREGATIONIST.
I DO NOT BELIEVE IN
BIRACIAL COMMITTEES.
Narrator:
SELMA'S POLITICAL LEADERS
UNDERSTOOD THE MOVEMENT'S
TACTICS
AND WERE DESPERATE NOT TO
GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE.
MAYOR JOSEPH SMITHERMAN
AND HIS PUBLIC SAFETY
DIRECTOR, WILSON BAKER,
HOPED TO RESTRAIN
THE VOLATILE SHERIFF CLARK
AS HE DEALT WITH
THE DEMONSTRATORS.
THEY PICKED SELMA JUST LIKE A
MOVIE PRODUCER WOULD PICK A SET.
YOU HAD THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS.
I MEAN, YOU'D HAVE HAD
TO SEEN CLARK IN HIS DAY.
HE HAD A HELMET LINER
LIKE GENERAL PATTON.
HE HAD THE CLOTHES...
THE EISENHOWER JACKET
AND THE SWAGGER STICK...
AND THEN BAKER WAS
VERY IMPRESSIVE.
I GUESS I WAS THE LEAST OF ALL.
I WAS 145 POUNDS AND A CREWCUT
AND BIG EARS.
SO YOU HAD A YOUNG MAYOR WITH
NO BACKGROUND OR EXPERIENCE.
OUR CITY AND OUR COUNTY
HAS BEEN SUBJECTED
TO THE GREATEST PRESSURES
I THINK ANY COMMUNITY IN THE
COUNTRY HAS HAD TO WITHSTAND.
WE'VE HAD IN OUR AREA HERE
OUTSIDE AGITATION GROUPS
OF ALL LEVELS.
WE'VE HAD MARTIN
LUTHER COON... UH, KING...
PARDON ME, SIR...
MARTIN LUTHER KING,
WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE OF THE NAZI
PARTY, THE STATES' RIGHTS PARTY.
BOTH OF THESE GROUPS
HAVE COME IN.
THEY HAVE CONTINUALLY
HARASSED AND AGITATED US
FOR APPROXIMATELY THREE
OR FOUR WEEKS.
Narrator:
MORE THAN HALF OF DALLAS
COUNTY'S CITIZENS WERE BLACK,
BUT LESS THAN 1% WERE
REGISTERED BY 1965.
THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE SOUTH,
CUSTOM AND LAW
HAD LONG PREVENTED
BLACKS FROM REGISTERING.
IN SELMA, THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE
WAS OPEN ONLY TWO DAYS A MONTH.
REGISTRARS WOULD ARRIVE LATE,
LEAVE EARLY
AND TAKE LONG LUNCH HOURS.
FEW BLACKS WHO LINED UP
WOULD GET IN,
AND GETTING IN WAS NO GUARANTEE
OF BEING REGISTERED.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
KNEW THE PROBLEM.
AND NOW, HAVING SOUNDLY DEFEATED
CONSERVATIVE BARRY GOLDWATER
IN THE RECENT ELECTION,
HE SET THIS GOAL.
I PROPOSE THAT WE ELIMINATE
EVERY REMAINING OBSTACLE
TO THE RIGHT AND THE
OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE.
Narrator:
BUT JOHNSON'S STAFF HAD DOUBTS
ABOUT PUSHING FOR
MORE LEGISLATION.
I THINK THOSE OF US WHO HAD BEEN
INVOLVED DAY IN AND DAY OUT
IN CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION,
IN GETTING THE 1964 CIVIL
RIGHTS ACT THROUGH CONGRESS
WERE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE
DRAGGING OUR FEET
AND WANTED BREATHING ROOM.
THE PRESIDENT DIDN'T WANT THAT.
HE SAID, "GET IT AND GET IT NOW,
"BECAUSE WE'LL NEVER HAVE
A BETTER OPPORTUNITY
"TO GET LEGISLATION ON ANY
SUBJECT, INCLUDING CIVIL RIGHTS,
THAN WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IN 1965."
WE HAVE THE MAJORITY TO DO IT,
AND WE CAN DO IT.
Narrator:
ALTHOUGH SHERIFF CLARK
TRIED TO CONTROL HIS TEMPER,
THE STRAIN BEGAN TO SHOW.
IN MID-JANUARY, HE ARRESTED
MRS. AMELIA BOYNTON,
A HIGHLY RESPECTED
COMMUNITY LEADER.
ANGERED BY MRS. BOYNTON'S
ARREST,
105 LOCAL TEACHERS MARCHED
TO THE COURTHOUSE IN PROTEST,
KNOWING THEY MIGHT BE FIRED
BY THE WHITE SCHOOL BOARD.
THIS COURTHOUSE IS
A SERIOUS PLACE OF BUSINESS.
YOU SEEM TO THINK
YOU CAN TAKE IT FOR...
JUST TO BE A DISNEYLAND
OR SOMETHING ON PARADE.
DO YOU HAVE BUSINESS
IN THE COURTHOUSE?
Man:
WE JUST WANT
TO PASS THROUGH.
DO YOU HAVE ANY BUSINESS
IN THE COURTHOUSE?
THE ONLY BUSINESS
WE HAVE WAS TO COME BY
FOR THE BOARD
OF REGISTRARS
TO REGISTER.
THE BOARD OF REGISTRARS IS
NOT IN SESSION THIS AFTERNOON,
AS YOU WERE INFORMED.
Clark:
YOU CAME DOWN
TO MAKE A MOCKERY
OUT OF THIS COURTHOUSE
AND WE'RE NOT GOING
TO HAVE IT.
NOW, MOVE, MOVE,
MOVE, MOVE!
OFF THE SIDEWALK,
GET OFF THE SIDEWALK.
SO I SAW THEN THAT HE WAS
NOT GOING TO ARREST US,
AS I REALLY WANTED HIM TO DO.
THEREFORE, WE ASKED
THE TEACHERS THEN WOULD REGROUP
AND WE MARCHED BACK,
NOT TO THE SCHOOL
BUT TO BROWN CHAPEL CHURCH,
AT WHICH TIME
THERE WAS A RALLY HELD.
Leader and congregation:
♪ THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE ♪
♪ I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE ♪
♪ I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE... ♪
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS' MARCH
WAS THE FIRST BLACK MIDDLE-CLASS
DEMONSTRATION IN SELMA.
SHEYANN WEBB AND RACHEL WEST
WERE SCHOOLCHILDREN AT THE TIME.
AND IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE HOW
MANY TEACHERS HAD PARTICIPATED.
I REMEMBER VIVIDLY ON THAT DAY
WHEN I SAW MY TEACHERS
MARCHING WITH ME, YOU KNOW,
JUST FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
AND IT WAS... TEACHERS THERE WAS
SOMEWHAT LIKE
UP IN THE UPPER CLASS, YOU KNOW.
PEOPLE LOOKED UP
TO TEACHERS THEN
AND LOOKED UP TO PREACHERS.
THEY WERE SOMEWHAT LIKE LEADERS
FOR US BACK THEN.
THEN THE UNDERTAKERS GOT A GROUP
AND THEY MARCHED.
THE BEAUTICIANS GOT A GROUP;
THEY MARCHED.
EVERYBODY MARCHED AFTER
THE TEACHERS MARCHED,
BECAUSE TEACHERS
HAD MORE INFLUENCE
THAN THEY EVER DREAMED
IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE WANT YOU
TO KNOW, GENTLEMEN,
THAT EVERY ONE OF YOU,
WE KNOW YOUR
BADGE NUMBERS,
WE KNOW YOUR NAMES...
Narrator:
IN MID-FEBRUARY,
REVEREND C.T. VIVIAN,
AN S.C.L.C. ORGANIZER,
CONFRONTED SHERIFF CLARK
AND HIS DEPUTIES
ON THE COURTHOUSE STEPS.
BUT BELIEVE ME,
THERE WERE THOSE
THAT FOLLOWED HITLER,
LIKE YOU BLINDLY FOLLOW
THIS SHERIFF CLARK,
WHO DIDN'T THINK
THEIR DAY WOULD COME.
BUT THEY ALSO WERE PULLED
INTO A COURTROOM
AND THEY WERE ALSO GIVEN
THEIR DEATH SENTENCES.
YOU'RE NOT THIS BAD
A RACIST,
BUT YOU'RE RACIST
IN THE SAME WAY
THAT HITLER
WAS A RACIST.
AND YOU'RE BLINDLY
FOLLOWING A MAN
THAT'S LEADING YOU
DOWN A ROAD
THAT'S GOING TO BRING YOU
INTO FEDERAL COURT.
NOW, I AM REPRESENTING
PEOPLE IN DALLAS COUNTY,
AND I HAVE THAT
RIGHT TO DO SO.
NOW, AND AS
I REPRESENT THEM,
AND THEY CAN SPEAK
FOR THEMSELVES...
IS WHAT I'M SAYING TRUE?
Crowd:
YES!
IS IT WHAT YOU THINK
AND WHAT YOU BELIEVE?
Crowd:
YES!
FOR THIS IS NOT
A LOCAL PROBLEM,
GENTLEMEN.
THIS IS
A NATIONAL PROBLEM.
YOU CAN'T KEEP ANYONE
IN THE UNITED STATES
FROM VOTING
WITHOUT HURTING
THE RIGHTS
OF ALL OTHER
CITIZENS.
DEMOCRACY'S
BUILT ON THIS.
THIS IS WHY EVERY MAN
HAS THE RIGHT TO VOTE,
REGARDLESS.
AND HE STARTED SHOUTING AT ME
THAT I WAS A HITLER,
I WAS A BRUTE,
THAT I WAS A NAZI.
I DON'T REMEMBER
EVERYTHING HE CALLED ME.
AND I DID LOSE MY TEMPER THEN.
WE HAVE COME
TO BE HERE
BECAUSE THEY
ARE REGISTERING
AT THIS TIME.
TURN THAT LIGHT OUT.
I CAN'T ENFORCE THE LAW
WITH A LIGHT IN MY FACE.
WE HAVE COME
TO REGISTER,
AND THIS IS OUR
REASON FOR BEING HERE.
YOU'RE BLINDING ME
WITH THAT LIGHT.
MOVE BACK.
YOU CAN ARREST US,
SHERIFF CLARK.
YOU CAN ARREST US.
Man:
IF YOU WANT TO
ARREST US, ARREST US.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BEAT US.
NO, YOU DON'T
HAVE TO BEAT US.
I DON'T REMEMBER
EVEN HITTING HIM,
BUT I WENT TO THE DOCTOR
AND GOT AN X-RAY
AND FOUND OUT I HAD
A LINEAR FRACTURE
IN A FINGER ON MY LEFT HAND.
WITH JIM CLARK,
IT WAS A CLEAR ENGAGEMENT
BETWEEN THE FORCES OF MOVEMENT
AND THE FORCES OF THE STRUCTURE
THAT WOULD DESTROY MOVEMENT.
IT WAS A CLEAR ENGAGEMENT
BETWEEN THOSE WHO WISHED
THE FULLNESS OF THEIR
PERSONALITIES TO BE MET
AND THOSE THAT WOULD DESTROY US
PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY.
YOU DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THAT.
THIS IS WHAT MOVEMENT MEANT.
MOVEMENT MEANT THAT FINALLY
WE WERE ENCOUNTERING,
ON A MASS SCALE,
THE EVIL THAT HAD BEEN
DESTROYING US ON A MASS SCALE.
YOU DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THAT.
YOU CONTINUE TO ANSWER IT.
IF WE'RE WRONG,
WHY DON'T YOU ARREST US?
WHY DON'T YOU
GET OUT IN FRONT
OF THE CAMERA
IT'S NOT A MATTER OF
BEING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.
IT'S A MATTER OF
FACING YOUR SHERIFF
AND FACING YOUR JUDGE.
WE'RE WILLING TO BE
BEATEN FOR DEMOCRACY.
AND YOU MISUSE DEMOCRACY
IN THE STREET.
YOU BEAT PEOPLE BLOODY
IN ORDER THAT THEY WILL
NOT HAVE
THE PRIVILEGE TO VOTE.
WHY DON'T YOU GO ON?
YOU BEAT ME
ON THE SIDE
AND THEN HIDE YOUR BLOWS.
I DON'T NEED TO LEAVE.
WE HAVE COME TO
REGISTER TO VOTE.
Officer:
YOU'RE UNDER ARREST.
Vivian:
IS EVERYBODY UNDER ARREST?
LET'S ALL GO!
I'M HERE TO TELL YOU TONIGHT
THAT THE BUSINESSMEN,
THE MAYOR OF THIS CITY,
THE POLICE COMMISSIONER
OF THIS CITY
AND EVERYBODY IN THE WHITE
POWER STRUCTURE OF THIS CITY
MUST TAKE A RESPONSIBILITY F
EVERYTHING THAT JIM CLARK DOES
IN THIS COMMUNITY.
IT'S TIME FOR US
TO SAY TO THESE MEN
THAT IF YOU DON'T DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT,
WE WILL HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE
BUT TO ENGAGE IN BROADER
AND MORE DRASTIC FORMS
OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
IN ORDER TO BRING THE
ATTENTION OF THE NATION
TO THIS WHOLE ISSUE
IN SELMA, ALABAMA.
Narrator:
THE CAMPAIGN IN SELMA ESCALATED
WHEN VIOLENCE ERUPTED DURING
A MARCH IN A NEIGHBORING TOWN.
THE MARCH IN MARION, ALABAMA,
WAS A NIGHTTIME MARCH,
AND A NIGHTTIME MARCH
WAS ALWAYS DANGEROUS.
AND THERE WAS ALWAYS DISCUSSION
WITHIN THE MOVEMENT
WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE
NIGHTTIME MARCHES,
BECAUSE THEY KNEW
THEY WERE DANGEROUS.
WE WENT UP THERE THIS NIGHT
AND WE KNEW THERE WAS GOING
TO BE TROUBLE RIGHT AWAY,
BECAUSE LOCAL FOLKS CAME UP
TO US AND THREATENED US,
SPRAYED OUR CAMERAS WITH BLACK
PAINT SO WE COULDN'T SHOOT,
ORDERED US TO PUT THE CAMERAS
DOWN AND HARASSED US,
AND IT WAS A VERY TENSE
SITUATION.
THE WHOLE TOWN WAS SURROUNDED
THAT NIGHT BY AUXILIARY POLICE,
STATE TROOPERS, SHERIFFS
AND EVERYBODY WHO WANTED
TO COME IN, REALLY,
WHO FELT LIKE BEATING FOLK UP.
WE WENT AROUND THE
SIDE OF THE CHURCH
IN AN EFFORT TO GET
BACK INTO THE CHURCH.
SOME OF US TRIED TO GO BACK
IN THE FRONT DOOR
AND SOME OF US JUST WENT
WHERE WE COULD,
BECAUSE AS WE MOVED,
THEY ALSO MOVED.
THEY WAS WHIPPING US AS WE WENT.
SOMEBODY WALKED UP BEHIND ME
AND HIT ME WITH AN AX HANDLE...
HIT ME IN THE HEAD
WITH AN AX HANDLE, DREW BLOOD,
WHICH REQUIRED STITCHES AND I
WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL.
BUT BEFORE I LEFT,
A WHITE MAN WALKED UP TO ME
AND HE SAID, "ARE YOU HURT?
DO YOU NEED A DOCTOR?"
AND I WAS STUNNED AND I PUT MY
HAND TO THE BACK OF MY HEAD
AND I PULLED IT BACK AND IT WAS
FULL OF BLOOD.
AND I SAID TO HIM, "YEAH,
I THINK I DO... I'M BLEEDING."
AND THEN HE THRUST HIS FACE
RIGHT UP AGAINST MINE
AND HE SAID, "WELL,
WE DON'T HAVE DOCTORS
FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU."
Narrator:
THAT SAME NIGHT, A YOUNG MAN
NAMED JIMMY LEE JACKSON
ATTEMPTED TO PROTECT HIS MOTHER
FROM A SIMILAR ATTACK.
HE WAS SHOT AT POINT-BLANK RANGE
BY AN ALABAMA STATE TROOPER
AND DIED EIGHT DAYS LATER.
Crowd:
♪ DEEP IN MY HEART,
I DO BELIEVE ♪
♪ WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY. ♪
HE WAS MURDERED
BY THE IRRESPONSIBILITY
OF EVERY POLITICIAN,
FROM GOVERNORS ON DOWN,
WHO HAS FED HIS CONSTITUENTS
THE STALE BREAD OF HATRED
AND THE SPOILED MEAT OF RACISM.
HE WAS MURDERED BY THE TIMIDITY
OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
THAT CAN SPEND MILLIONS
OF DOLLARS A DAY
TO KEEP TROOPS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
AND CANNOT PROTECT THE
LIVES OF ITS OWN CITIZENS
SEEKING THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
Choir:
♪ WE'VE BEEN 'BUKED ♪
♪ AND WE'VE BEEN SCORNED ♪
♪ BUT WE'LL NEVER TURN BACK. ♪
I JUST THOUGHT
DURING THAT PERIOD
IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH;
TOO MANY, TOO MANY FUNERALS.
AND SOME OF US WOULD SAY,
"HOW MANY MORE?"
WE WAS INFURIATED TO THE POINT
THAT WE WANTED TO CARRY
JIMMY'S BODY TO GEORGE WALLACE
AND DUMP IT ON THE
STEPS OF THE CAPITOL.
WE HAD GOT ABOUT LIKE
THE WHITE FOLK ARE.
WE HAD DETERMINED, DECIDED THAT
WE WERE GOING TO GET KILLED
OR WE WAS GOING TO BE FREE.
AND BE FRANK ABOUT IT.
AND ALL OF US, JUST ABOUT,
FELT THAT WAY.
SO WE HAD INTENDED TO DO
EVERYTHING WE COULD,
SO WE WAS MAD,
I GUESS YOU'D SAY,
AND WE SAID THAT WE WOULD
TAKE JIMMY DOWN
AND JUST PUT HIS CASKET ON
THE DOORSTEPS OF THE CAPITOL.
IF YOU WENT BACK TO SOME OF THE
CLASSICAL STRATEGIES OF GANDHI,
WHEN YOU HAVE, SAY, GREAT
VIOLATION OF THE PEOPLE
AND THERE'S A GREAT
SENSE OF INJURY,
YOU HAVE TO GIVE PEOPLE
A HONORABLE MEANS AND CONTEXT
IN WHICH TO EXPRESS
AND ELIMINATE THEIR GRIEF
AND SPEAK DECISIVELY AND
SUCCINCTLY BACK TO THE ISSUE.
OTHERWISE, YOUR MOVEMENT
WILL BREAK DOWN
IN VIOLENCE AND CHAOS.
Narrator:
AS A RESPONSE
TO JIMMY LEE JACKSON'S DEATH,
S.C.L.C. PROPOSED
A SYMBOLIC MARCH
THAT WOULD BEGIN IN SELMA
AND TRAVEL 54 MILES
TO THE CAPITOL IN MONTGOMERY.
SO, AGREEING TO GO TO MONTGOMERY
WAS THAT KIND OF TOOL
THAT WOULD ABSORB A TREMENDOUS
AMOUNT OF ENERGY AND EFFORT
AND IT WOULD KEEP THE ISSUE
OF DISENFRANCHISEMENT
AND THE WHOLE POINT OF WALKING
FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY...
IT WOULD TAKE YOU
FIVE TO SIX DAYS,
WHICH WOULD GIVE YOU THE TIME
TO DISCUSS IN THE NATION
THROUGH THE PAPERS, RADIO,
TELEVISION
AND GOING AROUND SPEAKING,
WHAT THE REAL ISSUES WERE.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR WALLACE WAS DETERMINED
THAT THE MARCH WOULD NOT
TAKE PLACE.
SUCH ACTION WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED
ON THE PART OF ANY OTHER GROUP
OF CITIZENS OR NON-CITIZENS
OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA
AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED
IN THIS INSTANCE.
GOVERNMENT MUST PROCEED
IN AN ORDERLY MANNER,
AND LAWFUL AND LAW-ABIDING
CITIZENS
MUST TRANSACT THEIR BUSINESS
WITH THE GOVERNMENT
IN SUCH A MANNER.
THERE WILL BE NO MARCH BETWEEN
SELMA, ALABAMA, AND MONTGOMERY,
AND I HAVE SO INSTRUCTED THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
Narrator:
DESPITE THE GOVERNOR'S BAN,
600 PEOPLE GATHERED AT
BROWN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH
ON SUNDAY, MARCH 7, TO BEGIN
THE MARCH TO MONTGOMERY.
DR. KING WAS PREACHING
IN ATLANTA.
HOSEA WILLIAMS AND
JOHN LEWIS LED THE MARCH.
LEWIS CHOSE TO MARCH EVEN
THOUGH HIS ORGANIZATION...
THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE...
OPPOSED S.C.L.C.'s STRATEGY
AND DECIDED NOT TO TAKE PART.
SURPRISINGLY, AS THEY WALKED
THROUGH THE CENTER OF TOWN,
THERE WERE NO POLICE IN SIGHT.
THE ROUTE OUT OF SELMA
CROSSED OVER THE
EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE.
SHEYANN AND I WENT TO
THE EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE,
THERE WHERE I TURNED
AROUND AND LEFT SHEYANN,
SIMPLY BECAUSE, I'M TELLING YOU,
I WAS AFRAID.
Narrator:
WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE
WERE ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS
UNDER ORDERS FROM GOVERNOR
WALLACE TO STOP THE MARCHERS.
CLARK'S POSSE WAS
ON THE SIDELINES.
Policeman:
IT WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL
TO YOUR SAFETY
TO CONTINUE THIS MARCH,
AND I'M SAYING THAT THIS
IS AN UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY.
YOU'RE TO DISPERSE.
YOU ARE ORDERED TO DISPERSE.
GO HOME OR GO TO YOUR CHURCH.
THIS MARCH WILL NOT CONTINUE.
IS THAT CLEAR TO YOU?
I'VE GOT NOTHING
FURTHER TO SAY TO YOU.
ALL I COULD REMEMBER
WAS OUTBURSTS OF TEAR GAS
AND I SAW PEOPLE BEING BEATEN,
AND I BEGAN TO JUST TRY TO RUN
HOME AS FAST AS I COULD.
AND AS I BEGAN TO RUN HOME,
I SAW HORSES BEHIND ME,
AND I WILL NEVER FORGET.
A FREEDOM FIGHTER PICKED
ME UP... HOSEA WILLIAMS.
I TOLD HIM TO PUT ME DOWN,
HE WASN'T RUNNING FAST ENOUGH.
AND I RAN, AND I RAN,
AND I RAN.
WE WERE ABOUT TWO BLOCKS AWAY
FROM THE BRIDGE
AND WE WENT BACK
TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE BACK.
BUT THE POLICE WERE RIDING ALONG
ON HORSEBACK BEATING PEOPLE.
AND THE TEAR GAS WAS SO THICK
YOU COULDN'T GET TO WHERE
PEOPLE WERE IN NEED OF HELP.
AND SO WE REALLY HAD TO TURN
THE CHURCH INTO A HOSPITAL
JUST TO GET PEOPLE
BACK TO THEIR SENSES
AND IT WAS A HORRIBLE
TWO OR THREE HOURS.
Narrator:
SHOCK GAVE WAY TO ANGER.
THERE WAS TALK OF RETALIATION.
THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO
CAME BACK TO THE CHURCH
AND STARTED TALKING ABOUT
GOING TO GET THEIR GUNS.
YOU HAD TO TALK THEM DOWN.
AND YOU HAD TO TALK THEM DOWN
BY SIMPLY ASKING QUESTIONS...
WHAT KIND OF GUN YOU GOT?
.32? .38?
HOW'S THAT GOING TO HOLD UP
AGAINST THE AUTOMATIC RIFLES
AND 10-GAUGE SHOTGUNS
THAT THEY'VE GOT?
AND HOW MANY YOU GOT?
THERE ARE AT LEAST 200 SHOTGUNS
OUT THERE WITH BUCKSHOT IN THEM.
YOU EVER SEE BUCKSHOT?
YOU EVER SEE WHAT BUCKSHOT DOES
TO A DEER?
AND MOST OF THEM HAD.
AND YOU MAKE PEOPLE THINK ABOUT
THE SPECIFICS OF VIOLENCE
AND THEN THEY REALIZE HOW
SUICIDAL AND NONSENSICAL IT IS.
Narrator:
THE DAY AFTER "BLOODY SUNDAY,"
GOVERNOR WALLACE REPRIMANDED
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
FOR THE SCENE ON THE BRIDGE.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED
THAT... IT ENRAGED ME,
BECAUSE I DIDN'T INTEND FOR IT
TO HAPPEN THAT WAY.
BUT I DIDN'T WANT THEM
TO GET BEYOND THAT POINT
WHERE THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE
THAT TOLD ME
THERE MIGHT BE SOME VIOLENCE.
Narrator:
SUNDAY NIGHT,
THE TELEVISION NETWORKS
BROKE INTO REGULAR PROGRAMMING
TO SHOW THESE SCENES
TO A NATIONAL AUDIENCE.
ABC INTERRUPTED ITS PRIMETIME
MOVIE, JUDGMENT AT NUREMBURG,
A FILM ABOUT NAZI WAR CRIMES.
WHEN THAT BEATING HAPPENED
AT THE FOOT OF THE BRIDGE,
IT LOOKED LIKE A WAR.
THAT WENT ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
AND THEN PEOPLE... THE WRATH OF
THE NATION CAME DOWN ON US.
GOVERNOR WALLACE HAD MADE CLEAR
HIS INTENTION TO
PREVENT THIS MARCH
ON THE GROUNDS OF PUBLIC SAFETY
AND DANGER ON THE HIGHWAYS.
WHILE WE KNEW THERE
WOULD BE A CONFRONTATION...
STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIALS WERE PREPARED
FOR MAJOR DISORDER...
WE HAD NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT
LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
WOULD SET UPON NONVIOLENT
AND PEACEFUL CITIZENS
IN THE WAY IN WHICH THEY DID.
ON PRIOR OCCASIONS,
THIS HAS NOT OCCURRED.
SHAME ON YOU, GEORGE WALLACE,
FOR THE WET ROPES THAT
BRUISED THE MUSCLES,
FOR THE BULLWHIPS
THAT CUT THE FLESH,
FOR THE CLUBS
THAT BROKE THE BONES
AND FOR THE TEAR GAS THAT
SEARED THE EYES AND THE NOSE
AND THE NOSTRILS AND THE LUNGS
AND CHOKED PEOPLE
INTO INSENSIBILITY.
THIS IS NOT THE AMERICAN WAY.
WHEN THIS HAPPENED AT SELMA
AND I SAW IT ON TELEVISION,
TO ME IT EXPANDED
BEYOND CIVIL RIGHTS,
BEYOND WHETHER YOU VOTE OR
WHERE YOU SIT IN A RESTAURANT
OR IN A CAFE OR ON PLANES
OR TRAINS OR BUSES;
IT BECAME A MATTER
OF HUMAN LIFE,
AND IT BECAME AN ISSUE
THAT TRANSCENDED ANY OF
THOSE WE WERE VOTING ON.
IT BECAME BIGGER THAN THAT.
AFTER THE BEATING ON THE BRIDGE,
WE IMMEDIATELY SENT OUT A CALL
FOR OUR FRIENDS.
WE DIDN'T THINK WE COULD
PROVIDE... WE COULD COUNT ON
POLICE PROTECTION.
PEOPLE SAID WE SHOULD
SEND IN THE NATIONAL GUARD.
WE DIDN'T THINK THAT THEY
WOULD SEND IN THE NATIONAL GUARD
TO PROTECT BLACK PEOPLE.
AND SO WE SENT OUT A CALL
TO PEOPLE OF GOODWILL.
Narrator:
FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY,
PEOPLE CAME TO SELMA,
AMONG THEM, 450 WHITE CLERGYMEN.
Reese:
HERE ARE A GROUP OF PEOPLE,
BLACK AND WHITE,
SAYING TO US, "WE ARE HERE
"TO SHARE WITH THE PEOPLE
OF SELMA
"IN THIS STRUGGLE
FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
"WE HAVE SEEN ON
THE TELEVISION SCREEN
"THE VIOLENCE THAT TOOK PLACE
AND WE'RE HERE
TO SHARE WITH YOU."
Man:
♪ OH, GOVERNOR WALLACE,
OH, YEAH ♪
♪ YOU NEVER CAN JAIL US ALL,
GOVERNOR WALLACE... ♪
Reese:
AND YOU COULD FEEL
A CHANGE IN THE ATMOSPHERE,
A SPIRIT OF INSPIRATION,
MOTIVATION AND, SEEMINGLY, HOPE
COMING BACK INTO THE EYES AND
INTO THE MINDS OF THESE PEOPLE,
AND THEN RENEWED COMMITMENT
TO THE NONVIOLENT METHOD.
Narrator:
THEY PLANNED TO MARCH
ON TUESDAY.
BUT PRESIDENT JOHNSON
WANTED THEM TO WAIT
UNTIL THEY COULD BE SURE
THERE WOULD BE NO VIOLENCE.
IN MONTGOMERY, ANOTHER JOHNSON,
FEDERAL JUDGE FRANK JOHNSON,
BANNED THE MARCH
PENDING A HEARING.
DR. KING HAD NEVER
VIOLATED A FEDERAL ORDER,
BUT THERE WAS INCREASING
PRESSURE TO MARCH,
ESPECIALLY FROM S.N.C.C.
MY NAME IS
JAMES FORMAN.
I'M EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
OF THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE.
Narrator:
THE S.C.L.C. MINISTERS LEFT THE
DECISION ABOUT MARCHING TO KING.
THE YOUNG MEMBERS OF S.N.C.C.,
ANGERED BY SUNDAY'S ATTACK,
WANTED TO BE SURE KING WOULDN'T
BACK DOWN.
FEDERAL INJUNCTIONS AND COURT
INJUNCTIONS
HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN
IN THE PAST,
AND THE PEOPLE HERE HAVE
TO MAKE UP THEIR MINDS
AND MAKE CERTAIN DECISIONS
THEMSELVES
ABOUT WHAT IT IS
THAT THEY WANT TO DO.
Narrator:
THERE WAS PRIVATE DISAGREEMENT,
BUT PUBLIC UNITY.
THERE'S NO DISAGREEMENT
BETWEEN S.N.C.C. AND S.C.L.C.,
AND THAT'S NOT AT ISSUE HERE.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE
TO THE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE
THAT THE MARCH THAT TUESDAY
WOULD GO FORWARD, ALL RIGHT.
BUT SOME OF US ALSO KNEW THAT
DR. KING HAD TOLD JUDGE JOHNSON
THAT HE WAS GOING
TO CALL OFF THE MARCH.
SO WE HAD A MEETING FROM ABOUT
11:00 TO 5:00 THAT MORNING
WHERE WE WERE TRYING
TO LAY OUT TO HIM
THE NECESSITY
TO KEEP HIS WORD TO THE PEOPLE
THAT THE MARCH WOULD GO FORWARD
AND THAT IT WOULD NOT
BE CALLED OFF.
WE HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE
BUT TO KEEP MOVING
WITH DETERMINATION.
WE'VE GONE TOO FAR NOW
TO TURN BACK.
AND, IN A REAL SENSE,
WE ARE MOVING
AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO STOP
BECAUSE ALABAMA,
AND BECAUSE OUR NATION,
HAS A DATE WITH DESTINY.
Narrator:
TUESDAY, MARCH 9.
2,000 MARCHERS SET OUT
TO CROSS THE PETTUS BRIDGE.
THIS TIME,
THERE WERE POLITICIANS,
LABOR AND CHURCH LEADERS,
MEMBERS OF S.N.C.C.,
THE WIDOW OF A U.S. SENATOR
AND A FEW SOUTHERN WHITES.
THEY WERE SIDE BY SIDE
WITH THOSE WHO HAD BEEN
BEATEN TWO DAYS EARLIER.
Policeman:
YOU ARE ORDERED TO STOP.
STAND WHERE YOU ARE.
THIS MARCH WILL NOT CONTINUE.
Narrator:
THE MARCHERS ASKED
TO KNEEL AND PRAY.
Preacher:
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT AMERICA
WAS FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLES
THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL...
NOT JUST WHITE MEN, BUT ALL MEN.
WE DON'T HAVE MUCH MONEY,
BUT WE DO HAVE OUR BODIES,
AND WE LAY THEM ON THE ALTAR
FOR THEE AND FOR
OUR FREEDOM TODAY.
Narrator:
THEN DR. KING TURNED
THE MARCHERS AROUND
AND WALKED BACK
ACROSS THE BRIDGE.
SOME EXPRESSED RELIEF,
OTHERS SHOCK.
Man:
ALL OF A SUDDEN, I REALIZED
THAT THE PEOPLE IN FRONT
WERE TURNING AROUND
AND COMING BACK,
AND I WAS AGHAST.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
ARE WE NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH
WITH THIS CONFRONTATION?
THE TRUTH OF IT WAS THAT THERE
WAS NOTHING MUCH ELSE TO DO.
WE'D BEEN ORDERED BY A JUDGE
NOT TO GO ANY FURTHER.
IF WE HAD RUN
INTO THAT POLICE LINE,
THEY WOULD HAVE BEATEN US UP
WITH COURT APPROVAL.
Narrator:
S.N.C.C. MEMBERS WOULD CALL
THE TURNAROUND A SELLOUT,
WORSENING THE SPLIT
BETWEEN THEM A S.C.L.C.
FOR OTHERS, THERE WAS
A SENSE OF CONFUSION.
Miller:
WE WAITED TO HEAR
DR. KING'S EXPLANATION
OF WHY THIS HAD BEEN.
WE NEVER FULLY UNDERSTOOD.
BUT WE DID UNDERSTAND
HIS SAYING,
"AS MANY OF YOU AS CAN, COULD
YOU STAY A FEW MORE DAYS?
COULD YOU REMAIN?"
MOST OF US HAD COME
WITHOUT EVEN A TOOTHBRUSH,
BECAUSE WE THOUGHT IT WAS
A ONE-DAY EVENT.
BUT NEVERTHELESS,
A NUMBER OF US DECIDED TO STAY,
I AMONG THEM.
Narrator:
LATER THAT EVENING,
REVEREND MILLER,
ALONG WITH MINISTERS CLARK OLSON
AND JAMES REEB,
WERE RETURNING FROM DINNER.
UNFAMILIAR WITH THE TOWN,
THEY TOOK A WRONG TURN
PAST THE SILVER MOON CAFE.
AND AS WE STARTED WALKING,
FROM ACROSS THE STREET, THERE
APPEARED FOUR OR FIVE WHITE MEN,
AND THEY YELLED AT US,
"HEY, YOU NIGGERS!"
AND WE DID NOT
LOOK ACROSS AT THEM,
BUT WE JUST SORT OF
QUICKENED OUR PACE...
WE DIDN'T RUN, BUT CONTINUED
WALKING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
AND THEY APPARENTLY
CAME ACROSS THE STREET
FROM OUR LEFT AND BEHIND US,
AND ONE OF THEM
WAS CARRYING A CLUB.
AND CLARK SAID HE TURNED
AROUND AND SAW THE CLUB
JUST AS IT WAS SWUNG,
AND JIM REEB, BEING
CLOSEST TO THE CURB,
CAUGHT THE FULL
IMPACT OF THAT BLOW.
Narrator:
JAMES REEB DIED TWO DAYS LATER.
Man and woman:
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ TO BE FREE IN YOUR LIFE? ♪
Narrator:
NEWS OF THE ATTACK
PROVOKED A NATIONAL OUTCRY.
DEMONSTRATORS PROTESTED
THE VIOLENCE IN SELMA.
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ AIN'T YOU GOT A RIGHT ♪
♪ TO BE FREE IN YOUR LIFE? ♪
Narrator:
SOME BLACKS WERE ANGRY
THAT THE DEATH OF
A WHITE MINISTER
STIRRED A NATION
THAT HAD IGNORED
THE DEATH OF JIMMY LEE JACKSON.
WHAT IT SEEMED TO ME IS THAT
THE MOVEMENT ITSELF
IS PLAYING INTO THE HANDS
OF RACISM.
BECAUSE WHAT YOU WANT IS
A NATION TO BE UPSET
WHEN ANYBODY IS KILLED,
AND ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE OF US
IS KILLED.
THEN, SO WE JUST PLAYED
INTO THE HANDS OF RACISM.
AND IT'S ALMOST LIKE, YOU KNOW,
FOR US TO BE RECOGNIZED
A WHITE PERSON MUST BE KILLED.
WELL, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?
Narrator:
WHEN THE POLICE BARRICADED
THE AREA AROUND BROWN CHAPEL,
S.N.C.C. WITHDREW FROM THE
SELMA CAMPAIGN IN FRUSTRATION.
THE BARRICADES WERE TO
KEEP HOSTILE WHITES OUT,
THE PROTESTERS IN.
ONE GROUP, LED BY JIMMY WEBB,
BROKE FREE OF THE BARRICADE.
THEY WERE STOPPED
BY CLARK'S MEN.
Policeman:
I CAN'T FOLLOW YOU, AND
I'M NOT GOING TO FOLLOW YOU
AND GIVE YOU
PERSONAL PROTECTION.
I AM TELLING YOU,
FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT,
YOU HAD BETTER TURN AROUND
AND GET OUT OF THIS AREA.
YOU'RE NOT GOING
TO THE COURTHOUSE IN A GROUP
UNDER THE CONDITIONS
THAT YOU COME HERE.
I ASSURE YOU THAT.
ALL WE WOULD LIKE
TO DO, SIR, IS TO
GO...
THE COURTHOUSE
IS CLOSED.
WE DON'T WANT
TO GO IN THE
COURTHOUSE.
ALL WE WANT TO DO IS GO
TO THE LAWN OF THE COURTHOUSE
AND KNEEL IN PRAYER,
AND WE'LL GLADLY RETURN...
YOU TAKE YOUR PRAYERS
BACK TO YOUR CHURCH.
THAT'S THE PROPER PLACE
TO PRAY.
I'M SURE THAT GOD
WILL HEAR YOUR PRAYER
JUST AS WELL DOWN THERE
AS HE WILL UP HERE,
BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING ON
THIS COURTHOUSE LAWN.
SIR, WHENEVER
THERE ARE MEN WHO ARE
IN SINFUL CONDITIONS,
PRAYERS SHOULD BE UTTERED
WHEREVER THEY ARE.
WHY DON'T YOU PRAY
WHERE YOU ARE?
GO BACK DOWN THERE
AND PRAY.
YOU THINK
YOU'RE LILY WHITE?
NO, I DON'T.
DO YOU THINK
YOU'RE NOT SINFUL?
NO, I DON'T.
WELL, THEN GO BACK
TO YOUR CHURCH AND PRAY.
WELL, SIR, CAN WE PRAY
TOGETHER, YOU AND I?
YOU DO YOUR PRAYING,
I'LL DO MINE, BIG BOY.
I DON'T WANT YOU
TO PRAY FOR ME.
WELL, WILL YOU
PRAY FOR US?
BECAUSE I DON'T THINK YOUR
PRAYERS GET ABOVE YOUR HEAD.
WELL, WILL YOU
PRAY FOR US?
NO, I'M NOT GOING
TO PRAY FOR YOU.
I'LL TEND TO MY BUSINESS,
YOU TEND TO YOURS.
NOW, YOU GOT TO MOVE
THESE PEOPLE OUT OF HERE.
Man:
WE'RE TRYING TO PROTECT YOU.
Woman:
YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO
LOVE BEFORE YOU CAN PRAY.
I DON'T HAVE TO LOVE ANYBODY
I DON'T WANT TO LOVE.
YOU DO YOUR OWN LOVING.
YOU LOVE YOUR LITTLE NIGGERS,
I'LL LOVE WHO I PLEASE.
DO YOU BELIEVE
IN EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL?
I BELIEVE
IN JUSTICE.
DO YOU BELIEVE
IN EQUAL JUSTICE?
I DON'T BELIEVE
IN EQUAL NOTHING.
THERE'S NO TWO PEOPLE
IN THIS WORLD ALIKE.
THEY'RE NOT EQUAL
UNDER ANY TERMS OR CONDITIONS.
THERE'S NO TWO PEAS
IN THE WORLD ALIKE,
NO TWO PIECES
OF MONEY NOR NOTHING ELSE.
THEN, SIR, ARE YOU SAYING
THAT IF I HAVE A QUARTER
AND I'M BLACK
AND YOU HAVE A QUARTER
AND YOU'RE WHITE,
THEN MY QUARTER ISN'T
WORTH AS MUCH AS YOURS?
THAT'S YOUR QUARTER.
I'LL DECIDE WHAT
MY QUARTER IS WORTH.
YOU USE YOURS
AND I'LL USE MINE.
Man:
YOU BUY YOU A CATFISH
SANDWICH WITH YOURS.
I HAVE NOTHING ELSE
TO SAY.
WHAT'S THE DEAL HERE NOW?
YOU PEOPLE IN THIS SMALL GROUP
WANT TO TURN AND WALK ON BACK
TO THE REST OF THE GROUP
DOWN THERE WAITING ON YOU?
DO WE HAVE
YOUR PROTECTION?
WE'LL DO
EVERYTHING WE CAN,
JUST GO ON BACK DOWN THERE.
YOU DIDN'T HAVE
ANY COMING UP HERE.
Narrator:
PLANS FOR THE MARCH
TO MONTGOMERY
REMAINED AT A STANDSTILL
PENDING A FEDERAL
COURT DECISION.
NOW, PROTECTING THE MARCHERS
BECAME AN ISSUE
FOR BOTH PRESIDENT JOHNSON
AND GOVERNOR WALLACE.
WE GOT A REPORT
HOW MUCH IT WOULD TAKE
TO GUARANTEE ABSOLUTE PROTECTION
FOR EVERYONE,
AND WE DIDN'T HAVE
THE RESOURCES,
SO I CALLED ON
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
UNDER ARTICLE FOUR, SECTION
FOUR OF THE CONSTITUTION,
TO SEND US TROOPS TO
HELP US MAINTAIN ORDER.
Narrator:
WALLACE MET WITH
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
IN WASHINGTON ON MARCH 13.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MEETING
WAS THAT THE PRESIDENT
TOTALLY SNOWED HIM.
GOVERNOR WALLACE
DIDN'T QUITE GROVEL,
BUT HE WAS SO PLIANT
BY THE END OF THE TWO HOURS,
WITH PRESIDENT JOHNSON
PUTTING HIS ARM AROUND HIM
AND SQUEEZING HIM
AND TELLING HIM IT'S
A MOMENT OF HISTORY
AND "HOW DO WE WANT TO BE
REMEMBERED IN HISTORY?
"DO WE WANT TO BE REMEMBERED
AS PETTY LITTLE MEN
"OR DO WE WANT TO BE
REMEMBERED AS GREAT FIGURES
THAT FACED UP TO OUR
MOMENTS OF CRISIS?"
AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THEN HE LED
GOVERNOR WALLACE OUT
IN THE HOPES THAT
GOVERNOR WALLACE...
WHO WAS BY THAT TIME
LIKE A RUBBER BAND...
WOULD GIVE A PRESS STATEMENT
THAT CONFIRMED HIS DETERMINATION
TO PROTECT THE MARCHERS
AT SELMA,
COMPLY WITH THE COURT
ORDER FROM JUDGE JOHNSON
AND ACT LIKE
A RESPONSIBLE GOVERNOR.
WELL, ALL I CAN SAY IS
THAT I AM VERY HOPEFUL
THAT WE CAN HAVE A SOLUTION
TO THE PROBLEMS THAT CONFRONT US
IN THIS REGARD
AND THAT I DID REQUEST, I DID
MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN
HAVE A CESSATION, SOMETIME,
OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS,
ALTHOUGH I RECOGNIZE THE
RIGHT TO PEACEFULLY ASSEMBLE,
BUT I DO THINK THERE ARE
LIMITATIONS,
BUT THAT'S ALL FOR THE MOMENT.
Narrator:
GOVERNOR WALLACE
STILL REFUSED TO PAY
FOR PROTECTING THE MARCHERS.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON,
SENSING THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY,
ADDRESSED CONGRESS
ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
WHAT HAPPENED IN SELMA
IS PART OF A FAR
LARGER MOVEMENT
WHICH REACHES INTO EVERY
SECTION AND STATE OF AMERICA.
Narrator:
EIGHT DAYS AFTER BLOODY SUNDAY,
FOUR DAYS AFTER REEB'S DEATH,
THE PRESIDENT ASKED FOR A
COMPREHENSIVE VOTING RIGHTS BILL
AND ASTONISHED THE NATION
BY USING THE WORDS
OF THE MOVEMENT.
THEIR CAUSE MUST
BE OUR CAUSE, TOO.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST NEGROES,
BUT REALLY, IT'S ALL OF US
WHO MUST OVERCOME THE CRIPPLING
LEGACY OF BIGOTRY AND INJUSTICE.
AND WE SHALL OVERCOME.
LYNDON JOHNSON CAME ON,
THE LATE PRESIDENT,
AND SAID, "WE SHALL OVERCOME."
AND THAT JUST LIKE...
UH, YOU'D STUCK A DAGGER IN YOUR
HEART OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, WHAT'S THIS GUY DOING?
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD RESPECT
FOR YOUR COUNTRY...
THE SOUTH'S VERY PATRIOTIC...
BUT IT JUST DESTROYED EVERYTHING
YOU'D BEEN ALLEGEDLY
FIGHTING FOR.
WE WERE ALL SITTING
AROUND TOGETHER.
AND MARTIN WAS SITTING
IN A CHAIR,
LOOKING TOWARD THE TV SET.
AND WHEN L.B.J. SAID,
"AND WE SHALL OVERCOME,"
WE ALL CHEERED.
AND I LOOKED OVER TOWARD MARTIN.
MARTIN WAS VERY QUIETLY
SITTING IN THE CHAIR
AND A TEAR RAN DOWN HIS CHEEK.
IT WAS A VICTORY
LIKE NONE OTHER.
IT WAS AN AFFIRMATION
OF THE MOVEMENT.
Narrator:
BUT S.N.C.C. DIDN'T
SEE ANY VICTORY.
IN MONTGOMERY, WHERE THEY
HAD MOVED OPERATIONS,
THEY WERE BEING BEATEN
BY ALABAMA POLICE
AS THEY TRIED TO CONFRONT
GOVERNOR WALLACE.
HEY, CAN WE GET A DOCTOR?
CAN WE GET A DOCTOR?!
THERE'S ONLY ONE MAN
IN THIS COUNTRY
THAT CAN STOP GEORGE WALLACE
AND THOSE POSSES.
WE CAN PRESENT THOUSANDS
AND THOUSANDS
OF BODIES IN THE STREETS
IF WE WANT TO,
AND WE CAN HAVE
ALL OF THE SOUL FORCE
AND THE MORAL COMMITMENT
AROUND THIS WORLD,
BUT A LOT OF THESE PROBLEMS
WILL NOT BE SOLVED
UNTIL THAT PLACE CALLED THE
WHITE HOUSE BEGINS TO SHAKE
AND GETS ON THE PHONE AND SAYS,
"NOW LISTEN, GEORGE,
"WE'RE COMING DOWN THERE
AND THROW YOU IN JAIL
IF YOU DON'T STOP THAT MESS."
THAT'S THE ONLY WAY IT'S GOING
TO BE STOPPED.
IT'S NOT JUST THE
SHERIFF OF THIS COUNTY
OR THE MAYOR, OR THE POLICE
COMMISSIONER OR GEORGE WALLACE.
THIS PROBLEM GOES TO THE VERY
BOTTOM OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND YOU KNOW I SAID IT TODAY,
AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN...
IF WE CAN'T SIT AT THE TABLE,
LET'S KNOCK THE
LEGS OFF!
EXCUSE ME.
THERE ARE POINTS
THAT WE AGREE ON
AND THERE ARE STILL POINTS
THAT WE MUST NEGOTIATE
BEFORE WE COME TO A FINAL
RESOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM.
Narrator:
MARTIN LUTHER KING TRIED
TO CALM THE SITUATION
IN MONTGOMERY
WHILE WAITING, STILL, FOR THE
COURT DECISION ON THE MARCH.
Man:
PULL IT BACK.
LET ME GIVE YOU THIS STATEMENT,
WHICH I THINK WILL COME...
Man:
GET THE MIKE DOWN,
GET THE MIKE DOWN.
AS AN EXPRESSION OF
DEEP JOY TO ALL OF US.
JUDGE JOHNSON HAS JUST RULED
THAT WE HAVE A LEGAL
AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT
TO MARCH FROM SELMA
TO MONTGOMERY.
Narrator:
THE JUDGE'S ACTION
CLEARED THE WAY FOR THE MARCH,
BUT GOVERNOR WALLACE
STILL REFUSED TO PROVIDE
SO PRESIDENT JOHNSON FEDERALIZED
THE ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD.
SUNDAY, MARCH 21.
ONLY 62 DAYS AFTER
THE CAMPAIGN BEGAN,
3,200 PEOPLE GATHERED
AT BROWN CHAPEL CHURCH
FOR THE JOURNEY TO MONTGOMERY.
King:
WE ARE GOING TO WALK
NONVIOLENTLY AND PEACEFULLY
TO LET THE NATION
AND THE WORLD KNOW
WE ARE TIRED NOW.
WE'VE LIVED WITH SLAVERY
AND SEGREGATION 345 YEARS.
WE WAITED A LONG TIME
FOR FREEDOM.
WE ARE TRYING
TO REMIND THE NATION
OF THE URGENCY OF THE MOMENT.
NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE REAL
THE PROMISES OF DEMOCRACY.
NOW IS THE TIME
TO TRANSFORM ALABAMA...
THE HEART OF DIXIE...
TO A STATE WITH
A HEART FOR BROTHERHOOD
AND PEACE AND GOODWILL.
NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE
JUSTICE A REALITY
FOR ALL OF GOD'S CHILDREN.
LET'S MOVE THE LINE
A LITTLE FASTER.
Man:
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ THUS OUR STRENGTH
FROM DAY TO DAY ♪
♪ AS WE WALK THE NARROW WAY ♪
♪ WE'RE GOING FORWARD,
WE'RE GOING FORWARD ♪
♪ ONE DAY WE'RE
GOING TO BE FREE ♪
♪ OH, WE'RE MARCHING ON... ♪
♪ TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
♪ THUS OUR STRENGTH
FROM DAY TO DAY ♪
♪ AS WE WALK THE NARROW WAY ♪
♪ WE'RE GOING FORWARD ♪
♪ WE'RE GOING FORWARD ♪
♪ ONE DAY WE'RE
GOING TO BE FREE. ♪
Reporter:
DO YOU HAVE ANY FEELINGS
ABOUT THIS MARCH?
NO, I'M GLAD TO GET RID OF
THE ONES THAT ARE LEAVING.
BUT I WISH THEY'D COME BACK
AND GET THE REST OF THEM.
DARLING, HOW
ARE YOU DOING?
WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL.
WHY ARE YOU MARCHING?
SO WE CAN BE FREE
AND JUSTICE.
AND SO OTHER
PEOPLE CAN BE FREE
AND SO THE TROOPERS
CAN'T HIT NO ONE.
King:
ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT.
I'M FROM KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI,
AND I'VE ANSWERED A CALL
FOR THE INTERRACIAL COUNCIL
THERE IN KANSAS CITY
TO JOIN THE MARCH HERE.
THESE IDEALS THAT HAVE BEEN
EXPRESSED HERE BY ALL THE PEOPLE
HAVE BEEN MINE FOR A LONG TIME.
I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW.
WELL, I'M FROM HOLLYWOOD,
CALIFORNIA.
I'M AN ACTOR, AND I JUST
DECIDED, "I'VE GOT TO COME.
I'VE GOT TO SEE
WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT."
AND I FEEL VERY DEEPLY
ABOUT THE SITUATION,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I REALIZE
WHAT THE NEGRO POSITION IS,
BECAUSE HERE I AM,
CALLED A "WHITE NIGGER."
Man:
♪ PICK 'EM UP
AND LAY 'EM DOWN ♪
Choir:
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ PICK 'EM UP
AND LAY 'EM DOWN ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ PICK 'EM UP
AND LAY 'EM DOWN... ♪
Narrator:
THE ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD,
UNDER FEDERAL DIRECTION,
KEPT THE HECKLERS AT A DISTANCE
AND CHECKED FOR BOMBS.
11 MILES OUTSIDE SELMA,
THE MARCHERS LEFT DALLAS COUNTY
AND CAME INTO NEIGHBORING
LOWNDES COUNTY.
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FEET ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT... ♪
Narrator:
WHILE IN LOWNDES COUNTY,
SOME S.N.C.C. MEMBERS
SEIZED THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DO SOME ORGANIZING
OF THEIR OWN.
♪ MAKE ME WANT
TO SKIP A BEAT ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT... ♪
WE WERE AGAINST THE MARCH.
I, TOO, WAS AGAINST IT.
BUT AGAIN, I SAID IT WAS
A FAIT ACCOMPLI.
WE COULDN'T STOP IT,
KING WAS GOING TO HAVE IT,
AND THERE WAS WAY TO STOP IT,
SO WHAT WE HAD TO DO NOW
IS MAKE A POSITIVE
OUT OF A NEGATIVE.
WHAT I DID WAS, WHEN IT ENTERED
LOWNDES COUNTY,
I WOULD SEEK OUT ALL THE PEOPLE
FROM LOWNDES COUNTY
WHO CAME TO THE MARCH.
I WOULD GET THEM, WRITE DOWN
THEIR NAMES, RECORD IT,
THEIR ADDRESSES, AND TELL THEM,
"LISTEN, WE'RE GOING TO STAY
IN LOWNDES COUNTY,
WE'RE NOT JUST GOING
TO PASS THROUGH."
SO THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY WAS
BUILT OFF OF THE MOBILIZATION
THAT KING SPROUT OUT
INSIDE OF LOWNDES COUNTY.
AND HE DID US A PERFECT JOB.
Man:
♪ DID THE RAIN COME DOWN? ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ LORD, I THOUGHT
I WOULD DROWN ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ OH, THE MUD SURE WAS DEEP... ♪
Narrator:
AS THEY APPROACHED MONTGOMERY,
S.C.L.C. HEARD OF A PLOT AGAINST
MARTIN LUTHER KING'S LIFE,
BUT KING REFUSED
TO LEAVE THE MARCH.
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
♪ THAT'S WHY WE'RE MOVIN'
IN A CREEP ♪
♪ RIGHT, RIGHT ♪
MARTIN ALWAYS WORE
THE GOOD PREACHER BLUE SUIT
AND I... I FIGURED
SINCE WE COULDN'T
STOP HIM FROM MARCHING,
WE JUST HAD TO KIND OF
BELIEVE THAT IT WAS TRUE
WHEN WHITE FOLKS SAID
WE ALL LOOK ALIKE.
SO EVERYBODY THAT WAS
ABOUT MARTIN'S SIZE
AND HAD ON A BLUE SUIT
I PUT IN THE FRONT
OF THE LINE WITH HIM.
AND WE ALL JUST LINED UP.
BUT THERE WERE SOME
VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE
WHO FELT AS THOUGH THEY WERE
BEING PUSHED BACK.
BUT ALL OF THE PREACHERS
LOVED THE CHANCE TO
GET UP FRONT IN THE FRONT LINE
WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING,
BUT I DON'T THINK TO THIS DAY
MOST OF THEM KNOW
WHY THEY WERE UP THERE.
Choir:
♪ WE'RE MARCHING ON
TO FREEDOM LAND... ♪
Narrator:
54 MILES AND FIVE DAYS MARCHING.
THEY WERE NOW 25,000 STRONG.
♪ AS WE TRAVEL
THE NARROW WAY... ♪
Lewis:
TO ME, THERE WAS NEVER A
MARCH LIKE THIS ONE BEFORE
AND THERE HASN'T BEEN ONE SINCE.
IT WAS A SENSE OF
COMMUNITY MOVING THERE
AND AS YOU WALKED,
YOU SAW PEOPLE COMING,
WAVING, BRINGING YOU FOOD
OR BRINGING YOU
SOMETHING TO DRINK.
YOU SAW THE POWER OF
THE MOST POWERFUL COUNTRY
ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
Narrator:
IN THE EUPHORIA OF THE MOMENT,
NO ONE COULD KNOW
THE TRADITIONAL
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
WOULD NEVER AGAIN BE THE SAME.
THE FRAGILE COALITION THAT HAD
SHAPED THE MOVEMENT FOR SO LONG
WAS COMING TO AN END.
Coretta Scott King:
IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT
TO GO BACK TO MONTGOMERY,
BECAUSE, YOU SEE, FOR US IT WAS
RETURNING TO MONTGOMERY
AFTER TEN YEARS.
AND I KEPT THINKING
ABOUT TEN YEARS EARLIER...
HOW WE WERE VISIBLY JUST BLACKS,
AND WHEN YOU LOOKED
AT THAT MARCH,
YOU HAD CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND
NUNS AND YOU HAD OTHER CLERGY
AND YOU HAD A LOT
OF WHITE PEOPLE.
IT WAS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL
THING TO PASS DEXTER AVENUE
AND GO TOWARD THE CAPITOL,
MARCHING TOGETHER
AND LISTENING TO
MARTIN'S SPEECH.
Martin Luther King:
WE MUST COME TO SEE
THAT THE END WE SEEK IS
A SOCIETY AT PEACE WITH ITSELF,
A SOCIETY THAT CAN LIVE
WITH ITS CONSCIENCE,
AND THAT WILL BE A DAY
NOT OF THE WHITE MAN,
NOT OF THE BLACK MAN,
THAT WILL BE THE DAY
OF MAN AS MAN.
HOWEVER DIFFICULT THE MOMENT,
HOWEVER FRUSTRATING THE HOUR,
IT WILL NOT BE LONG,
BECAUSE TRUTH CRUSHED
TO EARTH WILL RISE AGAIN.
HOW LONG?
NOT LONG.
BECAUSE NO LIE CAN LIVE FOREVER.
HOW LONG?
NOT LONG.
BECAUSE THE ARC OF THE
MORAL UNIVERSE IS LONG,
BUT IT BENDS TOWARD JUSTICE.
HOW LONG? NOT LONG.
BECAUSE MINE EYES
HAVE SEEN THE GLORY
OF THE COMING OF THE LORD.
HE IS TRAMPLING OUT THE VINTAGE
WHERE THE GRAPES
OF WRATH ARE STORED.
HE HAS LOOSED
THE FATEFUL LIGHTNING
OF HIS TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD.
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON.
GLORY, HALLELUJAH.
GLORY, HALLELUJAH.
GLORY, HALLELUJAH!
GLORY, HALLELUJAH!
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON.
Narrator:
THAT NIGHT, VIOLA LIUZZO,
A WHITE HOUSEWIFE FROM MICHIGAN,
WAS MURDERED BY KLANSMEN
AS SHE TRANSPORTED
MARCHERS BACK TO SELMA.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON SIGNED THE
VOTING RIGHTS BILL INTO LAW
ON AUGUST 6, 1965.
BY THE FOLLOWING SUMMER,
9,000 BLACKS REGISTERED
TO VOTE IN DALLAS COUNTY.
AUGUST 11, FIVE DAYS AFTER THE
VOTING RIGHTS BILL WAS SIGNED,
THE WATTS AREA OF
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,
EXPLODED IN RACIAL VIOLENCE.
MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE
WERE INJURED; 34 DIED.
IT SIGNALED A NEW DIRECTION
FOR THE MOVEMENT,
THE NEXT PHASE OF AMERICA'S
CIVIL RIGHTS YEARS.
Choir:
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ YES, WE WANT OUR FREEDOM. ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM ♪
♪ FREEDOM ♪
♪ OH, FREEDOM... ♪
♪ YES, WE WANT OUR FREEDOM. ♪
♪ WHOA, OUT IN THE CHURCH,
WE'RE GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LET IT SHINE,
LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LORD, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF
MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LORD, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF
MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LORD, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF
MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE ♪
♪ LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE,
LET IT SHINE... ♪
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