American Experience (1988–…): Season 20, Episode 5 - Eyes on the Prize II (Parts III & IV): Power!/The Promised Land - full transcript
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♪ 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. ♪
THIS COUNTRY KNOWS
WHAT POWER IS.
IT KNOWS IT VERY WELL.
AND IT KNOWS WHAT BLACK POWER IS
BECAUSE IT'S DEPRIVED BLACK
PEOPLE OF IT FOR 400 YEARS.
WE ARE ON THE MOVE
FOR OUR LIBERATION.
WE HAVE BEEN TIRED OF TRYING
TO PROVE THINGS TO WHITE PEOPLE.
WE ARE TIRED OF TRYING
TO EXPLAIN TO WHITE PEOPLE
THAT WE'RE NOT
GOING TO HURT THEM.
WE ARE CONCERNED WITH GETTING
THE THINGS WE WANT,
THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE
TO BE ABLE TO FUNCTION.
Narrator:
BY 1967, THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT
WAS CHANGING COURSE.
BLACK PEOPLE SEEK POWER,
AND THEY MUST HAVE POWER
TO CHANGE THE CONDITIONS
UNDER WHICH THEY LIVE.
Narrator:
ACROSS THE NATION,
BLACK MEN AND WOMEN STRUGGLED
FOR CONTROL OF THEIR LIVES...
THROUGH THE BALLOT BOX...
ON THE STREET...
IN THE SCHOOLS.
THE CALL FOR POWER CHALLENGED
THE ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES
IN AMERICA.
ARE THE PEOPLE OF CLEVELAND
WILLING TO VOTE
FOR A CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR
WHO HAS THE BEST QUALIFICATIONS,
WHO HAS THE BEST PROGRAM,
WHO HAS THE PHILOSOPHY
OF GOVERNMENT
AND ITS RELATIONSHIP
WITH PEOPLE,
BUT WHOSE SKIN
DOES HAPPEN TO BE BLACK?
Narrator:
15 MILLION BLACK AMERICANS
LIVED IN THE CITIES,
YET IN 1967, NO MAJOR CITY HAD
EVER ELECTED A BLACK MAYOR.
DETERMINED TO BREAK
WITH THAT PAST,
THE BLACK COMMUNITY
IN CLEVELAND, OHIO,
LAUNCHED A VOTER REGISTRATION
CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT CARL STOKES.
WELL, WE THOUGHT A BLACK MAYOR
COULD DO IT AS WELL AS SOME OF
THE WHITE MAYORS HAD DONE.
AND WE CERTAINLY THOUGHT IT
WOULD BE AN IMPROVEMENT
IN POLICE/CITIZEN RELATIONS,
BECAUSE, AT THAT TIME,
THEY WEREN'T TOO GOOD.
AND WE THOUGHT MAYBE HE COULD DO
SOMETHING ABOUT HOUSING.
WE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE
THE INTERESTS OF THE BLACKS
MORE AT HEART,
WHICH THE WHITE MAYORS DIDN'T
SEEM TO HAVE, PARTICULARLY.
Narrator:
TWO YEARS EARLIER, CARL STOKES,
AN OHIO STATE LEGISLATOR,
HAD RUN FOR MAYOR AND LOST
BY A NARROW MARGIN.
WHITE VOTERS HAD NOT SUPPORTED
A BLACK CANDIDATE.
NOW, SOME WERE SAYING HE MIGHT
SAVE THE CITY
FROM THE UNREST ERUPTING
IN OTHER URBAN AREAS.
CLEVELAND HAD SEEN THE FIRES.
A VIOLENT UPRISING IN THE BLACK
NEIGHBORHOOD OF HOUGH
HAD CLAIMED FOUR LIVES
AND DESTROYED HUNDREDS
OF HOMES AND BUSINESSES.
IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY, RALPH
LOCHER, THE INCUMBENT MAYOR,
WAS STOKES' MAJOR OPPONENT.
WE CAN'T SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS
SO LONG AS WE HAVE
DISRESPECT FOR LAW,
SO LONG AS WE HAVE ANARCHY
AND SO LONG AS WE THUMB OUR NOSE
AT LAW AND ORDER.
WITH THAT IN MIND, THIS COUNCIL
AND THIS ADMINISTRATION
HAS ADDED 234 ADDITIONAL POLICE
TO OUR FORCE
AND WE'VE SAID TO THE HOODLUM
WE'RE GOING TO RUN YOU
OUT OF TOWN
AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
LAW AND ORDER IN THIS CITY.
Narrator:
MAYOR LOCHER SOUGHT
TO REASSURE THE CITY
THERE WOULD BE NO REPEAT OF
THE DISTURBANCES IN HOUGH.
LOCHER'S ADMINISTRATION WAS ALSO
MARKED BY INDUSTRIAL DECLINE
AND RISING UNEMPLOYMENT.
HOUSING FOR ONE-THIRD
OF CLEVELAND'S RESIDENTS
WAS CONSIDERED SUB-STANDARD.
BUT FOR SOME, THESE WERE NOT THE
MAJOR ISSUES OF THE CAMPAIGN.
Reporter:
THIS ELECTION SEEMS
TO HAVE A LOT MORE INTEREST
THAN A LOT OF ELECTIONS
IN RECENT YEARS.
WHY DO YOU
THINK SO?
WELL, I GUESS IT'S THE RACIAL,
THE RACIAL POINT.
WHAT IS THERE
ABOUT LOCHER THAT,
YOU KNOW?
WELL, I LIKE WHAT HE'S DONE,
AND JUST LIKE HE SAID,
I THINK HE'LL FIND THE MISTAKES
HE'S MADE
AND WON'T MAKE THEM AGAIN.
WELL, WHY WOULDN'T
YOU GIVE STOKES
A CHANCE?
WELL, I GUESS IT'S THE IDEA
OF HAVING A COLORED GUY IN.
THE REALITIES OF BEING ELECTED
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND,
WHICH WAS 35% BLACK
AT THAT TIME,
AND 65% WHITE, AND WHITE
EASTERN EUROPEAN ETHNICS,
WAS THAT YOU COULDN'T RUN
A CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGN HERE.
YOU HAD TO RUN A STRAIGHT
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN,
IN WHICH YOU BLURRED
OR ELIMINATED
THE RACIAL DISTINCTIONS
AS MUCH AS YOU COULD.
DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE
MAKING ANY PROGRESS WITH THEM?
I WOULDN'T BE
OUT HERE TONIGHT
IF I DIDN'T
BELIEVE THAT.
I HOPE I MADE IT
WITH YOU, FOR INSTANCE.
GOOD LUCK.
I WANTED TO TELL
THE GENTLEMAN THE FACT
THAT ALL OF US LADIES,
WE PICK OUR LIPSTICKS BY COLOR,
SOMETIMES OUR DRESSES,
BUT WE DON'T VOTE THAT WAY...
WE STUDY THE CANDIDATES.
I BELIEVE THAT.
CIVIL RIGHTS WAS A MOVEMENT
WHERE PEOPLE BELIEVED
THAT THEY COULD CHANGE
THE WAY PEOPLE WERE TREATED.
AND, IN THE STOKES CAMPAIGN,
WHILE IT WAS
A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
IT HAD A CANDIDATE
AND BECAME A CAMPAIGN
THAT STOOD FOR
THAT KIND OF CHANGE.
Narrator:
CLEVELAND WAS JUST
OVER 1/3 BLACK.
STOKES NEEDED TO WIN
WHITE SUPPORT
AND INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT
IN THE BLACK WARDS.
WE KNEW WE HAD THE VOTES
BUT WE HAD TO GET THEM OUT.
IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE THEM,
BUT TO HAVE THEM JUST
SIT THERE...
SO WE ORGANIZED BLOCK BY BLOCK.
Narrator:
BY LATE SUMMER,
THE REGISTRATION DRIVE
HAD ADDED 30,000 BLACK VOTERS
TO THE ROLLS.
BUT WITH THE PRIMARY
ONLY WEEKS AWAY,
CAMPAIGN WORKERS
IN THE BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS
FOUND THEY HAD
ANOTHER BATTLE TO WIN.
Man:
THERE WAS A CERTAIN SEGMENT
OF PEOPLE
WHO HAD THIS NEGATIVE ATTITUDE.
THEY FELT, WELL,
THIS JUST CAN'T BE.
THE PEOPLE JUST WON'T
ELECT A BLACK MAN.
WE WERE IN A MOTORCADE COMING
DOWN EAST 55th STREET,
AND MY WIFE SHIRLEY
AND I WERE SITTING
ON THE BACK SEAT
OF THE CONVERTIBLE
AND A LITTLE BLACK KID
THAT WAS MAYBE
EIGHT YEARS OLD, PROBABLY,
CAME UP TO US AS WE WERE STOPPED
AT A TRAFFIC SIGNAL
AND HE SAID,
"ARE YOU CARL STOKES?"
AND I SAID, "YES."
AND HE JUST GAVE A LITTLE LEAP
IN THE AIR
AND RAN DOWN THE STREET,
CLAPPING HIS HANDS,
SAYING, "HE'S COLORED.
HE'S COLORED, HE'S COLORED,
HE'S COLORED."
I THOUGHT THAT SORT OF
CAUGHT THE SENSE OF PRIDE
THAT I FELT AS I WENT
THROUGH THE BLACK AREAS
OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND.
♪ IF YOU HAD
A CHOICE OF COLORS ♪
♪ WHICH ONE WOULD
YOU CHOOSE, MY BROTHERS? ♪
♪ IF THERE WAS NO DAY OR NIGHT ♪
♪ WHICH WOULD YOU PREFER
TO BE RIGHT? ♪
DON'T VOTE FOR ME
BECAUSE I'M A NEGRO
BUT GOD KNOWS, DON'T VOTE
AGAINST ME BECAUSE I'M A NEGRO.
WE AIN'T WHAT WE WANT TO BE
AND LORD, WE AIN'T WHAT WE'RE
GOING TO BE
BUT GREAT GOD, WE SURE AIN'T
WHAT WE WAS, LORD.
THANK YOU.
Narrator:
ON PRIMARY ELECTION DAY,
BLACKS VOTED IN RECORD NUMBERS.
STOKES' SUPPORTERS KNEW THAT
VICTORY WAS WITHIN REACH.
WE WENT BACK
TO THE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS
BUT IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT JOB
EVEN GETTING CLOSE TO IT.
THE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS
THAT I HAD OPENED MONTHS BEFORE
AS AN EMPTY, BARREN PLACE,
WAS NOW JUST SURROUNDED BY
PEOPLE FAR OUT INTO THE STREET,
AND THERE WAS DANCING IN
THE STREET ON SUPERIOR AVENUE.
♪ WE'RE A WINNER NOW ♪
♪ AND NEVER LET ANYBODY SAY... ♪
HI, BABY GIRL.
DADDY WON.
Narrator:
STOKES' PRIMARY VICTORY
96% SUPPORT
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
AND 52% SUPPORT CITYWIDE.
BUT THE CAMPAIGN WAS
FAR FROM OVER.
WE HAD STRESSED SO MUCH
THAT YOU MUST VOTE
FOR CARL IN THE PRIMARY
AND YOU WON'T GET
A SECOND CHANCE.
NOW, IF YOU DON'T PUT HIM
ON THE BALLOT,
YOU CAN FORGET THE WHOLE DEAL.
SO THEY WENT OUT
AND VOTED FOR HIM,
I THINK THAT WAS OCTOBER
THE THIRD.
OKAY, WE SAID,
"NOW, WE GOT TO GET THEM
BACK TO THE POLLS AGAIN
NOVEMBER THE SEVENTH."
SO WE HAD TELEPHONE BANKS GOING
AND WE WOULD CALL THEM
AND WE WOULD VISIT THEM.
WE'D HAVE THE BLOCK CAPTAINS
GO SEE THEM,
THE BLOCK SUPERVISORS,
AND THEY'D TELL US,
"ALREADY VOTED FOR HIM."
WE SAID, "OH, MY GOD,
WE GOT TO DO
A VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN."
WE SAID, "YES, BUT YOU
JUST PUT HIM ON THE TICKET.
YOU'VE GOT TO GO BACK AGAIN
AND VOTE
TO BE SURE THAT HE'S THE MAYOR."
AND THAT WAS A JOB.
WE GOT TO GET OUT
AND KNOCK ON THESE DOORS!
WE GOT TO BRING THE ONES THAT
NEVER GET OUT
AND NEVER THINK ABOUT WHAT
IS GOING TO BECOME OF THE CITY.
JUST A FEW OF US HAVE TO GET OUT
AND BRING THE...
MAKE OURSELVES
A COMMITTEE OF ONE...
AND GET THE VOTE OUT
FOR CARL STOKES.
AND THEN WE CAN SING, "WE'RE
GONNA WALK TOGETHER, CHILDREN.
"WE'RE GONNA TALK TOGETHER,
CHILDREN.
"AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR MAYOR
DOWN THERE
THAT WILL SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY,
CHILDREN."
LET'S GO ON AND WORK
FOR CARL STOKES.
Narrator:
IN CLEVELAND, 80% OF THE VOTERS
WERE DEMOCRATS.
WINNING THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
USUALLY MEANT CERTAIN ELECTION.
BUT WHITE VOTERS WERE MOVING
TO THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE,
SETH TAFT.
Taft:
SO, RIGHT AFTER THE PRIMARY,
WE JUST HAD THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
MARCHING INTO OUR HEADQUARTERS
SAYING, "WE'LL CAMPAIGN FOR YOU,
WE THINK YOU'RE THE GREAT GUY."
THEY'D NEVER HEARD OF ME
BEFORE.
BUT, UH...
SO, WE HAD A...
IT MADE A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE
SITUATION, I CAN ASSURE YOU,
WHEN A WHOLE BATCH OF PEOPLE
RUSH INTO YOUR HEADQUARTERS
AND WANT TO WORK
IN YOUR CAMPAIGN,
WHEN YOU DON'T LIKE
THEIR MOTIVE.
WE FIRED A WHOLE BATCH OF THEM
THAT WENT OUT AND CAMPAIGNED
SAYING, "HEY, YOU WOULDN'T WANT
A BLACK MAYOR OF THIS CITY,
WOULD YOU?"
AND WE GOT RID OF EVERYBODY
WE COULD OF THAT SORT.
FRANKLY, BOTH OF US RAN A...
I THINK...
UH, VERY MUCH AN AFFIRMATIVE,
UH...
NON-RACIALLY ORIENTED CAMPAIGN.
BUT THE RACIAL ISSUE WAS
LIKE ONE POSTAGE STAMP THICKNESS
BELOW THE SURFACE.
Narrator:
STOKES BROUGHT THE ISSUE
INTO THE OPEN
DURING A CANDIDATES' DEBATE
AT A WHITE WEST SIDE SCHOOL.
THERE WERE VERY FEW BLACKS
OVER THERE TO START OUT WITH...
I THINK JUST A HANDFUL OF US
FROM THE CAMPAIGN.
AND, UH, BLACKS DIDN'T GO
ON THE WEST SIDE TOO MUCH.
I MEAN...
NEVER DID FEEL TOO WELCOME.
AND STOKES INTRODUCED THE MATTER
OF RACE INTO THE CAMPAIGN.
Stokes:
I AM GOING TO BE BRUTALLY
FRANK WITH YOU.
AND EQUALLY FRANK
WITH SETH TAFT.
THE PERSONAL ANALYSIS
OF SETH TAFT
IS THAT SETH TAFT MAY WIN
IN THE NOVEMBER 7 ELECTION,
BUT ONLY FOR ONE REASON...
AND THAT REASON IS THAT HIS SKIN
HAPPENS TO BE WHITE.
THE WHOLE PLACE WENT KABLOOEY.
YOU COULDN'T HEAR A THING
FOR FIVE MINUTES.
CARL WAS TRYING TO SAY,
"HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY,"
TO GET ATTENTION AND SO FORTH,
BUT HE LOST THE AUDIENCE.
NOW, THAT AUDIENCE
WAS A WEST SIDE AUDIENCE
AND IT WAS 90% WHITE.
Stokes:
SETH HIMSELF HAS ATTEMPTED
TO BYPASS THIS SO-CALLED
BLACK-WHITE ISSUE
BUT IN PRACTICALLY
EVERY PUBLIC UTTERANCE
HE HAS MADE
DURING THIS CAMPAIGN,
HE NOT-SO-SUBTLY POINTS OUT
THAT "CARL STOKES HAS MORE
EXPERIENCE THAN SETH TAFT
AT BEING A NEGRO"...
WELL, WHICH IS TRUE.
AND HE GOES ON TO SAY
THAT SETH TAFT HAS HAD
MORE EXPERIENCE AT BEING WHITE.
WELL, NOW, IF THIS IS NOT
SOME KIND OF SUBTLE APPEAL,
THEN WHY CONTINUALLY
BRING IT UP?
WELL, WELL, WELL...
I GUESS IT TOOK SETH
QUITE BY SURPRISE
AND HE SAID, "WELL, WELL, WELL.
"I GUESS IF YOU DON'T VOTE
FOR CARL STOKES,
YOU'RE A RACIST."
AND OUR HEARTS JUST SANK BECAUSE
THAT WAS HIS VERY BEST REMARK
OF THE WHOLE NIGHT.
AND I'M SURE THAT BY CARL
INTRODUCING THIS
INTO THE CAMPAIGN,
IT CAUGHT HIM BY SURPRISE,
BUT HE CERTAINLY ROSE TO THE
OCCASION, YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT,
AND IT SCARED US TO DEATH.
Taft:
IT SEEMS THAT
THE RACE ISSUE IS WITH US.
NOW... NOW IT APPEARS THAT IF I
SAY SOMETHING ON THIS SUBJECT,
IT'S RACISM.
IF CARL STOKES SAYS SOMETHING
ABOUT IT, IT'S FAIR PLAY.
Narrator:
THE DEBATE WAS A TURNING POINT.
OPINION POLLS SHOWED
LARGE NUMBERS
OF UNDECIDED WHITE VOTERS
MOVING TO TAFT.
WITH 15 DAYS LEFT TO CAMPAIGN,
TAFT REACHED OUT
TO THE WHITE WEST SIDE.
HELLO THERE, SIR,
I'M SETH TAFT.
HOW ARE YOU?
Man:
FOR WHOM DO YOU
INTEND TO VOTE FOR?
TAFT.
TAFT.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL THE MAJOR
POLITICAL ISSUE IS:
RACE, CRIME,
URBAN RENEWAL?
I'D SAY CRIME.
CRIME?
Man:
AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW
THAT ALL THE SLOVAK PEOPLE
ARE FOR SETH TAFT
FOR MAYOR IN THIS TOWN.
AND THIS IS THE WAY
THEY SAY IT IN SLOVAK:
Narrator:
STOKES STRUGGLED TO HOLD ON
TO HIS WHITE SUPPORT.
BUT AS HE CONTINUED
TO SLIP IN THE POLLS,
HE RETURNED TO THE BLACK
COMMUNITY TO MAKE HIS APPEAL.
♪ ...FOREVER IN PEACE ♪
♪ NO WATER CAN SWALLOW,
NO WATER CAN SWALLOW ♪
♪ OH, THE SHIP OF LIFE ♪
♪ THE MASTER OF ALL TIME ♪
♪ GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJAH ♪
♪ GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJAH,
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON. ♪
THE THING UPON WHICH
I HAVE DEPENDED
HAS BEEN THAT IF YOU SHOW PEOPLE
THAT YOU HAVE
THE QUALIFICATIONS,
THEN YOU'RE NOT
GOING TO BE PENALIZED
JUST BECAUSE YOU HAPPEN
TO BE A NEGRO.
MR. STOKES, HE KNOWS MORE
ABOUT WHAT WE NEED.
HE CAN DO MORE FOR US,
AND HE'S GOING TO DO IT.
I THINK HE'S GOING TO GET IT.
BECAUSE WE HAVE WORKED
AWFULLY HARD.
Man:
WE NEVER GAVE UP HOPE
BECAUSE, I GUESS, WE WERE
VERY LOOSE IN THIS ENDEAVOR.
BECAUSE CARL B. STOKES
HAD BROUGHT MORE UNITY
AMONGST THE PEOPLE OF CLEVELAND
THAN I HAD EVER WITNESSED,
AND LOSING REALLY WASN'T PART
OF MY THOUGHT AT THE TIME.
STOKES.
STOKES TWO.
STOKES.
STOKES THREE.
STOKES.
STOKES FOUR.
TAFT, TAFT, TAFT.
Taft:
WE WERE AHEAD IN WHAT
HAD COME IN SO FAR.
AND SO THE GUYS WERE
GETTING ME PRACTICED UP
ON AN ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
OR WHATEVER WE MIGHT CALL IT.
AND THEN SOMEBODY CAME IN
WITH A LIST
OF WHAT PRECINCTS
HAD NOT REPORTED.
AND AS SOON AS WE SAW THAT,
IT WAS ALL OVER,
BECAUSE THE PRECINCTS THAT
HADN'T BEEN REPORTED
AT THAT MOMENT,
WERE PRECINCTS
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
Narrator:
AT 5:00 A.M., THE FINAL
TALLY WAS ANNOUNCED.
BY A NARROW MARGIN,
CARL STOKES HAD BEEN ELECTED
MAYOR OF AMERICA'S
10th LARGEST CITY.
Reporter:
CARL, HOW'S IT FEEL?
IT'S A WONDERFUL MOMENT.
NEVER HAS ONE MAN
OWED SO MUCH TO SO MANY.
THOSE OF US WHO ARE
POLISH, HUNGARIAN,
CROATIAN, ROMANIANS,
NEGROES, GERMANS, IRISH...
JEWISH, YEAH.
YES, JEWISH.
AND I CAN FIND NO MORE
FITTING WAY TO END THIS APPEAL
BY SAYING TO ALL OF YOU,
IN THE MOST SERIOUS
AND IN THE MOST MEANINGFUL WAY
THAT I CAN,
THAT TRULY, NEVER BEFORE,
HAVE I EVER KNOWN
THE FULL MEANING OF THE WORDS
"GOD BLESS AMERICA."
THANKS A LOT.
Williams:
OH, YES, IT WAS A FIRST...
WE HAD DONE SOMETHING
THAT HADN'T BEEN DONE
ANYPLACE IN THE COUNTRY BEFORE.
AND SINCE FOLKS LAUGHED AT US
IN '65
AND WE PULLED IT OFF IN '67,
I GUESS
WE FELT PRETTY SMUG ABOUT IT.
AND, UH, YEAH,
WE WERE VERY HAPPY ABOUT IT.
AND WE SAID,
IF IT CAN BE DONE HERE
IT CAN BE DONE OTHER PLACES.
Narrator:
IN CLEVELAND,
THE POWER OF THE VOTE
PUT A BLACK MAN IN CHARGE
OF CITY GOVERNMENT.
TWO MONTHS LATER,
GARY, INDIANA,
INAUGURATED ITS FIRST
BLACK MAYOR, RICHARD HATCHER.
IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
THE SEARCH FOR POWER
BEGAN ON THE STREETS.
BLACKS HAD LITTLE SAY
IN HOW THEIR COMMUNITY WAS RUN.
IN PARTICULAR, MANY QUESTIONED
THE ROLE OF THE POLICE.
THE POLICE THROUGHOUT THE BLACK
COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY
WERE REALLY THE GOVERNMENT.
WE HAD MORE CONTACT
WITH THE POLICE
THAN WE DID THE CITY COUNCIL.
THE POLICE WERE
UNIVERSALLY DISLIKED.
Narrator:
THE SIZE OF THE MOSTLY WHITE
POLICE FORCE WAS INCREASING.
SO WERE COMPLAINTS
OF POLICE BRUTALITY.
INFLUENCED BY FREEDOM STRUGGLES
IN THE SOUTH
AND IN THIRD WORLD NATIONS,
IN 1966, HUEY NEWTON
AND BOBBY SEALE
FORMED THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
FOR SELF-DEFENSE,
A SYMBOL TAKEN FROM
A LOWNDES COUNTY, ALABAMA,
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.
ARMED WITH LAW BOOKS
AND WITH GUNS,
THE BLACK PANTHERS MONITORED
THE ACTIONS OF THE POLICE
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
I REMEMBER ONE
OF THESE FIRST EVENTS.
WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE CAR,
WE SAW POLICEMEN, YOU KNOW,
MAKING AN ARREST OF SOME KIND...
ABOUT 20 OR 30 PEOPLE
IN THE COMMUNITY
STANDING TO THE SIDE, WATCHING.
AND THE BLACK FOLKS,
ONE OF THEM SAYS:
"HEY, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
HEY, MAN, THIS GUY GOT A G..."
"HEY, MAN, I'M GONNA MOVE
OUT OF HERE.
THESE GUYS GOT GUNS
AND STUFF LIKE THAT."
THEY WERE OUT LOOKING
AT WHAT THE POLICE WERE DOING.
WE HAD OFFICERS STOPPING A CAR
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE A CARLOAD
FULL OF THESE BLACK PANTHER
PEOPLE PULL UP BEHIND THEM,
AND WATCH THEM AND SEE
WHAT THEY WERE DOING, YOU KNOW?
THEY WERE LOOKING AT
WHAT THE POLICE WERE DOING.
WE WOULD FOLLOW
THE POLICE AROUND
AND WHEN THE POLICE
WOULD ARREST OR DETAIN SOMEONE,
WE WOULD READ THEIR RIGHTS
TO THEM.
AND IT CAME DOWN TO SOME POINT
WHERE THE POLICEMAN SAYS,
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING
WITH THOSE GUNS?"
AND HUEY SAYS,
"WELL, WE GOT OURS
TO DEFEND OURSELVES
AND TO OBSERVE YOU."
"YOU HAVE
NO RIGHT TO OBSERVE ME."
AND HUEY WAS ALL THIS LAW STUDY,
'CAUSE HE WAS IN NIGHT
LAW SCHOOL AT THE TIME...
"CALIFORNIA STATE SUPREME COURT
RULING STATES THAT EVERYONE
"HAS A RIGHT TO OBSERVE A POLICE
OFFICER CARRYING OUT HIS DUTY,
"AS LONG AS THEY STAND
A REASONABLE DISTANCE AWAY.
"AND A REASONABLE DISTANCE
WAS CONSTITUTED
"IN THAT PARTICULAR CALIFORNIA
SUPREME COURT RULING
"AS EIGHT TO TEN FEET.
"I'M STANDING APPROXIMATELY
22 FEET FROM YOU.
"I WILL OBSERVE YOU
CARRYING OUT YOUR DUTIES
WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT."
AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY
IS SAYING,
"WELL, GO AHEAD ON
AND TELL IT!"
Narrator:
THE BOLDNESS OF THE PANTHER
ACTIONS ATTRACTED YOUNG BLACKS,
MANY IN THEIR TEENS.
CARRYING LOADED FIREARMS
IN PUBLIC
WAS A WELL-PROTECTED LEGAL RIGHT
IN CALIFORNIA
BUT, WITH THE EMERGENCE
OF THE BLACK PANTHERS,
STATE OFFICIALS INTRODUCED
LEGISLATION
TO OUTLAW CARRYING LOADED
FIREARMS WITHIN CITY LIMITS.
MAY, 1967.
IN PROTEST, THE PANTHERS
TRAVELED TO SACRAMENTO,
THE STATE CAPITAL.
WE ARRIVED THERE,
ALL THESE BLACK MEN AND WOMEN,
24 MALES
AND SIX FEMALES, WITH GUNS,
AND RONALD REAGAN,
THEN THE GOVERNOR,
WAS ON THE LAWN WITH 200
FUTURE LEADERS OF AMERICA...
YOU KNOW, 12- AND 13-
AND 14-YEAR-OLD KIDS.
AND THESE KIDS STARTED LEAVING
HIS SESSION ON THE LAWN
AND COMING TO SEE US.
AND THESE YOUNG WHITE KIDS
THOUGHT WE WERE A GUN CLUB.
Narrator:
KNOWING THE MEDIA WOULD
BE THERE,
THE GROUP OF MEN AND WOMEN THEN
ENTERED THE CAPITOL BUILDING.
Reporter:
THEY'RE HEAVILY ARMED.
WHETHER THEIR WEAPONS ARE LOADED
OR NOT, NOBODY SEEMS TO KNOW.
Man:
WAIT A MINUTE, NOW,
WAIT A MINUTE.
WAIT A MINUTE...
ARE YOU UNDER ARREST?
AM I UNDER ARREST?
AM I UNDER ARREST?!
DID YOU PLACE HIM
UNDER ARREST?
GO AHEAD, BROTHER.
AM I UNDER ARREST?
AM I?
TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF ME
IF I'M NOT UNDER ARREST!
IF I'M UNDER ARREST,
I'LL COME.
IF I'M NOT,
DON'T PUT YOUR HANDS ON ME!
IS THIS THE WAY THE RACIST
GOVERNMENT WORKS?
DON'T LET A MAN EXERCISE
HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS?
IF MY SWEATER'S RIPPED,
YOU WILL GET...
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A STATEMENT
NOW, WITH THIS RESPECT:
THE STATEMENT OF THE BLACK
PANTHER PARTY FOR SELF-DEFENSE
ON THE MULFORD ACT NOW PENDING
BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA
LEGISLATURE.
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
FOR SELF-DEFENSE
CALLS UPON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
IN GENERAL,
AND THE BLACK PEOPLE
IN PARTICULAR,
TO TAKE FULL NOTE OF THE RACIST
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE
WHICH IS NOW CONSIDERING
LEGISLATION
AIMED AT KEEPING THE BLACK
PEOPLE DISARMED AND POWERLESS,
AT THE VERY SAME TIME
THAT RACIST POLICE AGENCIES
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ARE
INTENSIFYING THE TERROR,
BRUTALITY, MURDER AND REPRESSION
OF BLACK PEOPLE.
Narrator:
A NATION THAT HAD GROWN USED TO
THE NONVIOLENT
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
WAS NOW CONFRONTED WITH
NEW IMAGES OF BLACK PROTEST.
LATER, AT A SACRAMENTO
SERVICE STATION,
NEWS CAMERAS DOCUMENTED
THE CONTINUING DEBATE
OVER LAW AND GUNS.
Man:
THAT AIN'T NO SAWED-OFF,
THAT'S A RIOT SHOTGUN,
JUST LIKE YOURS.
YOU DON'T KNOW THE
CONSTITUTION, RIGHT?
UH-UH.
SURE WE DO; WE'RE WELL AWARE
OF THE CONSTITUTION.
YOU HAVE NO RIGHT
TO TAKE MY GUN
AWAY FROM ME.
YOU BREAKING
THE CONSTITUTION LAW.
Reporter:
THE PAMPHLET SAYS
THAT THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
FOR SELF-DEFENSE CALLS ON THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE IN GENERAL
TO TAKE CAREFUL NOTE
OF THE RACIST
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE.
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE
THE LEGISLATURE IS RACIST?
DON'T YOU KNOW?
YOU'RE A PART OF IT.
ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?
THIS IS A WHITE SYSTEM.
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY
WHERE WE AT.
DO YOU BELIEVE EVERYTHING
THAT'S IN THAT PAMPHLET?
THE PAMPHLET SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
Douglas:
IT WAS LIKE BEING
A PART OF A MOVEMENT
THAT YOU HAD SEEN ON TV
AND NOW BEING ABLE
TO PARTICIPATE
AND SHARE IN THAT MOVEMENT.
WHEN YOU HEARD TALK
ABOUT MALCOLM,
SEEN MALCOLM ON TV,
AT THAT TIME,
YOU HAD HEARD AND TALKED
ABOUT STOKELY CARMICHAEL
RAP BROWN AND S.N.C.C.
AND WHAT HAVE YOU,
AND ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS
THAT WERE HAPPENING.
AND TO BECOME A PART
OF A MOVEMENT
THAT HAD ENCOMPASSED ALL THESE
DIFFERENT CONCEPTS AND IDEALS
IN ITS OWN CREATIVE WAY...
IT BROUGHT A SENSE OF PRIDE.
BUT THERE WAS ALSO, THERE WAS
THE DOUBTS AND THE FEAR
OF WHETHER YOU WERE GOING
TO SURVIVE OR EXIST,
WHICH BECAME A PART
OF YOUR MAKE-UP
AND YOU WENT ON AND TOOK CARE
OF BUSINESS THE WAY YOU HAD TO.
Narrator:
THE PANTHERS HAD NOT VIOLATED
CALIFORNIA GUN LAW.
THEY WERE CHARGED INSTEAD
WITH DISTURBING THE PEACE.
SIX PANTHERS, INCLUDING CHAIRMAN
BOBBY SEALE, WERE CONVICTED.
WELL, AS CHIEF DEPUTY
ATTORNEY GENERAL,
WE'D HAD...
I'D HAD EXPERIENCE
AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
HAD HAD EXPERIENCE IN THE 1960s,
PRIOR TO THIS TIME,
WITH A VARIETY OF NUT GROUPS,
BOTH EXTREME LEFT
AND EXTREME RIGHT,
WHO WERE RUNNING AROUND
WITH GUNS,
THINKING THAT THEY COULD
SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF CALIFORNIA
AND THE WORLD
THROUGH DIRECT MILITANT ACTION.
AND WE WERE AND HAD BEEN
WELL INFORMED,
AND IN SOME CASES HAD
SURVEILLANCE UPON,
EXTREME GROUPS
THAT CARRIED WEAPONS.
WHEN THESE CHARACTERS
CAME ALONG,
WE THOUGHT THEY WERE ANOTHER
IRRITATING PART
OF THE BOUILLABAISSE
THAT WAS STARTING TO BUBBLE
ALL OVER CALIFORNIA.
WE NEEDED THEM LIKE A SEVERE
CASE OF A BAD DISEASE.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY'S STYLE
AND DRAMATIC ACTIONS
CAPTURED THE ATTENTION
OF THE MEDIA.
YET THE PANTHERS OFTEN DISAGREED
WITH THE WAY
THEY WERE PORTRAYED.
THE EXAMINER MADE A REPORT BACK
HERE, THE LAST SUNDAY'S PAPER,
THAT WE WERE ANTI-WHITE,
THAT WE HOLD NO BONES...
THIS IS A QUOTE... PICK NO BONES
ABOUT BEING ANTI-WHITE.
THIS IS A BOLD-FACED LIE.
WE DON'T HATE NOBODY
BECAUSE OF THEIR COLOR.
WE HATE OPPRESSION.
WE HATE MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE
IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE HATE THE GROSS UNEMPLOYMENT
THAT EXISTS IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE HATE BLACK MEN BEING TAKEN
OFF INTO THE MILITARY SERVICE
TO BE FIGHTING FOR A RACIST,
DECADENT AMERICA
PROMISING US FREEDOM.
Narrator:
TO PRESENT THEIR STORY AND THEIR
PROGRAM FOR SOCIAL CHANGE,
THE BLACK PANTHERS CREATED
A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER.
LANGUAGE AND ART WERE IMPORTANT
TOOLS OF THE NEW PARTY.
Newton:
I KNEW THAT IMAGES
HAD TO BE CHANGED.
I KNOW, SOCIOLOGICALLY,
THAT WORDS,
THE POWER OF THE WORD,
WORDS STIGMATIZE PEOPLE
AND WE FELT THAT THE POLICE
NEEDED A LABEL,
A LABEL OTHER THAN
THAT FEAR IMAGE
THAT THEY
CARRIED IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE USED THE PIG AS
A RATHER LOW-LIFED ANIMAL,
IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE POLICE
AND IT WORKED.
Narrator:
SOME FEARED THE REACTION
THAT THE PANTHERS' STANCE
MIGHT PROVOKE.
♪ WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GET GUNS
AND BE THERE... ♪
MY PARENTS OR THE NEIGHBORS
WERE KIND OF RELUCTANT,
KIND OF STANDOFFISH
IN THEIR ATTITUDES
TOWARDS THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY,
BECAUSE HERE YOU HAD A NEW,
DYNAMIC KIND OF ORGANIZATION
COMING OUT AND DOING THINGS
THAT NEVER HAD BEEN DONE
IN THE HISTORY
OF THIS COUNTRY BEFORE...
CARRYING GUNS, STANDING UP
TO THE POLICE,
STANDING UP
TO THE POWER STRUCTURE.
Narrator:
ELDRIDGE CLEAVER,
WHO HAD GAINED FAME
FROM HIS WRITINGS IN PRISON,
WAS THE CHIEF SPOKESMAN
FOR THE PARTY.
AND WE FEEL THAT THE POLICE MUST
BE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL
BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY,
INCLUDING THROUGH FORCE OF ARMS.
WE HAVE NEVER BIT OUR TONGUE
ABOUT THAT.
WE SAY IT NOW,
LOUD AND CLEAR.
WE WILL ALWAYS SAY IT;
WE'RE NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT...
THAT THESE RACIST, GESTAPO PIGS
HAVE TO STOP BRUTALIZING
OUR COMMUNITY
OR WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP GUNS;
WE'RE GONNA DRIVE THEM OUT.
WE WERE ADVISED BY OUR SERGEANTS
AND LIEUTENANTS AND CAPTAINS
THAT THE PANTHERS
WERE ARMED AND VIOLENT
AND WERE GOING TO BE AGGRESSIVE
IN THEIR BEHAVIOR TOWARDS US.
WE WERE ADVISED
TO BE AWARE OF THAT.
Narrator:
AS THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY GREW,
SO DID TENSIONS WITH POLICE.
Newton:
GESTAPO TACTICS.
Narrator:
IN OCTOBER OF 1967, A YEAR
AFTER THE PARTY'S FORMATION,
HUEY NEWTON WAS SHOT
IN THE STOMACH
IN A CONFRONTATION WITH POLICE.
POLICE OFFICER HERBERT HEANES
WAS ALSO SERIOUSLY WOUNDED.
OFFICER JOHN FREY
DIED FROM GUNSHOTS,
BELIEVED TO BE FROM
A POLICE REVOLVER.
WITH THE DEATH OF A POLICEMAN,
GOVERNMENT PRESSURES ON THE
YOUNG ORGANIZATION INTENSIFIED.
NEWTON WAS CHARGED
WITH FIRST DEGREE MURDER.
HE MAINTAINED
HE HAD BEEN FRAMED.
IN AMERICA, BLACK PEOPLE
ARE TREATED VERY MUCH
AS THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
OR ANY OTHER COLONIZED PEOPLE
BECAUSE WE'RE USED,
WE'RE BRUTALIZED;
THE POLICE IN OUR COMMUNITY
OCCUPY OUR AREA, OUR COMMUNITY,
AS A FOREIGN TROOP
OCCUPIES TERRITORY.
THE PANTHERS SEEMED TO BE
IN DELIBERATE, OPEN,
PROVOCATIVE CONFRONTATION
WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS,
IN THEIR EARLY PERIODS.
THEY USED REVOLUTIONARY
LANGUAGE, PROVOCATIVE LANGUAGE,
AND SEEMED TO BE DELIBERATELY
SEEKING TO CONFRONT
ESTABLISHED AUTHORITY...
PARTICULARLY POLICE AUTHORITY.
BUT THEN WE OBSERVED THAT THEY
SEEMED TO HAVE A SOCIAL SIDE...
A CONCEPT OF DOING SOMETHING
BEYOND THESE ANGRY
CONFRONTATIONS.
Narrator:
THE PANTHERS CALLED THEMSELVES
A REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION
THE TEN POINT PROGRAM
WAS THEIR BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE.
Seale:
AND WE WROTE OUT THIS PROGRAM:
WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE
OUR OWN DESTINY
IN OUR OWN BLACK COMMUNITY.
IMMEDIATE END
TO POLICE BRUTALITY
AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE
WAS POINT NUMBER SEVEN.
THE RIGHT TO HAVE JURIES
OF OUR PEERS IN THE COURTS,
WHAT HAVE YOU;
WE SUMMED IT UP:
WE WANTED LAND, BREAD, HOUSING,
EDUCATION, CLOTHING,
JUSTICE AND PEACE.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PANTHERS
DISTRIBUTED FREE FOOD
AND LATER DEVELOPED A FREE
BREAKFAST PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN.
Teacher:
GOOD MORNING!
Class:
GOOD MORNING.
Teacher:
I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
GOOD MORNING!
Class:
GOOD MORNING!
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ SET OUR WARRIOR FREE ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ SET OUR WARRIOR FREE ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
THE IDEA WAS, OBVIOUSLY,
TWO-FOLD
FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF
SERVING THOSE PEOPLE
WHO WERE DIRECTLY BENEFITED
BY OUR PROGRAMS
BUT ALSO, SECONDARILY,
TO INFLUENCE THE MINDS OF PEOPLE
TO UNDERSTAND NOT ONLY
THAT THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
WAS PROVIDING THEM THIS BUT,
MORE IMPORTANTLY,
THAT IF THEY COULD GET FOOD,
THAT MAYBE
THEY WOULD WANT CLOTHING,
AND MAYBE THEY'D WANT HOUSING,
MAYBE THEY'D WANT LAND
AND MAYBE THEY WOULD
ULTIMATELY WANT
SOME ABSTRACT THING
CALLED "FREEDOM."
Narrator:
AROUND THE COUNTRY,
PARTICULARLY IN URBAN AREAS,
YOUNG BLACK MEN AND WOMEN
FORMED LOCAL CHAPTERS.
THE PARTY GREW MUCH TOO RAPIDLY
BECAUSE MANY OF THE YOUNG
PEOPLE WERE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC
ABOUT THE GUNS AND
ABOUT THE BERETS,
BUT THEY KNEW LITTLE
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
THAT REALLY ARE OUR
REASON FOR EXISTING.
Narrator:
THE GROWING PARTY
STILL FACED THE DILEMMA
OF HAVING ITS LEADER,
HUEY NEWTON, IN PRISON.
COURT PROCEEDINGS ATTRACTED
NATIONAL ATTENTION,
BRINGING SUPPORT TO THE PANTHERS
FROM AN ALLIANCE
OF WHITE AND BLACK
POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.
Reporter:
YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY IN
GOOD SPIRITS, HUEY. WHY?
BECAUSE I HAVE
THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME
AND THE PEOPLE ARE MY STRENGTH.
Cleaver:
HUEY'S MOTHER IS HERE...
MRS. NEWTON.
THIS IS THE BLACK MOTHER.
Narrator:
FEBRUARY 17, 1968...
STOKELY CARMICHAEL,
JAMES FORMAN,
H. RAP BROWN...
LEADERS OF THE STUDENT
NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE,
NOW JOINED FORCES WITH
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
IN THEIR CALL FOR REVOLUTION.
AND SO, IN TALKING ABOUT
BROTHER HUEY NEWTON TONIGHT,
WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT
THE STRUGGLE OF BLACK PEOPLE
NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES,
BUT IN THE WORLD TODAY,
AND HOW HE BECOMES PART
AND PARCEL OF THAT STRUGGLE;
HOW WE MOVE ON SO THAT OUR
PEOPLE WILL SURVIVE AMERICA.
SEE, IT'S NO IN BETWEEN.
YOU'RE EITHER FREE
OR YOU'RE A SLAVE.
THERE'S NO SUCH THING
AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENSHIP.
THE ONLY POLITICS
IN THIS COUNTRY
THAT'S RELEVANT TO
BLACK PEOPLE TODAY
IS THE POLITICS OF REVOLUTION...
NONE OTHER.
Narrator:
APRIL 6, 1968... A GUN BATTLE
ON THE STREETS OF WEST OAKLAND.
FIVE MEN WERE WOUNDED...
THREE POLICE OFFICERS
AND TWO PANTHERS.
A THIRD PANTHER, BOBBY HUTTON,
AGE 17, WAS SHOT TO DEATH.
BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOW
TO ORGANIZE IN A FASHION
WHERE WE HAVE MAXIMUM
RETALIATION AGAINST ALL FORMS
OF RACIST POLICE
BRUTALITY AND ATTACKS.
Reporter:
WHAT CHANGES HAVE THERE BEEN
IN THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
SINCE THE GUNFIGHT
LAST WEEKEND?
WHAT YOU MEAN, "WHAT CHANGES?"
WE HAVE A BLACK MAN THAT'S
DEAD, MURDERED BY PIGS.
THAT'S A CHANGE.
Brown:
HERE WERE MEN
WHO WERE SAYING,
"LISTEN, WE ARE WILLING TO TAKE
CHARGE OF OUR LIVES.
WE ARE WILLING TO STAND UP."
THERE WAS THE APPEAL THAT
MALCOLM HAD IN MANY WAYS.
IT HAD A CERTAIN SUBJECTIVE
APPEAL TO MY PSYCHE
AND TO MY EMOTIONAL NEED TO SAY
YES, THERE WERE MEN IN THIS
WORLD WHO CARED... BLACK MEN...
WHO CARED ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
AND WANTED TO DO SOMETHING
AND WERE WILLING TO TAKE IT
TO THE LAST DEGREE.
Narrator:
IN THE FALL OF 1968, TWO YEARS
AFTER THE PARTY'S FOUNDING,
HUEY NEWTON WAS CONVICTED
OF MANSLAUGHTER
IN THE DEATH OF
POLICE OFFICER FREY...
A CONVICTION WHICH
WAS LATER OVERTURNED.
WITH CHAPTERS IN 25 CITIES,
GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE
WAS INCREASING.
THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BLACK
PANTHER PARTY HAD REACHED
SEVERAL THOUSAND,
AND WAS GROWING.
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ SET OUR WARRIOR FREE ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
IT WAS A BATTLE,
IT WAS A STRUGGLE,
AND I THINK WE ROOTED OURSELVES
IN, IN THE SENSE THAT
WE BEGAN TO GET MILLIONS
OF BLACK FOLKS TO REALLY LOOK
AT WHERE WE WERE COMING FROM
IN OUR STAND AGAINST
THE POWER STRUCTURE.
NOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL
REVOLUTION A CONFRONTATION.
REALLY, WHAT HUEY AND I MEANT
BY "REVOLUTION" WAS
A NEED TO REVOLVE MORE
POLITICAL POWER
AND ECONOMIC POWER BACK INTO
THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE.
THAT'S REALLY WHAT
A REVOLUTION IS.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PANTHERS
CONTINUED THEIR STRUGGLE,
WORKING OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM.
IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK,
BLACK AND LATINO PARENTS
CHALLENGED
THE ESTABLISHED ORDER,
WORKING WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
THEY DEMANDED THE POWER TO RUN
THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS,
TO IMPROVE THEIR
CHILDREN'S FUTURE.
THE CHILDREN ARE READY TO WORK.
THEY COME TO SCHOOL TO WORK.
AND WHEN THEY GET TO SCHOOL,
THE TEACHERS,
THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
THEY FIRST THING THEY SAY,
"WE DON'T UNDERSTAND
THE CHILDREN."
WELL, IF THEY WOULD TRY
TO UNDERSTAND THE CHILDREN,
THESE PROBLEMS WOULDN'T EXIST.
THE CHILDREN AREN'T STUPID.
THEY KNOW WHEN THE TEACHERS
ARE THERE TO HELP THEM.
WELL, WHEN MY FAMILY MOVED
HERE FROM BIRMINGHAM IN 1965,
THEY CAME FROM TOTALLY
SEGREGATED SCHOOLS.
THE CHILDREN WERE ALL BLACK,
THE TEACHERS WERE ALL BLACK,
THE PRINCIPALS WERE ALL BLACK.
ONE OF MY SONS WAS ABOVE THE
NATIONAL AVERAGE IN MATHEMATICS,
BUT WHEN HE CAME TO THE
SCHOOLS HERE IN BROOKLYN,
WITHIN ONE YEAR,
HE WAS FLUNKING MATH.
AND I WENT TO THE SCHOOL
TO FIND OUT WHY.
THE TEACHER SAID
MY SON WAS DOING FINE.
I SAID, "HE'S NOT
BRINGING HOME ASSIGNMENTS
"AND HE'S FLUNKING MATH.
"AND HE CAME HERE FROM ALABAMA,
"AND HE WAS AHEAD
OF THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
"AND YOU'RE TELLING ME
HE'S DOING FINE.
SOMETHING IS WRONG."
Narrator:
IN NEW YORK CITY,
ONLY HALF OF THE CHILDREN
IN BLACK AND LATINO
NEIGHBORHOODS
FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL.
TO MAKE THE SCHOOLS WORK
FOR THEIR CHILDREN,
PARENTS IN THE
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
SECTION OF BROOKLYN
PLANNED TO TAKE CHARGE.
IN THE BEGINNING,
CITY OFFICIALS WERE HOPEFUL.
THIS DECENTRALIZATION PLAN DOES
FOR OUR CITY SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK
EXACTLY WHAT ANY STABLE, GOOD
SCHOOL IN ANY SUBURB HAS...
WHICH IS TO INVOLVE
THE PARENTS SUFFICIENTLY,
SO THEY HAVE A STAKE IN
THE WHOLE PROCESS OF SCHOOLS
AND THAT'S ALL WE SEEK TO DO.
Narrator:
IN 1967, WITH SUPPORT
FROM THE FORD FOUNDATION,
THE CITY MADE
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
AN EXPERIMENTAL DISTRICT.
AN INTERRACIAL GOVERNING BOARD,
ELECTED BY THE COMMUNITY,
CHOSE EDUCATOR RHODY McCOY
TO LEAD THE EXPERIMENT.
HE BECAME THE FIRST BLACK
SUPERINTENDENT IN NEW YORK CITY.
THE BLACK PEOPLE IN THIS
COMMUNITY HAVE ASSUMED
THE RESPONSIBILITY
FOR THEIR SCHOOLS,
TO TRY TO IMPROVE
AND SET THE STAGE
FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
IN AN URBAN SETTING.
AND THIS IS WHAT THE EXPERIMENT
WAS DESIGNED TO DO,
AND THIS IS THE REASON THAT
THE PARENTS BECAME INVOLVED.
IT WAS A JOY TO GO
TO A BOARD MEETING.
NOT ONLY WERE THE
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
BUT THE COMMUNITY FOLK
WERE SITTING AROUND,
AND THEY HAD AS MUCH
INPUT AS THE BOARD MEMBERS.
AND IT WAS ALWAYS
ON A POSITIVE NOTE...
"HOW DO WE HELP THE YOUNGSTERS?"
Narrator:
BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT,
FOUR OUT OF FIVE TEACHERS
IN THE DISTRICT WERE WHITE.
NOW, YOUNGER TEACHERS,
A NUMBER OF THEM BLACK,
TRANSFERRED TO
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE.
THE STUDENTS, 95% BLACK
AND LATINO, RESPONDED.
YOU FELT MORE ACCEPTED.
YOU WEREN'T THE OUTSIDER
IN YOUR OWN SCHOOL.
THEY WERE PART OF
YOUR ENVIRONMENT...
I MEAN, THEY WERE BLACK.
YOU CAN IDENTIFY WITH THEM
AND THEY CAN IDENTIFY WITH YOU.
IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
THERE'S NO BIG MYSTERY.
Narrator:
AT FIRST, THE NEWLY FORMED
TEACHERS' UNION,
THE UNITED
FEDERATION OF TEACHERS,
SUPPORTED THE EXPERIMENT.
BUT WITH ADMINISTRATIVE
DECISIONS
NOW BEING MADE BY THE COMMUNITY,
THE TEACHERS WERE WORRIED.
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO
BE AN EXPERIMENT
AND AN INVOLVEMENT OF
TEACHERS AND PARENTS.
AND, SUDDENLY, DECISIONS
STARTED TO GET MADE
AND NO ONE KNEW HOW THEY WERE
MADE OR WHERE THEY WERE MADE,
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF WARINESS
ON THE PART OF TEACHERS.
Narrator:
ALBERT SHANKER, THE U.F.T.
PRESIDENT, QUESTIONED
WHERE DECENTRALIZATION OF
THE SCHOOLS MIGHT LEAD.
UNDER THE NEW PROPOSAL,
TEACHERS AND SUPERVISORS
WOULD BE HIRED
ON THE BASIS OF INTERVIEW
BY LOCAL PEOPLE.
AND THIS WOULD MEAN THAT
NEW YORK CITY WOULD BE FACED
WITH THE SAME PROBLEM
OTHER AREAS ARE...
NAMELY, WHERE LOCAL PEOPLE
DON'T WANT WHITES,
THERE WON'T BE
ANY WHITES TEACHING;
WHERE THEY DON'T WANT
ANY BLACKS,
THERE WON'T BE ANY BLACKS;
AND WHERE THEY DON'T WANT JEWS,
OR ITALIANS
OR IRISH OR ANYBODY ELSE,
WE WILL ESSENTIALLY DEVELOP,
WITHIN NEW YORK CITY,
A SERIES OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS
THAT ARE MORE SEGREGATED
THAN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS
AT THE PRESENT TIME.
AND I SAY THAT IS THE BEGINNING
OF DESTRUCTION OF
OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Narrator:
THROUGH THE 1967-1968 SCHOOL
YEAR, THE COMMUNITY BOARD WORKED
TO ASSEMBLE AN INTEGRATED
TEACHING STAFF.
SOME TENURED TEACHERS RESISTED
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTROL OF SCHOOLS.
THE COMMUNITY BOARD
FACED A DILEMMA.
IN MAY, THE LOCAL BOARD
HAD ITS REGULAR MEETING.
I GUESS WE WERE HAVING MEETINGS,
AT THAT POINT,
ABOUT EVERY TWO WEEKS.
AND ON THE AGENDA THAT NIGHT,
McCOY HAD PUT AN ITEM:
THE TRANSFER OF 13 TEACHERS AND
ALSO SOME ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS...
I GUESS THERE WAS
FIVE OR SIX OF THEM.
AND WE SAT DOWN AND TALKED TO
THE GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS
OF THE SCHOOL,
AND THE PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL,
AND WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING
TO WORK WELL IN THE SYSTEM.
AND THEY HAD ALSO DEMONSTRATED
THAT THEY WERE OPPOSED TO
THE EXPERIMENT.
WE WERE ASKING TEACHERS
TO MAKE AN EXTRA EFFORT
TO GET ALONG WITH OUR KIDS,
TO TEACH OUR KIDS.
IF THERE WAS ANY PROBLEM,
TO POSSIBLY VISIT IN THE HOMES.
WELL, THE UNION DIDN'T... THIS
WASN'T IN THEIR CONTRACT.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO
ANY OF THESE THINGS.
THERE WAS DISCUSSION.
THERE WAS DISAGREEMENT.
THERE WAS A VOTE.
AND WE FINALLY CAME
TO A CONCLUSION THAT,
SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A
DEMONSTRATION DISTRICT...
THIS IS LIKE EIGHT MONTHS
AFTER IT HAD BEGUN...
THAT SOME OF THESE PEOPLE
WOULD HAVE TO BE TRAFERRED;
WOULD HAVE TO GO.
BUT, AGAIN...
TRANSFERRING TEACHERS
FROM ONE DISTRICT TO ANOTHER,
WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION,
WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS
VERY ORDINARY.
IF A TEACHER WAS HAVING
PROBLEMS,
YOU WOULD SIMPLY CALL UP
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
DOWN AT LIVINGSTON STREET
AND THE PERSON WOULD
BE TRANSFERRED.
NO QUESTIONS WERE ASKED.
BUT WHEN McCOY TRIED TO DO IT,
OF COURSE, THAT CREATED
THE SCENE OF THE CENTURY.
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS ARGUED THAT
THE TRANSFERS WERE ILLEGAL.
THE CITY AGREED.
THE DISMISSED TEACHERS
ATTEMPTED TO RETURN
TO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL 271,
BUT COMMUNITY MEMBERS
REFUSED TO LET THEM IN.
Woman:
GET OUT OF HERE, MR. GOLDBERG.
NOW WHAT YOU WANT HERE?
YOU RECEIVED A LETTER
FROM THE GOVERNING BOARD, RIGHT?
THIS IS THE PARENTS
AND THE COMMUNITY,
SO YOU LET YOUR ALBERT SHANKER
CONTINUE RUNNING YOUR LIFE,
AND KEEP ON MAKING IT!
YOU'RE NOT COMING
IN THIS SCHOOL!
WELL, THERE'S 19,
THERE ARE MANY MORE,
BUT WE FIGURED
WE'D START SLOWLY.
THESE 19 HAVE BEEN
KNOCKING THE PROGRAM
HAVE BEEN CAUSING TROUBLE
IN THE SCHOOLS.
WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE
TELLING THE BLACK CHILDREN
THAT THE PUERTO RICANS
ARE AGAINST THEM,
AND THE PUERTO RICANS
ARE AGAINST THE BLACKS.
WE HAVE TO TAKE STEPS
TO KEEP THESE PEOPLE OUT;
TO MAKE SURE THESE
PEOPLE ARE NOT ALLOWED IN
TO MISEDUCATE OUR KIDS.
BECAUSE IF WE ALLOW THIS,
THEN WE'RE CONDONING IT
BECAUSE WE'RE PAYING
THEIR SALARIES.
YOU'RE SABOTAGING
THE CLASSES.
NOW I TRIED TO FIND OUT
WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT, SIR.
DO YOU KNOW?
THOSE CHARGES THAT WAS MADE
PREVIOUSLY,
OR THE STATEMENT THAT'S BEEN
MADE PREVIOUSLY,
IS THAT WE'RE
SABOTAGING THE PROJECT.
NOW, IF THAT MEANS QUESTIONING
SOME OF THE ACTIONS
OF THE GOVERNING BOARD,
THEN WE MUST PLEAD GUILTY
FOR THIS.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN
IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT
WITH EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE.
OBVIOUSLY,
WE'RE NOT IN AGREEMENT
WITH WHAT THEY'VE DONE NOW.
AT NO TIME HAD ANYBODY MENTIONED
THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM
WITH MY SERVICE
OR, FOR THAT MATTER,
WITH ANY OF THE PEOPLE
WHO WERE NAMED
OR CERTAINLY
THE MAJORITY OF THEM.
I DIDN'T KNOW THEM ALL.
BUT HERE WAS THIS LETTER
THAT ORDERED ME OUT.
SO ALL I CAN SAY IS
I WAS DUMBFOUNDED.
Narrator:
350 UNION TEACHERS WALKED OUT OF
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE SCHOOLS
TO SUPPORT THE
DISMISSED TEACHERS.
THE COMMUNITY VOWED
TO KEEP THE SCHOOLS OPEN
AND MAINTAIN CONTROL.
SO, AT ONE POINT,
THE ISSUE WAS
JUST REMOVING THOSE
TEACHERS FROM OUR COMPLEX.
AND NOW, THE BASIC ISSUE
HAS TO DO WITH
TOTAL COMMUNITY CONTROL
OVER THE SCHOOLS.
Reporter:
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, MR. McCOY?
IT MEANS CONTROL
OVER THE SCHOOLS:
PERSONNEL,
FINANCE, EVERYTHING.
Reporter:
HIRING, FIRING?
ABSOLUTELY.
Narrator:
SEPTEMBER, 1968:
A NEW SCHOOL YEAR.
THE LOCAL BOARD REFUSED TO TAKE
BACK THE DISMISSED TEACHERS.
THE TEACHERS UNION CALLED
A CITY-WIDE STRIKE.
IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
EDUCATION STOPPED FOR
ONE MILLION CHILDREN.
YOU HYPOCRITE!
Narrator:
BUT IN OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE,
MANY TEACHERS, BLACK AND WHITE,
CROSSED THE PICKET LINES
IN DEFIANCE OF THE UNION.
I CAME INTO THE DISTRICT
BECAUSE
I WANT TO BE ACCOUNTABLE
TO THE COMMUNITY.
IF I'M NOT DOING A JOB, THEN
I WANT THEM TO KICK ME OUT.
SEE, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY
THAT WE'RE GONNA
BRING ABOUT ANY CHANGE.
WE HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE
TO SOMEONE.
IN THE NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL
SYSTEM,
THERE'S NO PROBLEM...
NOBODY GETS FIRED.
Man:
WELL, THE STRIKE WAS A UNIFYING
FACTOR IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
GROUPS THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY
BEEN AT EACH OTHERS' THROAT,
FOUND THEMSELVES TOGETHER
AT RALLIES AND MEETINGS
SURROUNDING OCEAN HILL.
IT WAS AN ISSUE THAT,
WHETHER YOU WERE CORE
OR THE N.A.A.C.P.,
OR THE URBAN LEAGUE
OR THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
OR THE REPUBLIC OF NEW AFRICA,
YOU COULD RALLY AROUND
THIS COMMUNITY ISSUE.
EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD
THE IMPORTANCE
OF BLACK CHILDREN RECEIVING
A QUALITY EDUCATION.
DURING THE STRIKE OF 1968,
DURING THE FALL,
PROBABLY THE PLACE THAT
I SPENT MOST OF MY TIME WAS
IN FRONT OF 271,
AND THE SCENE THAT
I REMEMBER THERE MOST...
AND I'VE OFTEN THOUGHT OF IT...
IS A SCENE OF CHILDREN
COMING TO SCHOOL
WITH THEIR BOOKS, VERY INTENT.
AND I THINK THEY ALSO
UNDERSTOOD THE POLITICS...
JUST WHAT WAS ALL GOING ON HERE.
Jordan:
WE CAME IN FROM
THE HOWARD AVENUE SIDE.
AND WE HAD TO GO THROUGH
BARRICADES TO GET TO THE SCHOOL
AND YOU'D LOOK UP
ON THE ROOFTOPS...
ACROSS THE STREET
FROM THE SCHOOL...
THE COPS WERE WITH
THE HELMET GEAR
AND THE PLAYGROUND WAS
CONVERTED INTO A PRECINCT
AND WALKING UP TO THE SCHOOL,
YOU HAVE JUST MASS CONFUSION.
YOU HAVE THE COMMUNITY
PEOPLE OUT THERE.
YOU HAVE THE U.F.T.
YOU WERE JUST AMAZED.
YOU COULDN'T BELIEVE
THIS WAS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW?
AND YOU JUST WENT TO SCHOOL.
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS WHO REMAINED
IN THE CLASSROOM
LOOKED FOR NEW WAYS
TO TEACH THE BASIC SKILLS.
SOME ALSO BROUGHT
A NEW CULTURAL AWARENESS.
Teacher:
TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT
THE YORUBA CULTURE
OF WEST AFRICA.
WE CAN TRACE... IF WE COULD TRACE
OUR ANCESTRAL LINE BACK,
MOST OF US WOULD GO BACK
TO THE YORUBA TRIBE.
Jordan:
WHAT THE BLACK
TEACHERS DID DO WAS
TO BROADEN US, OUR PERSPECTIVE
OF LOOKING AT THINGS.
WE WERE NO LONGER MEMBERS
OF A SMALL COMMUNITY
CALLED OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE.
WE WERE BROADENED
TO W.E.B. DUBOIS, HIS READINGS;
LANGSTON HUGHES, MALCOLM X,
MARCUS GARVEY, H. RAP BROWN,
MAO TSE-TUNG, THE RED BOOK.
I MEAN, WE BECAME INTERNATIONAL,
AND IT WAS A GOOD THING
BECAUSE BLACK PEOPLE
ARE THE THIRD WORLD.
THE THIRD WORLD IS MUCH LARGER
THAN EUROPEAN HISTORY.
Narrator:
OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK CITY
SCHOOLS,
THE BATTLE WAS ESCALATING.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS QUESTIONED
THE UNION'S COMMITMENT
TO THE CHILDREN.
UNION LEADERS CHARGED EXTREMISTS
HAD TAKEN OVER THE EXPERIMENT.
I THINK THE PUBLIC SEES
WHAT'S GOING ON.
EVERY SINGLE PARENT
IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
UNDERSTANDS THAT IF MR. McCOY
AND THE OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
GOVERNING BOARD SUCCEED,
THAT THEY WILL BE NEXT,
THAT THERE WILL BE
PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES
WHO WILL SEE THIS
AS A MODEL OF SUCCESS,
AND MOVE IN AND TAKE OVER
THESE INSTITUTIONS.
Narrator:
THE CITY ORDERED
THE COMMUNITY BOARD
TO ALLOW THE UNION
TEACHERS TO RETURN.
NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS DECLARED
THE COMMUNITY WOULD DECIDE.
THE COMMUNITY HAS SAID IT
ALREADY:
THEY DON'T WANT THEM THERE
SO THAT MEANS
THEY'RE NOT COMING IN.
Reporter:
IS THAT BECAUSE
THEY'RE WHITE?
I DON'T KNOW; YOU'D HAVE TO ASK
THE GOVERNMENT BOARD.
IF IT WAS LEFT UP TO ME,
THEY WOULDN'T BE LET IN
SIMPLY BECAUSE
THEY WERE WHITE; RIGHT.
YOU WOULD
KEEP THEM OUT.
RIGHT.
I CERTAINLY WOULD.
WHY?
BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT
ANY WHITE PERSON IS INTERESTED
IN GIVING BLACK CHILDREN
AN EDUCATION.
THAT'S MY PARTICULAR FEELING.
WHAT IF THEY PERSIST IN
TRYING TO GET IN HERE?
WELL, UH, BY WHATEVER MEANS
NECESSARY,
THEY'RE GONNA BE KEPT OUT.
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS UNION ACCUSED
THE COMMUNITY
OF ANTI-SEMITISM.
IN A CITY WITH A JEWISH
POPULATION OF OVER ONE MILLION,
THE CHARGE CARRIED
ENORMOUS POLITICAL WEIGHT.
ALTHOUGH MANY JEWISH TEACHERS
CROSSED PICKET LINES
AND CONTINUED TO TEACH,
THE ACCUSATION THREATENED
CITY SUPPORT OF THE EXPERIMENT.
Man:
IT IS A WELL-KNOWN FACT THAT
THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY
OF THE TEACHERS IN NEW YORK CITY
ARE OF THE JEWISH FAITH.
WE HAVE BECOME THE BUTT
OF THEIR RESENTMENT.
AND IT IS, I THINK,
BUT ONE SIMPLE STEP
FROM RESENTING WHITE PEOPLE
TO RESENTING JEWISH PEOPLE,
SINCE MOST OF
THE TEACHERS ARE JEWISH.
I DIDN'T FEEL THEN
AND I DON'T FEEL NOW
THAT ANTI-SEMITISM WAS
A MAJOR PART OF THAT SITUATION.
IT WAS A BLACK-WHITE
CONFRONTATION.
A LOT OF THE TEACHERS INVOLVED
WERE JEWISH,
SO SOME PEOPLE DREW THAT
CONCLUSION FROM THE START.
Reporter:
REVEREND OLIVER,
WHAT ABOUT
THE BUSINESS OF
ANTI-SEMITISM?
WHAT KIND OF SCARS DO YOU THINK
THIS IS GOING TO LEAVE?
YES, THERE WILL BE
SCARS LEFT, IT SEEMS,
BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN SO
MANY UNTRUTHS FLOATING AROUND.
BUT, UH, PEOPLE MUST...
THE TEACHERS MUST REALIZE
THAT THE COMMUNITIES
MUST BE HEARD.
THE PEOPLE OF THE
COMMUNITY MUST BE HEARD,
AND IT APPARENTLY DOES
NOT SIT WELL WITH THEM
TO HAVE TO RECKON WITH
THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES,
BUT THEY WILL HAVE TO.
AND IT'S UNFORTUNATE
THAT SCARS MUST COME,
BUT WE HAVE HAD
300 YEARS OF SCARS,
AND IT'S ABOUT TIME
THOSE SCARS WERE HEALING.
Narrator:
THE COMMUNITY BOARD
REFUSED TO GIVE UP
CONTROL OF THE CLASSROOMS.
ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO
CARE ABOUT YOU ARE HERE.
THE TEACHERS ARE HERE...
WHITE AND BLACK
TEACHERS ARE HERE.
THERE ARE SOME WHITE TEACHERS
WHO ARE SUPPORTING US.
WE ARE GRATEFUL TO ALL OF
OUR FRIENDS AND ALL PEOPLE
WHO BELIEVE IN FAIRNESS
TO BLACK AND WHITE PEOPLE.
COME IN, CHILDREN.
COME IN, CHILDREN.
Narrator:
OCTOBER, 1968...
FEARING A CONTINUATION
OF THE CITY-WIDE STRIKES,
THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD
OF EDUCATION SUSPENDED
THE OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
COMMUNITY BOARD.
MR. McCOY HAS INDICATED
TO ME CLEARLY
THAT HE INTENDS TO OBEY
THE DIRECTIONS OF THE SUSPENDED
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
SCHOOL BOARD,
AND NOT THOSE OF
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
OR THE SUPERINTENDENT
OF SCHOOLS.
IT IS NECESSARY, THEREFORE,
FOR ME TO RELIEVE
MR. McCOY OF HIS DUTIES.
Narrator:
CONFRONTATIONS BROKE OUT IN
OTHER NEW YORK NEIGHBORHOODS
AS BLACKS AND LATINOS PROTESTED
THE CITY'S WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT
FOR COMMUNITY CONTROL
OF SCHOOLS.
WHY CAN'T YOU
PROTECT ME?!
YOUR MOTHER WAS BLACK.
YOUR WIFE IS BLACK,
IF YOU'VE GOT ONE.
WHY CAN'T YOU PROTECT ME?
THIS IS A STRUGGLE AGAINST
EDUCATIONAL COLONIALISM.
THEY TOOK OVER THE SCHOOL AGAIN.
WE WERE HERE!
HERE WITH OUR PEOPLE,
TRYING TO RUN OUR SCHOOLS.
NOW, IN DEFIANCE OF THAT,
THE WHITE COMMUNITY HAS SAID
"YOU GOTTA COOL IT, MAN...
UNTIL WE CAN GIVE IT TO YOU."
THEY'RE NOT GOING
TO GIVE US A DARN THING.
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE
WHAT BELONGS TO US!
WE'RE GOING
TO TAKE WHAT BELONGS TO US!
Narrator:
THE CITY AND THE
TEACHERS UNION AGREED...
THE EXPERIMENT MUST END.
THE COMMUNITY BOARD'S
POWER WAS TAKEN AWAY.
BUT IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS,
MANY WERE MOVED BY THE STRUGGLE
OF THE OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
COMMUNITY.
FROM NEW YORK'S FIVE BOROUGHS,
THOUSANDS MARCHED TO CITY HALL
IN SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY
CONTROL OF SCHOOLS.
THERE WAS A LOT OF
DISAPPOINTMENT
ON THE PARTS OF ALL US AND I
THINK WE FELT EXTREMELY BAD.
WE HAD PUT AN AWFUL LOT
OF EFFORT INTO THIS.
BUT I THINK THIS WAS A PERIOD...
THE '60s WAS SUCH AN
INCREDIBLY INTERESTING PERIOD
THAT I THINK WE REALIZED, ALSO,
THAT SOMETHING REALLY
GOOD HAD HAPPENED.
Crowd:
WE WANT RHODY!
WE WANT RHODY!
WE WANT RHODY! WE WANT RHODY!
YOU'VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THESE WERE COMMUNITY PEOPLE
WHO WERE DISENFRANCHISED
WITH THE SYSTEM,
WHO WERE NAMELESS AND FACELESS,
WHO HAD NEVER BEEN
INCORPORATED AND INCLUDED,
EVEN THOUGH THEIR CHILDREN
WERE MANDATED TO GO TO SCHOOL.
FOR THEM TO TAKE ON THAT
RESPONSIBILITY WAS TREMENDOUS.
Narrator:
THE DEMONSTRATORS THEN HEADED
ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
TO MARCH TO BOARD OF
EDUCATION HEADQUARTERS
IN SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY OF
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE.
Torres:
THERE WAS A LOT
OF PEOPLE YELLING
"BLACK POWER, BLACK POWER,
POWER TO THE PEOPLE."
"POWER TO THE PEOPLE" I LIKED
BECAUSE I THINK THAT WHAT
WE WERE GOING THROUGH...
ANY POOR NEIGHBORHOOD,
REGARDLESS OF THE ETHNIC MAKEUP,
WAS GOING THROUGH
THE SAME THING.
SO I LIKED
"POWER TO THE PEOPLE."
PEOPLE REALLY NEEDED
TO HAVE SOME POWER
AND WE REALLY NEEDED, AS
A SCHOOL BOARD, TO HAVE POWER.
Narrator:
IT WAS 1968.
COMMUNITIES ACROSS AMERICA,
EACH CHOOSING DIFFERENT PATHS,
ORGANIZED IN THE
STRUGGLE FOR POWER.
"POWER TO THE PEOPLE" WAS A
PROMISE AS OLD AS THE NATION.
NOW, NEW VOICES DEMANDED
THAT THE PROMISE BE FULFILLED.
THIS IS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION
OF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
MAJOR FUNDING FOR AMERICAN
EXPERIENCE with captioning
IS PROVIDED BY THE
ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION.
NATIONAL CORPORATE FUNDING
IS PROVIDED BY LIBERTY MUTUAL
AND THE SCOTTS COMPANY.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
IS ALSO MADE POSSIBLE
BY THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
FUNDING FOR THE RE-RELEASE
OF EYES ON THE PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE BY:
OF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
MAJOR FUNDING FOR AMERICAN
EXPERIENCE with captioning
IS PROVIDED BY THE
ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION.
NATIONAL CORPORATE FUNDING
IS PROVIDED BY LIBERTY MUTUAL
AND THE SCOTTS COMPANY.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
IS ALSO MADE POSSIBLE
BY THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
FUNDING FOR THE RE-RELEASE
OF EYES ON THE PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE BY:
♪ 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. ♪
THIS COUNTRY KNOWS
WHAT POWER IS.
IT KNOWS IT VERY WELL.
AND IT KNOWS WHAT BLACK POWER IS
BECAUSE IT'S DEPRIVED BLACK
PEOPLE OF IT FOR 400 YEARS.
WE ARE ON THE MOVE
FOR OUR LIBERATION.
WE HAVE BEEN TIRED OF TRYING
TO PROVE THINGS TO WHITE PEOPLE.
WE ARE TIRED OF TRYING
TO EXPLAIN TO WHITE PEOPLE
THAT WE'RE NOT
GOING TO HURT THEM.
WE ARE CONCERNED WITH GETTING
THE THINGS WE WANT,
THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE
TO BE ABLE TO FUNCTION.
Narrator:
BY 1967, THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT
WAS CHANGING COURSE.
BLACK PEOPLE SEEK POWER,
AND THEY MUST HAVE POWER
TO CHANGE THE CONDITIONS
UNDER WHICH THEY LIVE.
Narrator:
ACROSS THE NATION,
BLACK MEN AND WOMEN STRUGGLED
FOR CONTROL OF THEIR LIVES...
THROUGH THE BALLOT BOX...
ON THE STREET...
IN THE SCHOOLS.
THE CALL FOR POWER CHALLENGED
THE ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES
IN AMERICA.
ARE THE PEOPLE OF CLEVELAND
WILLING TO VOTE
FOR A CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR
WHO HAS THE BEST QUALIFICATIONS,
WHO HAS THE BEST PROGRAM,
WHO HAS THE PHILOSOPHY
OF GOVERNMENT
AND ITS RELATIONSHIP
WITH PEOPLE,
BUT WHOSE SKIN
DOES HAPPEN TO BE BLACK?
Narrator:
15 MILLION BLACK AMERICANS
LIVED IN THE CITIES,
YET IN 1967, NO MAJOR CITY HAD
EVER ELECTED A BLACK MAYOR.
DETERMINED TO BREAK
WITH THAT PAST,
THE BLACK COMMUNITY
IN CLEVELAND, OHIO,
LAUNCHED A VOTER REGISTRATION
CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT CARL STOKES.
WELL, WE THOUGHT A BLACK MAYOR
COULD DO IT AS WELL AS SOME OF
THE WHITE MAYORS HAD DONE.
AND WE CERTAINLY THOUGHT IT
WOULD BE AN IMPROVEMENT
IN POLICE/CITIZEN RELATIONS,
BECAUSE, AT THAT TIME,
THEY WEREN'T TOO GOOD.
AND WE THOUGHT MAYBE HE COULD DO
SOMETHING ABOUT HOUSING.
WE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE
THE INTERESTS OF THE BLACKS
MORE AT HEART,
WHICH THE WHITE MAYORS DIDN'T
SEEM TO HAVE, PARTICULARLY.
Narrator:
TWO YEARS EARLIER, CARL STOKES,
AN OHIO STATE LEGISLATOR,
HAD RUN FOR MAYOR AND LOST
BY A NARROW MARGIN.
WHITE VOTERS HAD NOT SUPPORTED
A BLACK CANDIDATE.
NOW, SOME WERE SAYING HE MIGHT
SAVE THE CITY
FROM THE UNREST ERUPTING
IN OTHER URBAN AREAS.
CLEVELAND HAD SEEN THE FIRES.
A VIOLENT UPRISING IN THE BLACK
NEIGHBORHOOD OF HOUGH
HAD CLAIMED FOUR LIVES
AND DESTROYED HUNDREDS
OF HOMES AND BUSINESSES.
IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY, RALPH
LOCHER, THE INCUMBENT MAYOR,
WAS STOKES' MAJOR OPPONENT.
WE CAN'T SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS
SO LONG AS WE HAVE
DISRESPECT FOR LAW,
SO LONG AS WE HAVE ANARCHY
AND SO LONG AS WE THUMB OUR NOSE
AT LAW AND ORDER.
WITH THAT IN MIND, THIS COUNCIL
AND THIS ADMINISTRATION
HAS ADDED 234 ADDITIONAL POLICE
TO OUR FORCE
AND WE'VE SAID TO THE HOODLUM
WE'RE GOING TO RUN YOU
OUT OF TOWN
AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
LAW AND ORDER IN THIS CITY.
Narrator:
MAYOR LOCHER SOUGHT
TO REASSURE THE CITY
THERE WOULD BE NO REPEAT OF
THE DISTURBANCES IN HOUGH.
LOCHER'S ADMINISTRATION WAS ALSO
MARKED BY INDUSTRIAL DECLINE
AND RISING UNEMPLOYMENT.
HOUSING FOR ONE-THIRD
OF CLEVELAND'S RESIDENTS
WAS CONSIDERED SUB-STANDARD.
BUT FOR SOME, THESE WERE NOT THE
MAJOR ISSUES OF THE CAMPAIGN.
Reporter:
THIS ELECTION SEEMS
TO HAVE A LOT MORE INTEREST
THAN A LOT OF ELECTIONS
IN RECENT YEARS.
WHY DO YOU
THINK SO?
WELL, I GUESS IT'S THE RACIAL,
THE RACIAL POINT.
WHAT IS THERE
ABOUT LOCHER THAT,
YOU KNOW?
WELL, I LIKE WHAT HE'S DONE,
AND JUST LIKE HE SAID,
I THINK HE'LL FIND THE MISTAKES
HE'S MADE
AND WON'T MAKE THEM AGAIN.
WELL, WHY WOULDN'T
YOU GIVE STOKES
A CHANCE?
WELL, I GUESS IT'S THE IDEA
OF HAVING A COLORED GUY IN.
THE REALITIES OF BEING ELECTED
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND,
WHICH WAS 35% BLACK
AT THAT TIME,
AND 65% WHITE, AND WHITE
EASTERN EUROPEAN ETHNICS,
WAS THAT YOU COULDN'T RUN
A CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGN HERE.
YOU HAD TO RUN A STRAIGHT
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN,
IN WHICH YOU BLURRED
OR ELIMINATED
THE RACIAL DISTINCTIONS
AS MUCH AS YOU COULD.
DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE
MAKING ANY PROGRESS WITH THEM?
I WOULDN'T BE
OUT HERE TONIGHT
IF I DIDN'T
BELIEVE THAT.
I HOPE I MADE IT
WITH YOU, FOR INSTANCE.
GOOD LUCK.
I WANTED TO TELL
THE GENTLEMAN THE FACT
THAT ALL OF US LADIES,
WE PICK OUR LIPSTICKS BY COLOR,
SOMETIMES OUR DRESSES,
BUT WE DON'T VOTE THAT WAY...
WE STUDY THE CANDIDATES.
I BELIEVE THAT.
CIVIL RIGHTS WAS A MOVEMENT
WHERE PEOPLE BELIEVED
THAT THEY COULD CHANGE
THE WAY PEOPLE WERE TREATED.
AND, IN THE STOKES CAMPAIGN,
WHILE IT WAS
A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
IT HAD A CANDIDATE
AND BECAME A CAMPAIGN
THAT STOOD FOR
THAT KIND OF CHANGE.
Narrator:
CLEVELAND WAS JUST
OVER 1/3 BLACK.
STOKES NEEDED TO WIN
WHITE SUPPORT
AND INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT
IN THE BLACK WARDS.
WE KNEW WE HAD THE VOTES
BUT WE HAD TO GET THEM OUT.
IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE THEM,
BUT TO HAVE THEM JUST
SIT THERE...
SO WE ORGANIZED BLOCK BY BLOCK.
Narrator:
BY LATE SUMMER,
THE REGISTRATION DRIVE
HAD ADDED 30,000 BLACK VOTERS
TO THE ROLLS.
BUT WITH THE PRIMARY
ONLY WEEKS AWAY,
CAMPAIGN WORKERS
IN THE BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS
FOUND THEY HAD
ANOTHER BATTLE TO WIN.
Man:
THERE WAS A CERTAIN SEGMENT
OF PEOPLE
WHO HAD THIS NEGATIVE ATTITUDE.
THEY FELT, WELL,
THIS JUST CAN'T BE.
THE PEOPLE JUST WON'T
ELECT A BLACK MAN.
WE WERE IN A MOTORCADE COMING
DOWN EAST 55th STREET,
AND MY WIFE SHIRLEY
AND I WERE SITTING
ON THE BACK SEAT
OF THE CONVERTIBLE
AND A LITTLE BLACK KID
THAT WAS MAYBE
EIGHT YEARS OLD, PROBABLY,
CAME UP TO US AS WE WERE STOPPED
AT A TRAFFIC SIGNAL
AND HE SAID,
"ARE YOU CARL STOKES?"
AND I SAID, "YES."
AND HE JUST GAVE A LITTLE LEAP
IN THE AIR
AND RAN DOWN THE STREET,
CLAPPING HIS HANDS,
SAYING, "HE'S COLORED.
HE'S COLORED, HE'S COLORED,
HE'S COLORED."
I THOUGHT THAT SORT OF
CAUGHT THE SENSE OF PRIDE
THAT I FELT AS I WENT
THROUGH THE BLACK AREAS
OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND.
♪ IF YOU HAD
A CHOICE OF COLORS ♪
♪ WHICH ONE WOULD
YOU CHOOSE, MY BROTHERS? ♪
♪ IF THERE WAS NO DAY OR NIGHT ♪
♪ WHICH WOULD YOU PREFER
TO BE RIGHT? ♪
DON'T VOTE FOR ME
BECAUSE I'M A NEGRO
BUT GOD KNOWS, DON'T VOTE
AGAINST ME BECAUSE I'M A NEGRO.
WE AIN'T WHAT WE WANT TO BE
AND LORD, WE AIN'T WHAT WE'RE
GOING TO BE
BUT GREAT GOD, WE SURE AIN'T
WHAT WE WAS, LORD.
THANK YOU.
Narrator:
ON PRIMARY ELECTION DAY,
BLACKS VOTED IN RECORD NUMBERS.
STOKES' SUPPORTERS KNEW THAT
VICTORY WAS WITHIN REACH.
WE WENT BACK
TO THE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS
BUT IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT JOB
EVEN GETTING CLOSE TO IT.
THE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS
THAT I HAD OPENED MONTHS BEFORE
AS AN EMPTY, BARREN PLACE,
WAS NOW JUST SURROUNDED BY
PEOPLE FAR OUT INTO THE STREET,
AND THERE WAS DANCING IN
THE STREET ON SUPERIOR AVENUE.
♪ WE'RE A WINNER NOW ♪
♪ AND NEVER LET ANYBODY SAY... ♪
HI, BABY GIRL.
DADDY WON.
Narrator:
STOKES' PRIMARY VICTORY
96% SUPPORT
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
AND 52% SUPPORT CITYWIDE.
BUT THE CAMPAIGN WAS
FAR FROM OVER.
WE HAD STRESSED SO MUCH
THAT YOU MUST VOTE
FOR CARL IN THE PRIMARY
AND YOU WON'T GET
A SECOND CHANCE.
NOW, IF YOU DON'T PUT HIM
ON THE BALLOT,
YOU CAN FORGET THE WHOLE DEAL.
SO THEY WENT OUT
AND VOTED FOR HIM,
I THINK THAT WAS OCTOBER
THE THIRD.
OKAY, WE SAID,
"NOW, WE GOT TO GET THEM
BACK TO THE POLLS AGAIN
NOVEMBER THE SEVENTH."
SO WE HAD TELEPHONE BANKS GOING
AND WE WOULD CALL THEM
AND WE WOULD VISIT THEM.
WE'D HAVE THE BLOCK CAPTAINS
GO SEE THEM,
THE BLOCK SUPERVISORS,
AND THEY'D TELL US,
"ALREADY VOTED FOR HIM."
WE SAID, "OH, MY GOD,
WE GOT TO DO
A VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN."
WE SAID, "YES, BUT YOU
JUST PUT HIM ON THE TICKET.
YOU'VE GOT TO GO BACK AGAIN
AND VOTE
TO BE SURE THAT HE'S THE MAYOR."
AND THAT WAS A JOB.
WE GOT TO GET OUT
AND KNOCK ON THESE DOORS!
WE GOT TO BRING THE ONES THAT
NEVER GET OUT
AND NEVER THINK ABOUT WHAT
IS GOING TO BECOME OF THE CITY.
JUST A FEW OF US HAVE TO GET OUT
AND BRING THE...
MAKE OURSELVES
A COMMITTEE OF ONE...
AND GET THE VOTE OUT
FOR CARL STOKES.
AND THEN WE CAN SING, "WE'RE
GONNA WALK TOGETHER, CHILDREN.
"WE'RE GONNA TALK TOGETHER,
CHILDREN.
"AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR MAYOR
DOWN THERE
THAT WILL SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY,
CHILDREN."
LET'S GO ON AND WORK
FOR CARL STOKES.
Narrator:
IN CLEVELAND, 80% OF THE VOTERS
WERE DEMOCRATS.
WINNING THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
USUALLY MEANT CERTAIN ELECTION.
BUT WHITE VOTERS WERE MOVING
TO THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE,
SETH TAFT.
Taft:
SO, RIGHT AFTER THE PRIMARY,
WE JUST HAD THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
MARCHING INTO OUR HEADQUARTERS
SAYING, "WE'LL CAMPAIGN FOR YOU,
WE THINK YOU'RE THE GREAT GUY."
THEY'D NEVER HEARD OF ME
BEFORE.
BUT, UH...
SO, WE HAD A...
IT MADE A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE
SITUATION, I CAN ASSURE YOU,
WHEN A WHOLE BATCH OF PEOPLE
RUSH INTO YOUR HEADQUARTERS
AND WANT TO WORK
IN YOUR CAMPAIGN,
WHEN YOU DON'T LIKE
THEIR MOTIVE.
WE FIRED A WHOLE BATCH OF THEM
THAT WENT OUT AND CAMPAIGNED
SAYING, "HEY, YOU WOULDN'T WANT
A BLACK MAYOR OF THIS CITY,
WOULD YOU?"
AND WE GOT RID OF EVERYBODY
WE COULD OF THAT SORT.
FRANKLY, BOTH OF US RAN A...
I THINK...
UH, VERY MUCH AN AFFIRMATIVE,
UH...
NON-RACIALLY ORIENTED CAMPAIGN.
BUT THE RACIAL ISSUE WAS
LIKE ONE POSTAGE STAMP THICKNESS
BELOW THE SURFACE.
Narrator:
STOKES BROUGHT THE ISSUE
INTO THE OPEN
DURING A CANDIDATES' DEBATE
AT A WHITE WEST SIDE SCHOOL.
THERE WERE VERY FEW BLACKS
OVER THERE TO START OUT WITH...
I THINK JUST A HANDFUL OF US
FROM THE CAMPAIGN.
AND, UH, BLACKS DIDN'T GO
ON THE WEST SIDE TOO MUCH.
I MEAN...
NEVER DID FEEL TOO WELCOME.
AND STOKES INTRODUCED THE MATTER
OF RACE INTO THE CAMPAIGN.
Stokes:
I AM GOING TO BE BRUTALLY
FRANK WITH YOU.
AND EQUALLY FRANK
WITH SETH TAFT.
THE PERSONAL ANALYSIS
OF SETH TAFT
IS THAT SETH TAFT MAY WIN
IN THE NOVEMBER 7 ELECTION,
BUT ONLY FOR ONE REASON...
AND THAT REASON IS THAT HIS SKIN
HAPPENS TO BE WHITE.
THE WHOLE PLACE WENT KABLOOEY.
YOU COULDN'T HEAR A THING
FOR FIVE MINUTES.
CARL WAS TRYING TO SAY,
"HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY,"
TO GET ATTENTION AND SO FORTH,
BUT HE LOST THE AUDIENCE.
NOW, THAT AUDIENCE
WAS A WEST SIDE AUDIENCE
AND IT WAS 90% WHITE.
Stokes:
SETH HIMSELF HAS ATTEMPTED
TO BYPASS THIS SO-CALLED
BLACK-WHITE ISSUE
BUT IN PRACTICALLY
EVERY PUBLIC UTTERANCE
HE HAS MADE
DURING THIS CAMPAIGN,
HE NOT-SO-SUBTLY POINTS OUT
THAT "CARL STOKES HAS MORE
EXPERIENCE THAN SETH TAFT
AT BEING A NEGRO"...
WELL, WHICH IS TRUE.
AND HE GOES ON TO SAY
THAT SETH TAFT HAS HAD
MORE EXPERIENCE AT BEING WHITE.
WELL, NOW, IF THIS IS NOT
SOME KIND OF SUBTLE APPEAL,
THEN WHY CONTINUALLY
BRING IT UP?
WELL, WELL, WELL...
I GUESS IT TOOK SETH
QUITE BY SURPRISE
AND HE SAID, "WELL, WELL, WELL.
"I GUESS IF YOU DON'T VOTE
FOR CARL STOKES,
YOU'RE A RACIST."
AND OUR HEARTS JUST SANK BECAUSE
THAT WAS HIS VERY BEST REMARK
OF THE WHOLE NIGHT.
AND I'M SURE THAT BY CARL
INTRODUCING THIS
INTO THE CAMPAIGN,
IT CAUGHT HIM BY SURPRISE,
BUT HE CERTAINLY ROSE TO THE
OCCASION, YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT,
AND IT SCARED US TO DEATH.
Taft:
IT SEEMS THAT
THE RACE ISSUE IS WITH US.
NOW... NOW IT APPEARS THAT IF I
SAY SOMETHING ON THIS SUBJECT,
IT'S RACISM.
IF CARL STOKES SAYS SOMETHING
ABOUT IT, IT'S FAIR PLAY.
Narrator:
THE DEBATE WAS A TURNING POINT.
OPINION POLLS SHOWED
LARGE NUMBERS
OF UNDECIDED WHITE VOTERS
MOVING TO TAFT.
WITH 15 DAYS LEFT TO CAMPAIGN,
TAFT REACHED OUT
TO THE WHITE WEST SIDE.
HELLO THERE, SIR,
I'M SETH TAFT.
HOW ARE YOU?
Man:
FOR WHOM DO YOU
INTEND TO VOTE FOR?
TAFT.
TAFT.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL THE MAJOR
POLITICAL ISSUE IS:
RACE, CRIME,
URBAN RENEWAL?
I'D SAY CRIME.
CRIME?
Man:
AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW
THAT ALL THE SLOVAK PEOPLE
ARE FOR SETH TAFT
FOR MAYOR IN THIS TOWN.
AND THIS IS THE WAY
THEY SAY IT IN SLOVAK:
Narrator:
STOKES STRUGGLED TO HOLD ON
TO HIS WHITE SUPPORT.
BUT AS HE CONTINUED
TO SLIP IN THE POLLS,
HE RETURNED TO THE BLACK
COMMUNITY TO MAKE HIS APPEAL.
♪ ...FOREVER IN PEACE ♪
♪ NO WATER CAN SWALLOW,
NO WATER CAN SWALLOW ♪
♪ OH, THE SHIP OF LIFE ♪
♪ THE MASTER OF ALL TIME ♪
♪ GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJAH ♪
♪ GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJAH,
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON. ♪
THE THING UPON WHICH
I HAVE DEPENDED
HAS BEEN THAT IF YOU SHOW PEOPLE
THAT YOU HAVE
THE QUALIFICATIONS,
THEN YOU'RE NOT
GOING TO BE PENALIZED
JUST BECAUSE YOU HAPPEN
TO BE A NEGRO.
MR. STOKES, HE KNOWS MORE
ABOUT WHAT WE NEED.
HE CAN DO MORE FOR US,
AND HE'S GOING TO DO IT.
I THINK HE'S GOING TO GET IT.
BECAUSE WE HAVE WORKED
AWFULLY HARD.
Man:
WE NEVER GAVE UP HOPE
BECAUSE, I GUESS, WE WERE
VERY LOOSE IN THIS ENDEAVOR.
BECAUSE CARL B. STOKES
HAD BROUGHT MORE UNITY
AMONGST THE PEOPLE OF CLEVELAND
THAN I HAD EVER WITNESSED,
AND LOSING REALLY WASN'T PART
OF MY THOUGHT AT THE TIME.
STOKES.
STOKES TWO.
STOKES.
STOKES THREE.
STOKES.
STOKES FOUR.
TAFT, TAFT, TAFT.
Taft:
WE WERE AHEAD IN WHAT
HAD COME IN SO FAR.
AND SO THE GUYS WERE
GETTING ME PRACTICED UP
ON AN ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
OR WHATEVER WE MIGHT CALL IT.
AND THEN SOMEBODY CAME IN
WITH A LIST
OF WHAT PRECINCTS
HAD NOT REPORTED.
AND AS SOON AS WE SAW THAT,
IT WAS ALL OVER,
BECAUSE THE PRECINCTS THAT
HADN'T BEEN REPORTED
AT THAT MOMENT,
WERE PRECINCTS
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
Narrator:
AT 5:00 A.M., THE FINAL
TALLY WAS ANNOUNCED.
BY A NARROW MARGIN,
CARL STOKES HAD BEEN ELECTED
MAYOR OF AMERICA'S
10th LARGEST CITY.
Reporter:
CARL, HOW'S IT FEEL?
IT'S A WONDERFUL MOMENT.
NEVER HAS ONE MAN
OWED SO MUCH TO SO MANY.
THOSE OF US WHO ARE
POLISH, HUNGARIAN,
CROATIAN, ROMANIANS,
NEGROES, GERMANS, IRISH...
JEWISH, YEAH.
YES, JEWISH.
AND I CAN FIND NO MORE
FITTING WAY TO END THIS APPEAL
BY SAYING TO ALL OF YOU,
IN THE MOST SERIOUS
AND IN THE MOST MEANINGFUL WAY
THAT I CAN,
THAT TRULY, NEVER BEFORE,
HAVE I EVER KNOWN
THE FULL MEANING OF THE WORDS
"GOD BLESS AMERICA."
THANKS A LOT.
Williams:
OH, YES, IT WAS A FIRST...
WE HAD DONE SOMETHING
THAT HADN'T BEEN DONE
ANYPLACE IN THE COUNTRY BEFORE.
AND SINCE FOLKS LAUGHED AT US
IN '65
AND WE PULLED IT OFF IN '67,
I GUESS
WE FELT PRETTY SMUG ABOUT IT.
AND, UH, YEAH,
WE WERE VERY HAPPY ABOUT IT.
AND WE SAID,
IF IT CAN BE DONE HERE
IT CAN BE DONE OTHER PLACES.
Narrator:
IN CLEVELAND,
THE POWER OF THE VOTE
PUT A BLACK MAN IN CHARGE
OF CITY GOVERNMENT.
TWO MONTHS LATER,
GARY, INDIANA,
INAUGURATED ITS FIRST
BLACK MAYOR, RICHARD HATCHER.
IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
THE SEARCH FOR POWER
BEGAN ON THE STREETS.
BLACKS HAD LITTLE SAY
IN HOW THEIR COMMUNITY WAS RUN.
IN PARTICULAR, MANY QUESTIONED
THE ROLE OF THE POLICE.
THE POLICE THROUGHOUT THE BLACK
COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY
WERE REALLY THE GOVERNMENT.
WE HAD MORE CONTACT
WITH THE POLICE
THAN WE DID THE CITY COUNCIL.
THE POLICE WERE
UNIVERSALLY DISLIKED.
Narrator:
THE SIZE OF THE MOSTLY WHITE
POLICE FORCE WAS INCREASING.
SO WERE COMPLAINTS
OF POLICE BRUTALITY.
INFLUENCED BY FREEDOM STRUGGLES
IN THE SOUTH
AND IN THIRD WORLD NATIONS,
IN 1966, HUEY NEWTON
AND BOBBY SEALE
FORMED THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
FOR SELF-DEFENSE,
A SYMBOL TAKEN FROM
A LOWNDES COUNTY, ALABAMA,
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.
ARMED WITH LAW BOOKS
AND WITH GUNS,
THE BLACK PANTHERS MONITORED
THE ACTIONS OF THE POLICE
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
I REMEMBER ONE
OF THESE FIRST EVENTS.
WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE CAR,
WE SAW POLICEMEN, YOU KNOW,
MAKING AN ARREST OF SOME KIND...
ABOUT 20 OR 30 PEOPLE
IN THE COMMUNITY
STANDING TO THE SIDE, WATCHING.
AND THE BLACK FOLKS,
ONE OF THEM SAYS:
"HEY, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
HEY, MAN, THIS GUY GOT A G..."
"HEY, MAN, I'M GONNA MOVE
OUT OF HERE.
THESE GUYS GOT GUNS
AND STUFF LIKE THAT."
THEY WERE OUT LOOKING
AT WHAT THE POLICE WERE DOING.
WE HAD OFFICERS STOPPING A CAR
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE A CARLOAD
FULL OF THESE BLACK PANTHER
PEOPLE PULL UP BEHIND THEM,
AND WATCH THEM AND SEE
WHAT THEY WERE DOING, YOU KNOW?
THEY WERE LOOKING AT
WHAT THE POLICE WERE DOING.
WE WOULD FOLLOW
THE POLICE AROUND
AND WHEN THE POLICE
WOULD ARREST OR DETAIN SOMEONE,
WE WOULD READ THEIR RIGHTS
TO THEM.
AND IT CAME DOWN TO SOME POINT
WHERE THE POLICEMAN SAYS,
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING
WITH THOSE GUNS?"
AND HUEY SAYS,
"WELL, WE GOT OURS
TO DEFEND OURSELVES
AND TO OBSERVE YOU."
"YOU HAVE
NO RIGHT TO OBSERVE ME."
AND HUEY WAS ALL THIS LAW STUDY,
'CAUSE HE WAS IN NIGHT
LAW SCHOOL AT THE TIME...
"CALIFORNIA STATE SUPREME COURT
RULING STATES THAT EVERYONE
"HAS A RIGHT TO OBSERVE A POLICE
OFFICER CARRYING OUT HIS DUTY,
"AS LONG AS THEY STAND
A REASONABLE DISTANCE AWAY.
"AND A REASONABLE DISTANCE
WAS CONSTITUTED
"IN THAT PARTICULAR CALIFORNIA
SUPREME COURT RULING
"AS EIGHT TO TEN FEET.
"I'M STANDING APPROXIMATELY
22 FEET FROM YOU.
"I WILL OBSERVE YOU
CARRYING OUT YOUR DUTIES
WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT."
AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY
IS SAYING,
"WELL, GO AHEAD ON
AND TELL IT!"
Narrator:
THE BOLDNESS OF THE PANTHER
ACTIONS ATTRACTED YOUNG BLACKS,
MANY IN THEIR TEENS.
CARRYING LOADED FIREARMS
IN PUBLIC
WAS A WELL-PROTECTED LEGAL RIGHT
IN CALIFORNIA
BUT, WITH THE EMERGENCE
OF THE BLACK PANTHERS,
STATE OFFICIALS INTRODUCED
LEGISLATION
TO OUTLAW CARRYING LOADED
FIREARMS WITHIN CITY LIMITS.
MAY, 1967.
IN PROTEST, THE PANTHERS
TRAVELED TO SACRAMENTO,
THE STATE CAPITAL.
WE ARRIVED THERE,
ALL THESE BLACK MEN AND WOMEN,
24 MALES
AND SIX FEMALES, WITH GUNS,
AND RONALD REAGAN,
THEN THE GOVERNOR,
WAS ON THE LAWN WITH 200
FUTURE LEADERS OF AMERICA...
YOU KNOW, 12- AND 13-
AND 14-YEAR-OLD KIDS.
AND THESE KIDS STARTED LEAVING
HIS SESSION ON THE LAWN
AND COMING TO SEE US.
AND THESE YOUNG WHITE KIDS
THOUGHT WE WERE A GUN CLUB.
Narrator:
KNOWING THE MEDIA WOULD
BE THERE,
THE GROUP OF MEN AND WOMEN THEN
ENTERED THE CAPITOL BUILDING.
Reporter:
THEY'RE HEAVILY ARMED.
WHETHER THEIR WEAPONS ARE LOADED
OR NOT, NOBODY SEEMS TO KNOW.
Man:
WAIT A MINUTE, NOW,
WAIT A MINUTE.
WAIT A MINUTE...
ARE YOU UNDER ARREST?
AM I UNDER ARREST?
AM I UNDER ARREST?!
DID YOU PLACE HIM
UNDER ARREST?
GO AHEAD, BROTHER.
AM I UNDER ARREST?
AM I?
TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF ME
IF I'M NOT UNDER ARREST!
IF I'M UNDER ARREST,
I'LL COME.
IF I'M NOT,
DON'T PUT YOUR HANDS ON ME!
IS THIS THE WAY THE RACIST
GOVERNMENT WORKS?
DON'T LET A MAN EXERCISE
HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS?
IF MY SWEATER'S RIPPED,
YOU WILL GET...
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A STATEMENT
NOW, WITH THIS RESPECT:
THE STATEMENT OF THE BLACK
PANTHER PARTY FOR SELF-DEFENSE
ON THE MULFORD ACT NOW PENDING
BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA
LEGISLATURE.
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
FOR SELF-DEFENSE
CALLS UPON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
IN GENERAL,
AND THE BLACK PEOPLE
IN PARTICULAR,
TO TAKE FULL NOTE OF THE RACIST
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE
WHICH IS NOW CONSIDERING
LEGISLATION
AIMED AT KEEPING THE BLACK
PEOPLE DISARMED AND POWERLESS,
AT THE VERY SAME TIME
THAT RACIST POLICE AGENCIES
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ARE
INTENSIFYING THE TERROR,
BRUTALITY, MURDER AND REPRESSION
OF BLACK PEOPLE.
Narrator:
A NATION THAT HAD GROWN USED TO
THE NONVIOLENT
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
WAS NOW CONFRONTED WITH
NEW IMAGES OF BLACK PROTEST.
LATER, AT A SACRAMENTO
SERVICE STATION,
NEWS CAMERAS DOCUMENTED
THE CONTINUING DEBATE
OVER LAW AND GUNS.
Man:
THAT AIN'T NO SAWED-OFF,
THAT'S A RIOT SHOTGUN,
JUST LIKE YOURS.
YOU DON'T KNOW THE
CONSTITUTION, RIGHT?
UH-UH.
SURE WE DO; WE'RE WELL AWARE
OF THE CONSTITUTION.
YOU HAVE NO RIGHT
TO TAKE MY GUN
AWAY FROM ME.
YOU BREAKING
THE CONSTITUTION LAW.
Reporter:
THE PAMPHLET SAYS
THAT THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
FOR SELF-DEFENSE CALLS ON THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE IN GENERAL
TO TAKE CAREFUL NOTE
OF THE RACIST
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE.
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE
THE LEGISLATURE IS RACIST?
DON'T YOU KNOW?
YOU'RE A PART OF IT.
ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?
THIS IS A WHITE SYSTEM.
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY
WHERE WE AT.
DO YOU BELIEVE EVERYTHING
THAT'S IN THAT PAMPHLET?
THE PAMPHLET SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
Douglas:
IT WAS LIKE BEING
A PART OF A MOVEMENT
THAT YOU HAD SEEN ON TV
AND NOW BEING ABLE
TO PARTICIPATE
AND SHARE IN THAT MOVEMENT.
WHEN YOU HEARD TALK
ABOUT MALCOLM,
SEEN MALCOLM ON TV,
AT THAT TIME,
YOU HAD HEARD AND TALKED
ABOUT STOKELY CARMICHAEL
RAP BROWN AND S.N.C.C.
AND WHAT HAVE YOU,
AND ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS
THAT WERE HAPPENING.
AND TO BECOME A PART
OF A MOVEMENT
THAT HAD ENCOMPASSED ALL THESE
DIFFERENT CONCEPTS AND IDEALS
IN ITS OWN CREATIVE WAY...
IT BROUGHT A SENSE OF PRIDE.
BUT THERE WAS ALSO, THERE WAS
THE DOUBTS AND THE FEAR
OF WHETHER YOU WERE GOING
TO SURVIVE OR EXIST,
WHICH BECAME A PART
OF YOUR MAKE-UP
AND YOU WENT ON AND TOOK CARE
OF BUSINESS THE WAY YOU HAD TO.
Narrator:
THE PANTHERS HAD NOT VIOLATED
CALIFORNIA GUN LAW.
THEY WERE CHARGED INSTEAD
WITH DISTURBING THE PEACE.
SIX PANTHERS, INCLUDING CHAIRMAN
BOBBY SEALE, WERE CONVICTED.
WELL, AS CHIEF DEPUTY
ATTORNEY GENERAL,
WE'D HAD...
I'D HAD EXPERIENCE
AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
HAD HAD EXPERIENCE IN THE 1960s,
PRIOR TO THIS TIME,
WITH A VARIETY OF NUT GROUPS,
BOTH EXTREME LEFT
AND EXTREME RIGHT,
WHO WERE RUNNING AROUND
WITH GUNS,
THINKING THAT THEY COULD
SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF CALIFORNIA
AND THE WORLD
THROUGH DIRECT MILITANT ACTION.
AND WE WERE AND HAD BEEN
WELL INFORMED,
AND IN SOME CASES HAD
SURVEILLANCE UPON,
EXTREME GROUPS
THAT CARRIED WEAPONS.
WHEN THESE CHARACTERS
CAME ALONG,
WE THOUGHT THEY WERE ANOTHER
IRRITATING PART
OF THE BOUILLABAISSE
THAT WAS STARTING TO BUBBLE
ALL OVER CALIFORNIA.
WE NEEDED THEM LIKE A SEVERE
CASE OF A BAD DISEASE.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY'S STYLE
AND DRAMATIC ACTIONS
CAPTURED THE ATTENTION
OF THE MEDIA.
YET THE PANTHERS OFTEN DISAGREED
WITH THE WAY
THEY WERE PORTRAYED.
THE EXAMINER MADE A REPORT BACK
HERE, THE LAST SUNDAY'S PAPER,
THAT WE WERE ANTI-WHITE,
THAT WE HOLD NO BONES...
THIS IS A QUOTE... PICK NO BONES
ABOUT BEING ANTI-WHITE.
THIS IS A BOLD-FACED LIE.
WE DON'T HATE NOBODY
BECAUSE OF THEIR COLOR.
WE HATE OPPRESSION.
WE HATE MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE
IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE HATE THE GROSS UNEMPLOYMENT
THAT EXISTS IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE HATE BLACK MEN BEING TAKEN
OFF INTO THE MILITARY SERVICE
TO BE FIGHTING FOR A RACIST,
DECADENT AMERICA
PROMISING US FREEDOM.
Narrator:
TO PRESENT THEIR STORY AND THEIR
PROGRAM FOR SOCIAL CHANGE,
THE BLACK PANTHERS CREATED
A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER.
LANGUAGE AND ART WERE IMPORTANT
TOOLS OF THE NEW PARTY.
Newton:
I KNEW THAT IMAGES
HAD TO BE CHANGED.
I KNOW, SOCIOLOGICALLY,
THAT WORDS,
THE POWER OF THE WORD,
WORDS STIGMATIZE PEOPLE
AND WE FELT THAT THE POLICE
NEEDED A LABEL,
A LABEL OTHER THAN
THAT FEAR IMAGE
THAT THEY
CARRIED IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE USED THE PIG AS
A RATHER LOW-LIFED ANIMAL,
IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE POLICE
AND IT WORKED.
Narrator:
SOME FEARED THE REACTION
THAT THE PANTHERS' STANCE
MIGHT PROVOKE.
♪ WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GET GUNS
AND BE THERE... ♪
MY PARENTS OR THE NEIGHBORS
WERE KIND OF RELUCTANT,
KIND OF STANDOFFISH
IN THEIR ATTITUDES
TOWARDS THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY,
BECAUSE HERE YOU HAD A NEW,
DYNAMIC KIND OF ORGANIZATION
COMING OUT AND DOING THINGS
THAT NEVER HAD BEEN DONE
IN THE HISTORY
OF THIS COUNTRY BEFORE...
CARRYING GUNS, STANDING UP
TO THE POLICE,
STANDING UP
TO THE POWER STRUCTURE.
Narrator:
ELDRIDGE CLEAVER,
WHO HAD GAINED FAME
FROM HIS WRITINGS IN PRISON,
WAS THE CHIEF SPOKESMAN
FOR THE PARTY.
AND WE FEEL THAT THE POLICE MUST
BE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL
BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY,
INCLUDING THROUGH FORCE OF ARMS.
WE HAVE NEVER BIT OUR TONGUE
ABOUT THAT.
WE SAY IT NOW,
LOUD AND CLEAR.
WE WILL ALWAYS SAY IT;
WE'RE NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT...
THAT THESE RACIST, GESTAPO PIGS
HAVE TO STOP BRUTALIZING
OUR COMMUNITY
OR WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP GUNS;
WE'RE GONNA DRIVE THEM OUT.
WE WERE ADVISED BY OUR SERGEANTS
AND LIEUTENANTS AND CAPTAINS
THAT THE PANTHERS
WERE ARMED AND VIOLENT
AND WERE GOING TO BE AGGRESSIVE
IN THEIR BEHAVIOR TOWARDS US.
WE WERE ADVISED
TO BE AWARE OF THAT.
Narrator:
AS THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY GREW,
SO DID TENSIONS WITH POLICE.
Newton:
GESTAPO TACTICS.
Narrator:
IN OCTOBER OF 1967, A YEAR
AFTER THE PARTY'S FORMATION,
HUEY NEWTON WAS SHOT
IN THE STOMACH
IN A CONFRONTATION WITH POLICE.
POLICE OFFICER HERBERT HEANES
WAS ALSO SERIOUSLY WOUNDED.
OFFICER JOHN FREY
DIED FROM GUNSHOTS,
BELIEVED TO BE FROM
A POLICE REVOLVER.
WITH THE DEATH OF A POLICEMAN,
GOVERNMENT PRESSURES ON THE
YOUNG ORGANIZATION INTENSIFIED.
NEWTON WAS CHARGED
WITH FIRST DEGREE MURDER.
HE MAINTAINED
HE HAD BEEN FRAMED.
IN AMERICA, BLACK PEOPLE
ARE TREATED VERY MUCH
AS THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
OR ANY OTHER COLONIZED PEOPLE
BECAUSE WE'RE USED,
WE'RE BRUTALIZED;
THE POLICE IN OUR COMMUNITY
OCCUPY OUR AREA, OUR COMMUNITY,
AS A FOREIGN TROOP
OCCUPIES TERRITORY.
THE PANTHERS SEEMED TO BE
IN DELIBERATE, OPEN,
PROVOCATIVE CONFRONTATION
WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS,
IN THEIR EARLY PERIODS.
THEY USED REVOLUTIONARY
LANGUAGE, PROVOCATIVE LANGUAGE,
AND SEEMED TO BE DELIBERATELY
SEEKING TO CONFRONT
ESTABLISHED AUTHORITY...
PARTICULARLY POLICE AUTHORITY.
BUT THEN WE OBSERVED THAT THEY
SEEMED TO HAVE A SOCIAL SIDE...
A CONCEPT OF DOING SOMETHING
BEYOND THESE ANGRY
CONFRONTATIONS.
Narrator:
THE PANTHERS CALLED THEMSELVES
A REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION
THE TEN POINT PROGRAM
WAS THEIR BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE.
Seale:
AND WE WROTE OUT THIS PROGRAM:
WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE
OUR OWN DESTINY
IN OUR OWN BLACK COMMUNITY.
IMMEDIATE END
TO POLICE BRUTALITY
AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE
WAS POINT NUMBER SEVEN.
THE RIGHT TO HAVE JURIES
OF OUR PEERS IN THE COURTS,
WHAT HAVE YOU;
WE SUMMED IT UP:
WE WANTED LAND, BREAD, HOUSING,
EDUCATION, CLOTHING,
JUSTICE AND PEACE.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PANTHERS
DISTRIBUTED FREE FOOD
AND LATER DEVELOPED A FREE
BREAKFAST PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN.
Teacher:
GOOD MORNING!
Class:
GOOD MORNING.
Teacher:
I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
GOOD MORNING!
Class:
GOOD MORNING!
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ SET OUR WARRIOR FREE ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ SET OUR WARRIOR FREE ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
THE IDEA WAS, OBVIOUSLY,
TWO-FOLD
FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF
SERVING THOSE PEOPLE
WHO WERE DIRECTLY BENEFITED
BY OUR PROGRAMS
BUT ALSO, SECONDARILY,
TO INFLUENCE THE MINDS OF PEOPLE
TO UNDERSTAND NOT ONLY
THAT THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
WAS PROVIDING THEM THIS BUT,
MORE IMPORTANTLY,
THAT IF THEY COULD GET FOOD,
THAT MAYBE
THEY WOULD WANT CLOTHING,
AND MAYBE THEY'D WANT HOUSING,
MAYBE THEY'D WANT LAND
AND MAYBE THEY WOULD
ULTIMATELY WANT
SOME ABSTRACT THING
CALLED "FREEDOM."
Narrator:
AROUND THE COUNTRY,
PARTICULARLY IN URBAN AREAS,
YOUNG BLACK MEN AND WOMEN
FORMED LOCAL CHAPTERS.
THE PARTY GREW MUCH TOO RAPIDLY
BECAUSE MANY OF THE YOUNG
PEOPLE WERE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC
ABOUT THE GUNS AND
ABOUT THE BERETS,
BUT THEY KNEW LITTLE
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
THAT REALLY ARE OUR
REASON FOR EXISTING.
Narrator:
THE GROWING PARTY
STILL FACED THE DILEMMA
OF HAVING ITS LEADER,
HUEY NEWTON, IN PRISON.
COURT PROCEEDINGS ATTRACTED
NATIONAL ATTENTION,
BRINGING SUPPORT TO THE PANTHERS
FROM AN ALLIANCE
OF WHITE AND BLACK
POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.
Reporter:
YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY IN
GOOD SPIRITS, HUEY. WHY?
BECAUSE I HAVE
THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME
AND THE PEOPLE ARE MY STRENGTH.
Cleaver:
HUEY'S MOTHER IS HERE...
MRS. NEWTON.
THIS IS THE BLACK MOTHER.
Narrator:
FEBRUARY 17, 1968...
STOKELY CARMICHAEL,
JAMES FORMAN,
H. RAP BROWN...
LEADERS OF THE STUDENT
NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING COMMITTEE,
NOW JOINED FORCES WITH
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
IN THEIR CALL FOR REVOLUTION.
AND SO, IN TALKING ABOUT
BROTHER HUEY NEWTON TONIGHT,
WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT
THE STRUGGLE OF BLACK PEOPLE
NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES,
BUT IN THE WORLD TODAY,
AND HOW HE BECOMES PART
AND PARCEL OF THAT STRUGGLE;
HOW WE MOVE ON SO THAT OUR
PEOPLE WILL SURVIVE AMERICA.
SEE, IT'S NO IN BETWEEN.
YOU'RE EITHER FREE
OR YOU'RE A SLAVE.
THERE'S NO SUCH THING
AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENSHIP.
THE ONLY POLITICS
IN THIS COUNTRY
THAT'S RELEVANT TO
BLACK PEOPLE TODAY
IS THE POLITICS OF REVOLUTION...
NONE OTHER.
Narrator:
APRIL 6, 1968... A GUN BATTLE
ON THE STREETS OF WEST OAKLAND.
FIVE MEN WERE WOUNDED...
THREE POLICE OFFICERS
AND TWO PANTHERS.
A THIRD PANTHER, BOBBY HUTTON,
AGE 17, WAS SHOT TO DEATH.
BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOW
TO ORGANIZE IN A FASHION
WHERE WE HAVE MAXIMUM
RETALIATION AGAINST ALL FORMS
OF RACIST POLICE
BRUTALITY AND ATTACKS.
Reporter:
WHAT CHANGES HAVE THERE BEEN
IN THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
SINCE THE GUNFIGHT
LAST WEEKEND?
WHAT YOU MEAN, "WHAT CHANGES?"
WE HAVE A BLACK MAN THAT'S
DEAD, MURDERED BY PIGS.
THAT'S A CHANGE.
Brown:
HERE WERE MEN
WHO WERE SAYING,
"LISTEN, WE ARE WILLING TO TAKE
CHARGE OF OUR LIVES.
WE ARE WILLING TO STAND UP."
THERE WAS THE APPEAL THAT
MALCOLM HAD IN MANY WAYS.
IT HAD A CERTAIN SUBJECTIVE
APPEAL TO MY PSYCHE
AND TO MY EMOTIONAL NEED TO SAY
YES, THERE WERE MEN IN THIS
WORLD WHO CARED... BLACK MEN...
WHO CARED ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
AND WANTED TO DO SOMETHING
AND WERE WILLING TO TAKE IT
TO THE LAST DEGREE.
Narrator:
IN THE FALL OF 1968, TWO YEARS
AFTER THE PARTY'S FOUNDING,
HUEY NEWTON WAS CONVICTED
OF MANSLAUGHTER
IN THE DEATH OF
POLICE OFFICER FREY...
A CONVICTION WHICH
WAS LATER OVERTURNED.
WITH CHAPTERS IN 25 CITIES,
GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE
WAS INCREASING.
THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BLACK
PANTHER PARTY HAD REACHED
SEVERAL THOUSAND,
AND WAS GROWING.
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
♪ SET OUR WARRIOR FREE ♪
♪ FREE HUEY! ♪
IT WAS A BATTLE,
IT WAS A STRUGGLE,
AND I THINK WE ROOTED OURSELVES
IN, IN THE SENSE THAT
WE BEGAN TO GET MILLIONS
OF BLACK FOLKS TO REALLY LOOK
AT WHERE WE WERE COMING FROM
IN OUR STAND AGAINST
THE POWER STRUCTURE.
NOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL
REVOLUTION A CONFRONTATION.
REALLY, WHAT HUEY AND I MEANT
BY "REVOLUTION" WAS
A NEED TO REVOLVE MORE
POLITICAL POWER
AND ECONOMIC POWER BACK INTO
THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE.
THAT'S REALLY WHAT
A REVOLUTION IS.
Narrator:
THE BLACK PANTHERS
CONTINUED THEIR STRUGGLE,
WORKING OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM.
IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK,
BLACK AND LATINO PARENTS
CHALLENGED
THE ESTABLISHED ORDER,
WORKING WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
THEY DEMANDED THE POWER TO RUN
THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS,
TO IMPROVE THEIR
CHILDREN'S FUTURE.
THE CHILDREN ARE READY TO WORK.
THEY COME TO SCHOOL TO WORK.
AND WHEN THEY GET TO SCHOOL,
THE TEACHERS,
THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
THEY FIRST THING THEY SAY,
"WE DON'T UNDERSTAND
THE CHILDREN."
WELL, IF THEY WOULD TRY
TO UNDERSTAND THE CHILDREN,
THESE PROBLEMS WOULDN'T EXIST.
THE CHILDREN AREN'T STUPID.
THEY KNOW WHEN THE TEACHERS
ARE THERE TO HELP THEM.
WELL, WHEN MY FAMILY MOVED
HERE FROM BIRMINGHAM IN 1965,
THEY CAME FROM TOTALLY
SEGREGATED SCHOOLS.
THE CHILDREN WERE ALL BLACK,
THE TEACHERS WERE ALL BLACK,
THE PRINCIPALS WERE ALL BLACK.
ONE OF MY SONS WAS ABOVE THE
NATIONAL AVERAGE IN MATHEMATICS,
BUT WHEN HE CAME TO THE
SCHOOLS HERE IN BROOKLYN,
WITHIN ONE YEAR,
HE WAS FLUNKING MATH.
AND I WENT TO THE SCHOOL
TO FIND OUT WHY.
THE TEACHER SAID
MY SON WAS DOING FINE.
I SAID, "HE'S NOT
BRINGING HOME ASSIGNMENTS
"AND HE'S FLUNKING MATH.
"AND HE CAME HERE FROM ALABAMA,
"AND HE WAS AHEAD
OF THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
"AND YOU'RE TELLING ME
HE'S DOING FINE.
SOMETHING IS WRONG."
Narrator:
IN NEW YORK CITY,
ONLY HALF OF THE CHILDREN
IN BLACK AND LATINO
NEIGHBORHOODS
FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL.
TO MAKE THE SCHOOLS WORK
FOR THEIR CHILDREN,
PARENTS IN THE
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
SECTION OF BROOKLYN
PLANNED TO TAKE CHARGE.
IN THE BEGINNING,
CITY OFFICIALS WERE HOPEFUL.
THIS DECENTRALIZATION PLAN DOES
FOR OUR CITY SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK
EXACTLY WHAT ANY STABLE, GOOD
SCHOOL IN ANY SUBURB HAS...
WHICH IS TO INVOLVE
THE PARENTS SUFFICIENTLY,
SO THEY HAVE A STAKE IN
THE WHOLE PROCESS OF SCHOOLS
AND THAT'S ALL WE SEEK TO DO.
Narrator:
IN 1967, WITH SUPPORT
FROM THE FORD FOUNDATION,
THE CITY MADE
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
AN EXPERIMENTAL DISTRICT.
AN INTERRACIAL GOVERNING BOARD,
ELECTED BY THE COMMUNITY,
CHOSE EDUCATOR RHODY McCOY
TO LEAD THE EXPERIMENT.
HE BECAME THE FIRST BLACK
SUPERINTENDENT IN NEW YORK CITY.
THE BLACK PEOPLE IN THIS
COMMUNITY HAVE ASSUMED
THE RESPONSIBILITY
FOR THEIR SCHOOLS,
TO TRY TO IMPROVE
AND SET THE STAGE
FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
IN AN URBAN SETTING.
AND THIS IS WHAT THE EXPERIMENT
WAS DESIGNED TO DO,
AND THIS IS THE REASON THAT
THE PARENTS BECAME INVOLVED.
IT WAS A JOY TO GO
TO A BOARD MEETING.
NOT ONLY WERE THE
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
BUT THE COMMUNITY FOLK
WERE SITTING AROUND,
AND THEY HAD AS MUCH
INPUT AS THE BOARD MEMBERS.
AND IT WAS ALWAYS
ON A POSITIVE NOTE...
"HOW DO WE HELP THE YOUNGSTERS?"
Narrator:
BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT,
FOUR OUT OF FIVE TEACHERS
IN THE DISTRICT WERE WHITE.
NOW, YOUNGER TEACHERS,
A NUMBER OF THEM BLACK,
TRANSFERRED TO
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE.
THE STUDENTS, 95% BLACK
AND LATINO, RESPONDED.
YOU FELT MORE ACCEPTED.
YOU WEREN'T THE OUTSIDER
IN YOUR OWN SCHOOL.
THEY WERE PART OF
YOUR ENVIRONMENT...
I MEAN, THEY WERE BLACK.
YOU CAN IDENTIFY WITH THEM
AND THEY CAN IDENTIFY WITH YOU.
IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
THERE'S NO BIG MYSTERY.
Narrator:
AT FIRST, THE NEWLY FORMED
TEACHERS' UNION,
THE UNITED
FEDERATION OF TEACHERS,
SUPPORTED THE EXPERIMENT.
BUT WITH ADMINISTRATIVE
DECISIONS
NOW BEING MADE BY THE COMMUNITY,
THE TEACHERS WERE WORRIED.
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO
BE AN EXPERIMENT
AND AN INVOLVEMENT OF
TEACHERS AND PARENTS.
AND, SUDDENLY, DECISIONS
STARTED TO GET MADE
AND NO ONE KNEW HOW THEY WERE
MADE OR WHERE THEY WERE MADE,
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF WARINESS
ON THE PART OF TEACHERS.
Narrator:
ALBERT SHANKER, THE U.F.T.
PRESIDENT, QUESTIONED
WHERE DECENTRALIZATION OF
THE SCHOOLS MIGHT LEAD.
UNDER THE NEW PROPOSAL,
TEACHERS AND SUPERVISORS
WOULD BE HIRED
ON THE BASIS OF INTERVIEW
BY LOCAL PEOPLE.
AND THIS WOULD MEAN THAT
NEW YORK CITY WOULD BE FACED
WITH THE SAME PROBLEM
OTHER AREAS ARE...
NAMELY, WHERE LOCAL PEOPLE
DON'T WANT WHITES,
THERE WON'T BE
ANY WHITES TEACHING;
WHERE THEY DON'T WANT
ANY BLACKS,
THERE WON'T BE ANY BLACKS;
AND WHERE THEY DON'T WANT JEWS,
OR ITALIANS
OR IRISH OR ANYBODY ELSE,
WE WILL ESSENTIALLY DEVELOP,
WITHIN NEW YORK CITY,
A SERIES OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS
THAT ARE MORE SEGREGATED
THAN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS
AT THE PRESENT TIME.
AND I SAY THAT IS THE BEGINNING
OF DESTRUCTION OF
OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Narrator:
THROUGH THE 1967-1968 SCHOOL
YEAR, THE COMMUNITY BOARD WORKED
TO ASSEMBLE AN INTEGRATED
TEACHING STAFF.
SOME TENURED TEACHERS RESISTED
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTROL OF SCHOOLS.
THE COMMUNITY BOARD
FACED A DILEMMA.
IN MAY, THE LOCAL BOARD
HAD ITS REGULAR MEETING.
I GUESS WE WERE HAVING MEETINGS,
AT THAT POINT,
ABOUT EVERY TWO WEEKS.
AND ON THE AGENDA THAT NIGHT,
McCOY HAD PUT AN ITEM:
THE TRANSFER OF 13 TEACHERS AND
ALSO SOME ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS...
I GUESS THERE WAS
FIVE OR SIX OF THEM.
AND WE SAT DOWN AND TALKED TO
THE GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS
OF THE SCHOOL,
AND THE PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL,
AND WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING
TO WORK WELL IN THE SYSTEM.
AND THEY HAD ALSO DEMONSTRATED
THAT THEY WERE OPPOSED TO
THE EXPERIMENT.
WE WERE ASKING TEACHERS
TO MAKE AN EXTRA EFFORT
TO GET ALONG WITH OUR KIDS,
TO TEACH OUR KIDS.
IF THERE WAS ANY PROBLEM,
TO POSSIBLY VISIT IN THE HOMES.
WELL, THE UNION DIDN'T... THIS
WASN'T IN THEIR CONTRACT.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO
ANY OF THESE THINGS.
THERE WAS DISCUSSION.
THERE WAS DISAGREEMENT.
THERE WAS A VOTE.
AND WE FINALLY CAME
TO A CONCLUSION THAT,
SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A
DEMONSTRATION DISTRICT...
THIS IS LIKE EIGHT MONTHS
AFTER IT HAD BEGUN...
THAT SOME OF THESE PEOPLE
WOULD HAVE TO BE TRAFERRED;
WOULD HAVE TO GO.
BUT, AGAIN...
TRANSFERRING TEACHERS
FROM ONE DISTRICT TO ANOTHER,
WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION,
WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS
VERY ORDINARY.
IF A TEACHER WAS HAVING
PROBLEMS,
YOU WOULD SIMPLY CALL UP
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
DOWN AT LIVINGSTON STREET
AND THE PERSON WOULD
BE TRANSFERRED.
NO QUESTIONS WERE ASKED.
BUT WHEN McCOY TRIED TO DO IT,
OF COURSE, THAT CREATED
THE SCENE OF THE CENTURY.
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS ARGUED THAT
THE TRANSFERS WERE ILLEGAL.
THE CITY AGREED.
THE DISMISSED TEACHERS
ATTEMPTED TO RETURN
TO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL 271,
BUT COMMUNITY MEMBERS
REFUSED TO LET THEM IN.
Woman:
GET OUT OF HERE, MR. GOLDBERG.
NOW WHAT YOU WANT HERE?
YOU RECEIVED A LETTER
FROM THE GOVERNING BOARD, RIGHT?
THIS IS THE PARENTS
AND THE COMMUNITY,
SO YOU LET YOUR ALBERT SHANKER
CONTINUE RUNNING YOUR LIFE,
AND KEEP ON MAKING IT!
YOU'RE NOT COMING
IN THIS SCHOOL!
WELL, THERE'S 19,
THERE ARE MANY MORE,
BUT WE FIGURED
WE'D START SLOWLY.
THESE 19 HAVE BEEN
KNOCKING THE PROGRAM
HAVE BEEN CAUSING TROUBLE
IN THE SCHOOLS.
WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE
TELLING THE BLACK CHILDREN
THAT THE PUERTO RICANS
ARE AGAINST THEM,
AND THE PUERTO RICANS
ARE AGAINST THE BLACKS.
WE HAVE TO TAKE STEPS
TO KEEP THESE PEOPLE OUT;
TO MAKE SURE THESE
PEOPLE ARE NOT ALLOWED IN
TO MISEDUCATE OUR KIDS.
BECAUSE IF WE ALLOW THIS,
THEN WE'RE CONDONING IT
BECAUSE WE'RE PAYING
THEIR SALARIES.
YOU'RE SABOTAGING
THE CLASSES.
NOW I TRIED TO FIND OUT
WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT, SIR.
DO YOU KNOW?
THOSE CHARGES THAT WAS MADE
PREVIOUSLY,
OR THE STATEMENT THAT'S BEEN
MADE PREVIOUSLY,
IS THAT WE'RE
SABOTAGING THE PROJECT.
NOW, IF THAT MEANS QUESTIONING
SOME OF THE ACTIONS
OF THE GOVERNING BOARD,
THEN WE MUST PLEAD GUILTY
FOR THIS.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN
IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT
WITH EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE.
OBVIOUSLY,
WE'RE NOT IN AGREEMENT
WITH WHAT THEY'VE DONE NOW.
AT NO TIME HAD ANYBODY MENTIONED
THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM
WITH MY SERVICE
OR, FOR THAT MATTER,
WITH ANY OF THE PEOPLE
WHO WERE NAMED
OR CERTAINLY
THE MAJORITY OF THEM.
I DIDN'T KNOW THEM ALL.
BUT HERE WAS THIS LETTER
THAT ORDERED ME OUT.
SO ALL I CAN SAY IS
I WAS DUMBFOUNDED.
Narrator:
350 UNION TEACHERS WALKED OUT OF
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE SCHOOLS
TO SUPPORT THE
DISMISSED TEACHERS.
THE COMMUNITY VOWED
TO KEEP THE SCHOOLS OPEN
AND MAINTAIN CONTROL.
SO, AT ONE POINT,
THE ISSUE WAS
JUST REMOVING THOSE
TEACHERS FROM OUR COMPLEX.
AND NOW, THE BASIC ISSUE
HAS TO DO WITH
TOTAL COMMUNITY CONTROL
OVER THE SCHOOLS.
Reporter:
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, MR. McCOY?
IT MEANS CONTROL
OVER THE SCHOOLS:
PERSONNEL,
FINANCE, EVERYTHING.
Reporter:
HIRING, FIRING?
ABSOLUTELY.
Narrator:
SEPTEMBER, 1968:
A NEW SCHOOL YEAR.
THE LOCAL BOARD REFUSED TO TAKE
BACK THE DISMISSED TEACHERS.
THE TEACHERS UNION CALLED
A CITY-WIDE STRIKE.
IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
EDUCATION STOPPED FOR
ONE MILLION CHILDREN.
YOU HYPOCRITE!
Narrator:
BUT IN OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE,
MANY TEACHERS, BLACK AND WHITE,
CROSSED THE PICKET LINES
IN DEFIANCE OF THE UNION.
I CAME INTO THE DISTRICT
BECAUSE
I WANT TO BE ACCOUNTABLE
TO THE COMMUNITY.
IF I'M NOT DOING A JOB, THEN
I WANT THEM TO KICK ME OUT.
SEE, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY
THAT WE'RE GONNA
BRING ABOUT ANY CHANGE.
WE HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE
TO SOMEONE.
IN THE NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL
SYSTEM,
THERE'S NO PROBLEM...
NOBODY GETS FIRED.
Man:
WELL, THE STRIKE WAS A UNIFYING
FACTOR IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
GROUPS THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY
BEEN AT EACH OTHERS' THROAT,
FOUND THEMSELVES TOGETHER
AT RALLIES AND MEETINGS
SURROUNDING OCEAN HILL.
IT WAS AN ISSUE THAT,
WHETHER YOU WERE CORE
OR THE N.A.A.C.P.,
OR THE URBAN LEAGUE
OR THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
OR THE REPUBLIC OF NEW AFRICA,
YOU COULD RALLY AROUND
THIS COMMUNITY ISSUE.
EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD
THE IMPORTANCE
OF BLACK CHILDREN RECEIVING
A QUALITY EDUCATION.
DURING THE STRIKE OF 1968,
DURING THE FALL,
PROBABLY THE PLACE THAT
I SPENT MOST OF MY TIME WAS
IN FRONT OF 271,
AND THE SCENE THAT
I REMEMBER THERE MOST...
AND I'VE OFTEN THOUGHT OF IT...
IS A SCENE OF CHILDREN
COMING TO SCHOOL
WITH THEIR BOOKS, VERY INTENT.
AND I THINK THEY ALSO
UNDERSTOOD THE POLITICS...
JUST WHAT WAS ALL GOING ON HERE.
Jordan:
WE CAME IN FROM
THE HOWARD AVENUE SIDE.
AND WE HAD TO GO THROUGH
BARRICADES TO GET TO THE SCHOOL
AND YOU'D LOOK UP
ON THE ROOFTOPS...
ACROSS THE STREET
FROM THE SCHOOL...
THE COPS WERE WITH
THE HELMET GEAR
AND THE PLAYGROUND WAS
CONVERTED INTO A PRECINCT
AND WALKING UP TO THE SCHOOL,
YOU HAVE JUST MASS CONFUSION.
YOU HAVE THE COMMUNITY
PEOPLE OUT THERE.
YOU HAVE THE U.F.T.
YOU WERE JUST AMAZED.
YOU COULDN'T BELIEVE
THIS WAS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW?
AND YOU JUST WENT TO SCHOOL.
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS WHO REMAINED
IN THE CLASSROOM
LOOKED FOR NEW WAYS
TO TEACH THE BASIC SKILLS.
SOME ALSO BROUGHT
A NEW CULTURAL AWARENESS.
Teacher:
TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT
THE YORUBA CULTURE
OF WEST AFRICA.
WE CAN TRACE... IF WE COULD TRACE
OUR ANCESTRAL LINE BACK,
MOST OF US WOULD GO BACK
TO THE YORUBA TRIBE.
Jordan:
WHAT THE BLACK
TEACHERS DID DO WAS
TO BROADEN US, OUR PERSPECTIVE
OF LOOKING AT THINGS.
WE WERE NO LONGER MEMBERS
OF A SMALL COMMUNITY
CALLED OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE.
WE WERE BROADENED
TO W.E.B. DUBOIS, HIS READINGS;
LANGSTON HUGHES, MALCOLM X,
MARCUS GARVEY, H. RAP BROWN,
MAO TSE-TUNG, THE RED BOOK.
I MEAN, WE BECAME INTERNATIONAL,
AND IT WAS A GOOD THING
BECAUSE BLACK PEOPLE
ARE THE THIRD WORLD.
THE THIRD WORLD IS MUCH LARGER
THAN EUROPEAN HISTORY.
Narrator:
OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK CITY
SCHOOLS,
THE BATTLE WAS ESCALATING.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS QUESTIONED
THE UNION'S COMMITMENT
TO THE CHILDREN.
UNION LEADERS CHARGED EXTREMISTS
HAD TAKEN OVER THE EXPERIMENT.
I THINK THE PUBLIC SEES
WHAT'S GOING ON.
EVERY SINGLE PARENT
IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
UNDERSTANDS THAT IF MR. McCOY
AND THE OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
GOVERNING BOARD SUCCEED,
THAT THEY WILL BE NEXT,
THAT THERE WILL BE
PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES
WHO WILL SEE THIS
AS A MODEL OF SUCCESS,
AND MOVE IN AND TAKE OVER
THESE INSTITUTIONS.
Narrator:
THE CITY ORDERED
THE COMMUNITY BOARD
TO ALLOW THE UNION
TEACHERS TO RETURN.
NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS DECLARED
THE COMMUNITY WOULD DECIDE.
THE COMMUNITY HAS SAID IT
ALREADY:
THEY DON'T WANT THEM THERE
SO THAT MEANS
THEY'RE NOT COMING IN.
Reporter:
IS THAT BECAUSE
THEY'RE WHITE?
I DON'T KNOW; YOU'D HAVE TO ASK
THE GOVERNMENT BOARD.
IF IT WAS LEFT UP TO ME,
THEY WOULDN'T BE LET IN
SIMPLY BECAUSE
THEY WERE WHITE; RIGHT.
YOU WOULD
KEEP THEM OUT.
RIGHT.
I CERTAINLY WOULD.
WHY?
BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT
ANY WHITE PERSON IS INTERESTED
IN GIVING BLACK CHILDREN
AN EDUCATION.
THAT'S MY PARTICULAR FEELING.
WHAT IF THEY PERSIST IN
TRYING TO GET IN HERE?
WELL, UH, BY WHATEVER MEANS
NECESSARY,
THEY'RE GONNA BE KEPT OUT.
Narrator:
THE TEACHERS UNION ACCUSED
THE COMMUNITY
OF ANTI-SEMITISM.
IN A CITY WITH A JEWISH
POPULATION OF OVER ONE MILLION,
THE CHARGE CARRIED
ENORMOUS POLITICAL WEIGHT.
ALTHOUGH MANY JEWISH TEACHERS
CROSSED PICKET LINES
AND CONTINUED TO TEACH,
THE ACCUSATION THREATENED
CITY SUPPORT OF THE EXPERIMENT.
Man:
IT IS A WELL-KNOWN FACT THAT
THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY
OF THE TEACHERS IN NEW YORK CITY
ARE OF THE JEWISH FAITH.
WE HAVE BECOME THE BUTT
OF THEIR RESENTMENT.
AND IT IS, I THINK,
BUT ONE SIMPLE STEP
FROM RESENTING WHITE PEOPLE
TO RESENTING JEWISH PEOPLE,
SINCE MOST OF
THE TEACHERS ARE JEWISH.
I DIDN'T FEEL THEN
AND I DON'T FEEL NOW
THAT ANTI-SEMITISM WAS
A MAJOR PART OF THAT SITUATION.
IT WAS A BLACK-WHITE
CONFRONTATION.
A LOT OF THE TEACHERS INVOLVED
WERE JEWISH,
SO SOME PEOPLE DREW THAT
CONCLUSION FROM THE START.
Reporter:
REVEREND OLIVER,
WHAT ABOUT
THE BUSINESS OF
ANTI-SEMITISM?
WHAT KIND OF SCARS DO YOU THINK
THIS IS GOING TO LEAVE?
YES, THERE WILL BE
SCARS LEFT, IT SEEMS,
BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN SO
MANY UNTRUTHS FLOATING AROUND.
BUT, UH, PEOPLE MUST...
THE TEACHERS MUST REALIZE
THAT THE COMMUNITIES
MUST BE HEARD.
THE PEOPLE OF THE
COMMUNITY MUST BE HEARD,
AND IT APPARENTLY DOES
NOT SIT WELL WITH THEM
TO HAVE TO RECKON WITH
THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES,
BUT THEY WILL HAVE TO.
AND IT'S UNFORTUNATE
THAT SCARS MUST COME,
BUT WE HAVE HAD
300 YEARS OF SCARS,
AND IT'S ABOUT TIME
THOSE SCARS WERE HEALING.
Narrator:
THE COMMUNITY BOARD
REFUSED TO GIVE UP
CONTROL OF THE CLASSROOMS.
ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO
CARE ABOUT YOU ARE HERE.
THE TEACHERS ARE HERE...
WHITE AND BLACK
TEACHERS ARE HERE.
THERE ARE SOME WHITE TEACHERS
WHO ARE SUPPORTING US.
WE ARE GRATEFUL TO ALL OF
OUR FRIENDS AND ALL PEOPLE
WHO BELIEVE IN FAIRNESS
TO BLACK AND WHITE PEOPLE.
COME IN, CHILDREN.
COME IN, CHILDREN.
Narrator:
OCTOBER, 1968...
FEARING A CONTINUATION
OF THE CITY-WIDE STRIKES,
THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD
OF EDUCATION SUSPENDED
THE OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
COMMUNITY BOARD.
MR. McCOY HAS INDICATED
TO ME CLEARLY
THAT HE INTENDS TO OBEY
THE DIRECTIONS OF THE SUSPENDED
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
SCHOOL BOARD,
AND NOT THOSE OF
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
OR THE SUPERINTENDENT
OF SCHOOLS.
IT IS NECESSARY, THEREFORE,
FOR ME TO RELIEVE
MR. McCOY OF HIS DUTIES.
Narrator:
CONFRONTATIONS BROKE OUT IN
OTHER NEW YORK NEIGHBORHOODS
AS BLACKS AND LATINOS PROTESTED
THE CITY'S WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT
FOR COMMUNITY CONTROL
OF SCHOOLS.
WHY CAN'T YOU
PROTECT ME?!
YOUR MOTHER WAS BLACK.
YOUR WIFE IS BLACK,
IF YOU'VE GOT ONE.
WHY CAN'T YOU PROTECT ME?
THIS IS A STRUGGLE AGAINST
EDUCATIONAL COLONIALISM.
THEY TOOK OVER THE SCHOOL AGAIN.
WE WERE HERE!
HERE WITH OUR PEOPLE,
TRYING TO RUN OUR SCHOOLS.
NOW, IN DEFIANCE OF THAT,
THE WHITE COMMUNITY HAS SAID
"YOU GOTTA COOL IT, MAN...
UNTIL WE CAN GIVE IT TO YOU."
THEY'RE NOT GOING
TO GIVE US A DARN THING.
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE
WHAT BELONGS TO US!
WE'RE GOING
TO TAKE WHAT BELONGS TO US!
Narrator:
THE CITY AND THE
TEACHERS UNION AGREED...
THE EXPERIMENT MUST END.
THE COMMUNITY BOARD'S
POWER WAS TAKEN AWAY.
BUT IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS,
MANY WERE MOVED BY THE STRUGGLE
OF THE OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE
COMMUNITY.
FROM NEW YORK'S FIVE BOROUGHS,
THOUSANDS MARCHED TO CITY HALL
IN SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY
CONTROL OF SCHOOLS.
THERE WAS A LOT OF
DISAPPOINTMENT
ON THE PARTS OF ALL US AND I
THINK WE FELT EXTREMELY BAD.
WE HAD PUT AN AWFUL LOT
OF EFFORT INTO THIS.
BUT I THINK THIS WAS A PERIOD...
THE '60s WAS SUCH AN
INCREDIBLY INTERESTING PERIOD
THAT I THINK WE REALIZED, ALSO,
THAT SOMETHING REALLY
GOOD HAD HAPPENED.
Crowd:
WE WANT RHODY!
WE WANT RHODY!
WE WANT RHODY! WE WANT RHODY!
YOU'VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THESE WERE COMMUNITY PEOPLE
WHO WERE DISENFRANCHISED
WITH THE SYSTEM,
WHO WERE NAMELESS AND FACELESS,
WHO HAD NEVER BEEN
INCORPORATED AND INCLUDED,
EVEN THOUGH THEIR CHILDREN
WERE MANDATED TO GO TO SCHOOL.
FOR THEM TO TAKE ON THAT
RESPONSIBILITY WAS TREMENDOUS.
Narrator:
THE DEMONSTRATORS THEN HEADED
ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
TO MARCH TO BOARD OF
EDUCATION HEADQUARTERS
IN SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY OF
OCEAN HILL-BROWNSVILLE.
Torres:
THERE WAS A LOT
OF PEOPLE YELLING
"BLACK POWER, BLACK POWER,
POWER TO THE PEOPLE."
"POWER TO THE PEOPLE" I LIKED
BECAUSE I THINK THAT WHAT
WE WERE GOING THROUGH...
ANY POOR NEIGHBORHOOD,
REGARDLESS OF THE ETHNIC MAKEUP,
WAS GOING THROUGH
THE SAME THING.
SO I LIKED
"POWER TO THE PEOPLE."
PEOPLE REALLY NEEDED
TO HAVE SOME POWER
AND WE REALLY NEEDED, AS
A SCHOOL BOARD, TO HAVE POWER.
Narrator:
IT WAS 1968.
COMMUNITIES ACROSS AMERICA,
EACH CHOOSING DIFFERENT PATHS,
ORGANIZED IN THE
STRUGGLE FOR POWER.
"POWER TO THE PEOPLE" WAS A
PROMISE AS OLD AS THE NATION.
NOW, NEW VOICES DEMANDED
THAT THE PROMISE BE FULFILLED.
THIS IS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION
OF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
MAJOR FUNDING FOR AMERICAN
EXPERIENCE with captioning
IS PROVIDED BY THE
ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION.
NATIONAL CORPORATE FUNDING
IS PROVIDED BY LIBERTY MUTUAL
AND THE SCOTTS COMPANY.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
IS ALSO MADE POSSIBLE
BY THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
FUNDING FOR THE RE-RELEASE
OF EYES ON THE PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE BY: