American Experience (1988–…): Season 20, Episode 8 - Eyes on the Prize II (Parts VII & VIII): The Keys to the Kingdom/Back to the Movement - 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. ♪
♪ BLUE SKIES SMILING AT ME ♪
♪ NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES
DO I SEE... ♪
Woman:
WHEN BROWN AGAINST THE BOARD
OF EDUCATION WAS DECIDED, 1954,
I HAPPENED TO BE DOWNTOWN
IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE,
WITH MY HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER.
AND WE WERE BUYING
SOME MATERIALS
FOR THE SENIOR CLASS PLAY.
I WAS GRADUATING THAT YEAR.
AND I SAW THE HEADLINE ON THE
CASE AND I SAID TO MY TEACHER,
"YOU KNOW,
THIS MEANS THAT NEXT YEAR
"ALL THE KIDS WILL BE
GOING TO SCHOOL TOGETHER.
THEY WON'T HAVE TO BE GOING
TO SEPARATE SCHOOLS."
AND SHE SAID, "IT'S NOT GOING
TO HAPPEN QUITE THAT FAST.
NOT NEXT YEAR."
Man:
NO MORE SEGREGATION.
♪ NO MORE SEGREGATION... ♪
Narrator:
TEN YEARS
AFTER THE SUPREME COURT
RULED SCHOOL
SEGREGATION UNLAWFUL
THE FIGHT FOR BLACK PROGRESS
HAD MOVED NORTH
TO BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
WHEN WE FIGHT ABOUT EDUCATION,
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR WHAT
THAT EDUCATION WILL GIVE US.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR A JOB.
WE'RE FIGHTING TO EAT.
WE'RE FIGHTING TO PAY
OUR MEDICAL BILLS.
WE'RE FIGHTING
FOR A LOT OF THINGS.
SO THIS IS A TOTAL FIGHT
WITH US.
Narrator:
BY THE 1960s, A SMALL
BUT GROWING NUMBER OF PARENTS
AND TEACHERS WERE COMPLAINING
ABOUT CONDITIONS IN THE SCHOOLS.
HERE I WAS A BRAND NEW TEACHER
COMING INTO MY FIRST
TEACHING EXPERIENCE.
AND I WALKED INTO THIS OLD
BUILDING BUILT IN 1842
NAMED AFTER A WONDERFUL
NEW ENGLAND WRITER,
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT.
AND I HAD 42 STUDENTS, 36 SEATS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE NEW CRAYONS.
WE HAD A BOX
OF OLD NUBBLY CRAYONS.
PENCILS HAD TO BE COLLECTED
AT THE END OF THE DAY
SO YOU WOULD HAVE ENOUGH FOR
THE CHILDREN FOR THE NEXT DAY.
THERE WASN'T ENOUGH WHITE PAPER.
Narrator:
BOOKS WERE OFTEN
IN SHORT SUPPLY
AND SOMETIMES CONTAINED
LESSONS THAT DAMAGED.
McGuire:
AND HERE WAS THIS BOOK I FOUND
WHICH HAD, UM... IT HAD THE WORD
"NIGGERS" IN IT...
"TEN LITTLE NIGGERS
SITTING ON A FENCE,
NINE LITTLE NIGGERS
PLAYING IN A LINE."
AND IT WAS JUST LIKE "TEN LITTLE
INDIANS, NINE LITTLE INDIANS"
AND IT WAS VERY OFFENSIVE.
MANY OF THE NEGRO
PARENTS BELIEVE
THAT A PREDOMINANTLY NEGRO
SCHOOL IS INFERIOR PER SE.
BUT WE HERE IN BOSTON
DO NOT BELIEVE THAT PREMISE.
Narrator:
LOUISE DAY HICKS SAID
THAT THE SCHOOLS WERE FINE
THE WAY THEY WERE.
THE CITY'S TOP VOTE-GETTER
IN THE MID '60s,
HICKS CHAIRED
THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
IN 1965, ONE IN FOUR
STUDENTS WAS BLACK.
ONLY ONE IN 200 TEACHERS
WAS BLACK
AND THERE WAS NOT
ONE BLACK PRINCIPAL.
THE N.A.A.C.P. BROUGHT
PARENTS' CONCERNS
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
WE JUST WANTED THEM TO SAY,
"YES, THERE IS SEGREGATION
IN THE SCHOOLS,"
AND WE WANTED THEM
TO ACKNOWLEDGE
AND TO COMMIT THEMSELVES
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I FEEL THAT AT THIS TIME
ANY SCHOOL THAT IS
PREDOMINANTLY NEGRO
IS AN INADEQUATE SCHOOL.
I DIDN'T HEAR
WHAT YOU SAID,
MRS. JOHNSON.
I SAID THAT ANY SCHOOL
THAT IS PREDOMINANTLY
NEGRO, IN BOSTON,
IS AN INADEQUATE SCHOOL.
BUT MRS. JOHNSON,
THE SUPERINTENDENT
OF SCHOOLS
HAS STATED
AS HIS POLICY
THAT A RACIALLY
IMBALANCED SCHOOL
IS NOT
EDUCATIONALLY
HARMFUL.
WELL... MRS. HICKS,
MADAME CHAIRMAN,
MAY I SAY THIS:
SUPERINTENDENT OHRENBERGER
AND YOURSELF
AND OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS
DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN IN
A RACIALLY IMBALANCED SCHOOL
SO YOU DO NOT KNOW
WHAT THE EFFECT IS
ON OUR CHILDREN.
Woman:
THE STATEMENT THAT WE MADE
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE SAID
THAT WHERE THERE WERE
A MAJORITY OF BLACK STUDENTS
THERE WAS NOT CONCERN
FOR HOW THESE KIDS LEARNED...
THAT THERE WERE
CROWDED CLASSROOMS,
TEMPORARY TEACHERS, NOT ENOUGH
BOOKS, SUPPLIES WERE LOW
AND ALL OF THAT KIND OF THING.
EVEN PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
WERE POOR.
Narrator:
COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS COULD NOT
FORCE THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
TO ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM.
THIS PLAN DOESN'T NEED BRAINS.
IT JUST NEEDS SOME GOODWILL
AND SOME COMMON SENSE.
Narrator:
PARENTS RESPONDED
WITH A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES
THROUGHOUT THE MID-'60s.
THEY ORGANIZED ONE-DAY SCHOOL
BOYCOTTS AND FREEDOM SCHOOLS.
BUT SHORT-TERM PROTEST
WAS NOT ENOUGH.
THEY RAN CANDIDATES
FOR THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE,
BUT THEY LOST.
THEY PUSHED THROUGH A STATE LAW
OUTLAWING RACIALLY
IMBALANCED SCHOOLS.
BUT THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REFUSED TO ENFORCE IT.
NOT YET 15% OF THE CITY,
BLACKS WERE A MINORITY TOO SMALL
TO STRONGLY INFLUENCE ELECTIONS
OR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
SO PARENTS TOOK MATTERS
INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
SOME SET UP VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS
THAT MOVED CHILDREN
TO EMPTY SEATS IN WHITE SCHOOLS.
WE DECIDED THAT WHERE THERE WERE
A LARGE NUMBER OF WHITE STUDENTS
THAT'S WHERE THE CARE WENT.
THAT'S WHERE THE BOOKS WENT.
THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY WENT.
SO THEREFORE, OUR THEORY WAS,
MOVE OUR KIDS INTO THOSE SCHOOLS
WHERE THEY'RE PUTTING
ALL OF THE RESOURCES
SO THAT THEY CAN GET
A BETTER EDUCATION.
Teacher and students:
"KUJICHAGULIA" MEANS
SELF-DETERMINATION...
Narrator:
OTHER PARENTS TOOK
A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
INSTEAD OF WORKING TO INTEGRATE
WHITE SCHOOLS,
THEY ESTABLISHED THEIR OWN
PARENT-RUN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.
Teacher:
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
Students:
NO.
GO TO WORK.
PARENTS SAW THAT
PUBLIC EDUCATION
WAS NOT OFFERING YOUNG PEOPLE
NOT ONLY THE STRONG
EDUCATION THAT THEY NEEDED,
BUT THE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS,
A RECOGNITION OF WHO THEY WERE
AS AFRICAN-AMERICANS
JUST WAS NOT HAPPENING IN THE
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO THERE WAS A REAL MOVE,
COMMUNITY-WIDE
TO DEVELOP INSTITUTIONS THAT
WOULD MEET BOTH OF THOSE NEEDS.
Narrator:
THE BLACK COMMUNITY COULD NOT
AFFORD TO TRANSPORT
ALL ITS STUDENTS
TO WHITE SCHOOLS,
NOR TO RUN
ITS OWN SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THE BATTLE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
WOULD HAVE TO BE FOUGHT
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THAT STRUGGLE HAD BEEN
GOING ON FOR A DECADE.
BLACK PARENTS WERE NOT GOING
TO GIVE UP.
THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
WAS NOT GOING TO GIVE IN
AND MOST OTHER CITY LEADERS
DID NOT WANT TO GET INVOLVED.
I THINK IT'S NOT UNFAIR TO SAY
THAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY,
THE FINANCIAL COMMUNITY
AND, I WOULD SAY,
THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
TOOK A WALK IN THE EARLY 1970s,
LEAVING, REALLY, ONLY THE
POLITICIANS AND THE PARENTS
AS THE PEOPLE WHO CARED
ABOUT THE ISSUE.
IN A CERTAIN SENSE, THE PARENTS
GOT PITTED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER...
WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS
AGAINST BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS...
IN A WAY THAT NO ONE
HAD EVER BARGAINED FOR.
Narrator:
IN 1972, UNDER
N.A.A.C.P. LEADERSHIP,
BLACK PARENTS FILED
A CLASS ACTION SUIT
AGAINST THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT.
A CONFRONTATION WAS LOOMING
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE CITY
IN WAYS NEVER EXPECTED.
WE FILED A LAWSUIT
IN THE FEDERAL COURT
BECAUSE THERE WAS
NO OTHER PLACE FOR US TO GO.
IT WAS LITERALLY
THE COURT OF LAST RESORT.
HERE WE GO, BOSTON,
HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
IN A CITY WHERE NEIGHBORHOODS
WERE DIVIDED BY RACE,
DESEGREGATING THE SCHOOLS
WOULD MEAN BUSING CHILDREN
FROM ONE NEIGHBORHOOD
TO ANOTHER.
I WOULDN'T CARE
IF THEY WERE GREEN OR PURPLE.
IT'S THE IDEA
OF PUTTING MY KID ON A BUS
WHEN I HAVE A SCHOOL RIGHT
ACROSS THE STREET
FROM WHERE THEY SHOULD GO.
I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR
THEY ARE.
Narrator:
ON JUNE 21, 1974,
FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
W. ARTHUR GARRITY
RULED THAT THE BOSTON SCHOOL
COMMITTEE WAS GUILTY
OF CONSCIOUSLY MAINTAINING
TWO SEPARATE SCHOOL SYSTEMS...
ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE.
HE ORDERED AN IMMEDIATE REMEDY...
CITYWIDE BUSING,
TO START IN SEPTEMBER.
LESS THAN A MILE SEPARATED
TWO OF BOSTON'S
POORER NEIGHBORHOODS.
ROXBURY WAS THE HEART
OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
SOUTH BOSTON WAS
LOUISE DAY HICKS' HOME
AND A CENTER
OF WHITE RESISTANCE.
STUDENTS WERE TO BE BUSED
BETWEEN THE TWO NEIGHBORHOODS.
WHEN GARRITY'S DECISION
CAME DOWN IN JUNE OF 1974,
WE WERE SUNK WHEN WE HEARD
SOME OF THE REMEDIES,
THE ONE OF BUSING
TO SOUTH BOSTON,
BECAUSE THOSE OF US WHO HAD
LIVED IN BOSTON ALL OF OUR LIVES
KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE
A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT THING
TO PULL OFF.
Narrator:
WITH THE OPENING OF SCHOOL
ONLY 12 WEEKS AWAY,
POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
AMONG BLACKS GAVE WAY
TO SHARED CONCERN
FOR THE SAFETY OF THE CHILDREN.
FREEDOM HOUSE,
A ROXBURY COMMUNITY CENTER,
COORDINATED BLACK
PREPARATIONS FOR BUSING.
ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES DURING
THAT PERIOD OVER THE SUMMER
WAS TO ASSURE THAT THERE WOULD
BE A PEACEFUL TRANSITION
AND THAT WE WOULD COMMIT
OURSELVES TO DO THAT.
WE STAND UNITED
AT THIS CRITICAL TIME
TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP
AND RESOURCE
TO THE PARENTS AND CHILDREN
WHO ARE RESIDENTS
IN OUR COMMUNITY
AND THOSE CHILDREN
WITH THEIR PARENTS
WHO WILL BE ATTENDING PUBLIC
SCHOOLS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
WE CALL ON OTHER SECTIONS
IN THE CITY TO ASSUME
THE SAME KIND
OF RESPONSIBILITIES
THAT WE ARE ASSUMING.
BOSTON IS A VERY HIDEBOUND,
DISTRUSTFUL, TURF-CONSCIOUS,
CLASS-CONSCIOUS, PAROCHIAL CITY,
FULL OF PEOPLE WHO DID NOT MAKE
MUCH PROGRESS OVER THE YEARS.
I'M TALKING ABOUT WHITE FOLKS.
THEY WERE NOT
MIDDLE-INCOME PEOPLE.
THEY WERE POOR FOLK
AND THEY WERE RUNNING
HARD-SCRABBLE OPERATIONS
AND THEY WERE SCARED FOLK.
BY THE TIME BUSING CAME AROUND,
THESE PEOPLE WERE
RIPE FOR REVOLUTION.
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
PEOPLE, AS A COMMUNITY...
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
THEY MAY SAY THIS IS HELPING...
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
I'M NOT FOR THIS!
I DON'T CARE,
MY ONE WILL NOT GO TO SCHOOL.
BUT IT'S TEARING THEM APART!
WELL, I'M THE MAYOR,
AND THE FIRST RECOGNITION IS
THAT IT'S A COURT ORDER
THAT HAS TO BE ENFORCED
BY THE CITY,
THAT IT'S A FINAL DECISION,
THAT IT'S IRREVOCABLE,
AND THAT I'M GOING
TO BE RESPONSIBLE
AT A MINIMUM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
AND AT A MAXIMUM
FOR THE SOCIAL HEALTH.
IN A WAY,
IT'S A LITTLE EXAGGERATED,
BUT THE MORALS OF THE TOWN...
IT'S A MORAL QUESTION,
AS WELL AS A POLITICAL QUESTION.
WHAT I DID WAS
RESPOND POLITICALLY.
Narrator:
IN A SERIES OF COFFEE HOURS
SET UP IN HOMES
THROUGHOUT THE CITY,
THE MAYOR MET WITH WHITE PARENTS
OPPOSED TO BUSING.
White:
ALL RIGHT, BUT IT'S
NOT BEHIND US YET.
IT WILL BE A PAINFUL PROCESS
GOING THROUGH IT,
BECAUSE THE SOUTH DIDN'T
JUST SLIDE THROUGH IT.
IT TORE THEM APART AS IT WILL
HELP TO TEAR US APART.
THE MOOD WAS ONE
OF CONFUSION, CONCERN AND FEAR,
BECAUSE THE ELECTED OFFICIALS
DURING THAT SUMMER OF 1974
AFTER THE ORDER HAD BEEN
GIVEN BY JUDGE GARRITY
WERE VERY OFTEN
MAKING STATEMENTS
THAT THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN.
NOW, HOW CAN WE BEAT
THE FEDERAL COURT?
BY GETTING SOME STRONG
ANTI-BUSING LEGISLATION
FROM WASHINGTON.
SO I SUGGEST TO YOU
IF WE'RE GOING TO WIN,
IF YOU'RE
GOING TO KEEP
YOUR CHILDREN
IN THEIR
NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS,
THAT YOU JOIN
WITH THE REST
OF THE CITY
ON SEPTEMBER 9, IN A GRAND MARCH
BEFORE THE FEDERAL BUILDING.
Woman:
JUST BECAUSE I'M WHITE
DOESN'T MEAN
THAT THE 14th AMENDMENT
DOESN'T APPLY TO ME EITHER.
I AM WHITE,
AND I WANT MY RIGHTS!
Narrator:
DEMONSTRATORS HAD COME
TO THE FEDERAL BUILDING
TO PROTEST SENATOR
EDWARD KENNEDY'S SUPPORT
OF DESEGREGATION.
HIS FAMILY HAD ALWAYS BEEN
THE PRIDE OF BOSTON'S
IRISH COMMUNITY,
BUT NOW, THE CROWD
TURNED ON KENNEDY.
THOSE PEOPLE
OUT THERE
DON'T CARE
TO LISTEN TO YOU.
OKAY, THAT'S FINE,
AS LONG AS WE UNDERSTAND...
THEY'RE TAKING MY KIDS,
WHAT NEXT?
YOU GOING TO PUT US
OUT OF THE TOWN?
Narrator:
THE CROWD PURSUED KENNEDY
TO THE DOORS
OF THE FEDERAL BUILDING.
COME ON!
I KNOW, BUT IT'S NO GOOD.
Woman in crowd:
THEY'RE TAKING MY KIDS!
Narrator:
SCHOOL WAS DUE TO START
IN THREE DAYS.
SEPTEMBER 12, 1974.
UNDER COURT ORDER,
AGAINST SCHOOL COMMITTEE WISHES,
THE INTEGRATION
OF BOSTON'S SCHOOLS BEGAN.
ARE YOU
IN THIS CLASS?
OH, GOODY!
Narrator:
IT WAS A QUIET FIRST DAY
OF SCHOOL IN ROXBURY,
AS IT WAS IN MOST OF THE CITY.
A COMMITTEE OF BLACK PARENTS
WAITED INSIDE
TO GREET THE FEW WHITE STUDENTS
WHO CAME TO ROXBURY HIGH SCHOOL.
BUT ACROSS TOWN, CROWDS
OF WHITES HAD BEEN GATHERING
OUTSIDE SOUTH BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL
SINCE EARLY MORNING.
♪ ...BELONGS TO SOUTHIE,
AND SOUTHIE BELONGS TO YOU. ♪
LET'S GO, GENTLEMEN,
LET'S GO.
GO TO SCHOOL OR GO HOME.
COME ON, LAROSA,
LET'S GO.
Narrator:
THE SCHOOL'S HEADMASTER
HAD BEEN AT SOUTH BOSTON HIGH
FOR NINE YEARS.
COME ON.
GET IN OR GO HOME.
Woman:
IF YOU CAN
TELL US TO LEAVE,
THEN WE CAN TELL KIDS
NOT TO GO TO SCHOOL!
COME ON.
LET'S GO,
GO TO SCHOOL OR GO HOME.
LET'S GO.
Crowd chanting:
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE,
HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
INSIDE, THINGS WERE QUIET,
WITH MOST WHITE STUDENTS ABSENT.
AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY,
MORE TROUBLE WAITED OUTSIDE.
ON THE EVENING NEWS,
BOSTONIANS SAW SCHOOL BUSES
BEING ATTACKED AS THEY LEFT
SOUTH BOSTON.
THEY WERE THROWING EGGS
AT THE WINDOW
AND TRY TO HIT PEOPLE WITH THEM,
AND THEY WAS CALLING US
BLACK NIGGERS.
I WANT TO SAY THAT MY LITTLE BOY
GOT BACK SAFE,
FOR THE ONLY REASON...
I DON'T SEE WHY THEY SHOULD
BUS THESE SMALLER KIDS
ACROSS THERE AND GET ALL HURT UP
WHEN THEY CAN'T
DEFEND THEMSELVES.
I FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD GO OVER
HERE TO THIS SCHOOL OVER HERE
INSTEAD OF BUSING THEM
WAY ACROSS THERE.
THEY CAN'T DEFENTHEMSELVES,
THEY CAN'T FIGHT,
THEY CAN'T DO NOTHING.
Narrator:
RACIAL VIOLENCE IN THE CITY
KNOWN AS THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY
MADE HEADLINES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY
AND AROUND THE WORLD.
THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WAS APPREHENSIVE, BUT HOPEFUL.
EVERY DAY... YESTERDAY
WAS THE FIRST DAY.
EVERY DAY GO BY, THERE'S GOING
TO BE MORE IMPROVEMENT ABOUT IT.
LIKE YESTERDAY WAS THE
FIRST DAY, TODAY IS THE SECOND,
YOU HAVE MORE IMPROVEMENT
TODAY THAN YOU HAD YESTERDAY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING
TO CONTINUE THAT WAY
UNTIL IT GETS BETTER.
BUT IT'S GOING
TO TAKE A WHILE.
YOU CAN'T DO IT
ALL IN ONE DAY.
Woman:
THEY'RE NOT GOING
UNTIL THEY GET
SOME BLACK COPS
AND SOME BLACK DRIVERS.
THEY DID NOT
PICK MY KID UP AT SCHOOL.
IT LEFT HER OVER THERE.
IT LEFT HER
IN SOUTH BOSTON?
IT LEFT HER
IN SOUTH BOSTON.
NO, THEY LEFT HER OVER THERE.
ALL THOSE PEOPLE
OUT THERE ARE IRISH.
THEY LEFT HER
OUT THERE!
AND THEY REFUSED
TO GO GET HER.
Narrator:
WHITES STAGED A CITYWIDE
SCHOOL BOYCOTT,
A TACTIC BORROWED
FROM THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
AT THE BOYCOTT'S PEAK,
MORE THAN 50% OF ALL
WHITE STUDENTS STAYED HOME.
WELL, THE BOYCOTT WAS THAT IF
THERE WERE NO CHILDREN IN SCHOOL
THEY COULDN'T
IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
SO WE DECIDED... AND IT
CAME FROM ANOTHER THING.
IT CAME FROM THE FREEDOM SCHOOLS
IN ROXBURY IN THE '60s.
WE HAD A COMMUNITY MEETING,
ASKED THE PARENTS,
EXPLAINED WHAT WE THOUGHT
AND ASKED THE PARENTS IF THEY
WOULD GO ALONG WITH THE BOYCOTT.
THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DID.
I DID NOT SUPPORT THE BOYCOTT
AND I SENT MY SON TO SCHOOL
FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY.
AND FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME,
HE RODE THE BUS BY HIMSELF.
Woman 1:
I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND
YOU'RE A SELL-OUT, TOO, LADY!
NO, PEOPLE HAVE
THEIR RIGHTS, TOO.
Woman 2:
WE WOULDN'T EVEN
BRING THEM OUT.
WE FEAR FOR THEIR SAFETY!
Woman 1:
FOR ONE LOUSY DAY
THEY COULDN'T
HAVE BOYCOTTED?
ONE DAY! ONE DAY!
BUT THEY
COULDN'T DO THAT!
MY KIDS ARE OUT!
AND THEY'RE NOT GOING!
Amalfitano:
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR US.
IT WAS ALMOST LIKE
GETTING UP EVERY MORNING
AND GOING TO WAR.
MANY DAYS I WOULD COME HOME
AND I WOULD THINK
ABOUT ALL THE LIBERALS
THAT GOT ON THE BUSES
AND WENT SOUTH WHEN...
FOR SIT-INS AND BOYCOTTS
IN THE SOUTH
AND I REALLY WOULD
COME HOME AND WONDER,
WHERE WERE THEY NOW?
Narrator:
THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR.
WHITES OPPOSED
TO CHANGE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
WERE NOT GOING TO BACK DOWN.
MOST SCHOOLS WERE CALM...
BUT SOME WERE BATTLEGROUNDS.
Woman:
WHEN WE STARTED UP THE HILL,
YOU COULD HEAR PEOPLE SAYING,
"NIGGERS GO HOME!"
THERE WERE SIGNS
SAYING "BLACK PEOPLE STAY OUT!"
"WE DON'T WANT ANY NIGGERS
IN OUR SCHOOL!"
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE
ON THE CORNERS
HOLDING BANANAS
LIKE WE WERE APES.
NIGGERS EAT SH...!
NIGGERS EAT SH...!
Batson:
AS WE WENT UP THE HILL
AND APPROACHED THE SCHOOL,
OUR STUDENTS GOT
VERY, VERY QUIET,
WHERE THEY HAD BEEN JUST LIKE
ANY OTHER KID RIDING A BUS,
MAKING NOISE, LAUGHING, TALKING.
SUDDENLY AS THEY APPROACHED THIS
PLACE THEY GOT VERY, VERY QUIET.
AND THEN THEY WOULD
HAVE TO STAY THERE
TILL THE POLICE CAME OVER,
ESCORTED THEM OUT THE BUS
AND IN THROUGH THE METAL
DETECTORS, INTO THE SCHOOL.
I BEGAN FOR THE FIRST
TIME TO SAY,
"RUTH, MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T
HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED.
MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T
HAVE URGED THIS DESEGREGATION."
IT KILLED ME TO SEE
OUR BLACK STUDENTS
GO THROUGH THAT PROCEDURE.
Woman:
IT WAS PRETTY AGGRAVATING,
ACTUALLY, TO GO
AND BE PUT ALL THROUGH THIS
BEFORE YOU EVEN STARTED
A DAY AT SCHOOL.
IT WAS KIND OF RIDICULOUS
FOR A 17-YEAR-OLD PERSON
TO BE TREATED THIS WAY.
ON A NORMAL DAY,
THERE WOULD BE ANYWHERE
BETWEEN TEN AND 15
FIGHTS PER DAY.
THE WHITE KIDS FELT INTIMIDATED
THAT THEY HAD BLACK KIDS
IN THE SCHOOL.
THE BLACK KIDS WERE INTIMIDATED
BECAUSE THEY WERE
IN THIS WHITE SCHOOL
AND THEY DID NOT WANT
TO BE PUSHED AROUND.
YOU COULD WALK DOWN THE CORRIDOR
AND A BLACK PERSON WOULD BUMP
INTO A WHITE PERSON
OR VICE VERSA.
THAT WOULD BE ONE FIGHT.
AND THEY'D TRY TO SEPARATE IT,
BECAUSE AT THAT TIME,
IT WAS SO MUCH TENSION
IN THE SCHOOL.
JUST THE SLIGHTEST THING
WOULD SET IT OFF.
Narrator:
THE N.A.A.C.P. SURVEYED
BLACK STUDENTS
ON PROBLEMS
AT SOUTH BOSTON HIGH.
ABOUT A WEEK LATER, I WAS
SITTING IN MY OFFICE ONE NIGHT
AND I REACHED INTO MY BRIEFCASE
AND HERE WERE THESE FORMS.
SO I TOOK THEM OUT AND I BEGAN,
SORT OF ABSENTLY,
TO READ THROUGH THEM.
AS I READ THROUGH ONE
AFTER ANOTHER OF THESE FORMS,
WHAT I SAW WAS THAT
THESE KIDS COULDN'T SPELL.
THEY COULD NOT WRITE
A SIMPLE DECLARATORY SENTENCE.
AND AS I READ THESE FORMS,
NONE OF WHICH WERE
GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT
OR SPELLING PROPER,
I JUST STARTED TO CRY.
IT WAS, IT WAS, UM...
IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN
THE FEELING
OF PAIN, ON THE ONE HAND,
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,
I KNEW WE WERE RIGHT.
Narrator:
BUT THE FIGHT TO CORRECT
YEARS OF MISEDUCATION
WAS OVERSHADOWED
BY FEAR AND VIOLENCE.
IN OCTOBER, A SOUTH BOSTON MOB
PULLED A PASSING BLACK MOTORIST
FROM HIS CAR.
A POLICEMAN FIRED SHOTS
OVER THE HEADS OF THE CROWD
AND PULLED THE MAN TO SAFETY.
WE DON'T TEACH OUR KIDS
TO HATE ANYBODY!
ALL WE WANT FOR OUR KIDS
IS TO LOVE
AND TO GET A DECENT EDUCATION
AND TO LIVE DECENTLY
AS HUMAN BEINGS.
BUT WE'RE NOT EVEN DISTINGUISHED
AS HUMAN BEINGS
AS FAR AS EAST BOSTON GOES
OR SOUTH BOSTON.
WE'RE NIGGERS!
AND I WOULD BE DAMNED
IF I HAD ANY CHILD OF MINE
EXPOSED TO ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
I WOULDN'T WANT MY CHILD
TO SIT BESIDE IT,
BECAUSE, SEE, I'M NOT GOING
TO TEACH IT TO HATE.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING!
THAT'S THE LESSON THAT THOSE
KIDS HAVE BEEN GETTING
"STAND BESIDE MOMMY, SWEETIE,
AND THROW A ROCK AT THE NIGGER!"
Narrator:
FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THE MOB VIOLENCE IN SOUTH BOSTON
WAS ECHOED IN ROXBURY.
GROUPS OF BLACK STUDENTS
ROAMED THE STREETS,
PELTING WHITE PASSERS-BY
WITH ROCKS.
I DEPLORE THE VIOLENCE
THAT I'VE READ ABOUT
AND SEEN ON TELEVISION.
I THINK THAT'S MOST UNFORTUNATE.
Narrator:
WHITES OPPOSED TO BUSING
TOOK HEART
FROM GERALD FORD'S FIRST
PRESS CONFERENCE AS PRESIDENT.
I HAVE CONSISTENTLY
OPPOSED FORCED BUSING
TO ACHIEVE RACIAL BALANCE
AS A SOLUTION
TO QUALITY EDUCATION.
AND THEREFORE, I RESPECTFULLY
DISAGREE WITH THE JUDGE'S ORDER.
Narrator:
BOSTON WAS LEFT ON ITS OWN.
THE CITY'S NEIGHBORHOODS GREW
EVEN MORE ISOLATED AND HOSTILE.
BUT THIS CITY SHOULD HAVE BEEN
OPEN TO EVERYONE, AND IT WASN'T.
AND IT WAS THAT FEAR THAT IF YOU
STEPPED OUT OF YOUR PLACE,
YOU COULD BE ATTACKED.
THERE WAS NO LEADERSHIP THAT
SAID, "THAT'S OFF LIMITS."
I NEVER HEARD
ANY PUBLIC OFFICIAL
ON THE STATE LEVEL OR ON THE
CITY LEVEL COME OUT AND SAY,
"THIS IS A GOOD THING.
"WE SHOULD ALL LEARN TOGETHER,
WE SHOULD ALL LIVE TOGETHER."
THERE WAS NO ENCOURAGEMENT
FROM ANYBODY.
I CALL IT COMPLETE
OFFICIAL NEGLECT.
Narrator:
SOUTH BOSTON,
DECEMBER 11, 1974.
A FIGHT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL
BETWEEN A BLACK
AND A WHITE STUDENT
GOT OUT OF HAND.
I REMEMBER THE DAY MICHAEL FAITH
GOT STABBED VIVIDLY,
BECAUSE I WAS
IN THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HEARD
A LOUD COMMOTION
AND YOU HEARD KIDS
SCREAMING AND YELLING, SAYING,
"HE'S DEAD, HE'S DEAD!
"THAT BLACK NIGGER KILLED HIM!
OH, JEEZ, THERE WAS... WE WERE
CLOSE ENOUGH THAT WE SAW.
THERE WAS BLOOD, YOU KNOW,
ON THE HALLWAY FLOOR.
Narrator:
WHITE STUDENTS LEFT.
RUMORS SPREAD.
SOUTH BOSTON RESIDENTS AND
OTHERS SURROUNDED THE SCHOOL.
THE BLACK STUDENTS
WERE TRAPPED INSIDE.
EVERYBODY BUT THE POLICE
OFF THE APRON.
Narrator:
LOUISE DAY HICKS
APPEALED TO THE CROWD.
Hicks:
I WANT YOU TO ALLOW THE BLACK
CHILDREN TO GO BACK TO ROXBURY!
Hicks:
NOW, THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY
TO GET THEM BACK TO ROXBURY
AND THAT'S TO HAVE THEM
GO BACK BY BUS.
LET'S SEND THEM BACK!
OKAY, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU,
WILL YOU PLEASE MOVE
TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET
SO THEY CAN GO BACK?
Crowd:
NO!!
Ellison:
I REMEMBER THE POLICE CARS
COMING UP THE STREET,
OR ATTEMPTING TO, AND TURNING
OVER THE POLICE CARS.
AND I WAS JUST AMAZED THAT THEY
COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO THEY TRIED... THE POLICE
TRIED TO GET HORSES UP.
THEY WOULDN'T LET
THE HORSES GET UP.
THEY STONED THE HORSES,
THEY STONED THE CARS.
THAT WE WOULD NEVER GET OUT
OF SOUTH BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL.
Crowd:
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
HERE WE GO,
SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
BLACK COMMUNITY
LEADERS AND OFFICIALS
WORKED OUT A RESCUE PLAN.
VOLUNTEERS RODE
DECOY BUSES TO THE SCHOOL.
FRANKLY, WE WERE SCARED.
BUT WE WENT UP, AND WHEN
WE GOT CLOSER TO THE SCHOOL,
WE COULD HEAR THE NOISE.
IT'S LIKE A HOLLOW FEELING
WHEN YOU GO UP THAT HILL.
Ellison:
FINALLY, IT MUST HAVE BEEN
2:30 OR 3:00 THAT AFTERNOON.
ALL OF A SUDDEN,
ALL YOU HEARD WAS,
"YOU'RE GOING OUT THE BACK DOOR,
YOU'RE GOING OUT THE BACK DOOR."
AT THAT MOMENT, WE HAD
TO RUN TO THE BUSES.
Narrator:
WHILE THE DECOY BUSES
DISTRACTED THE MOB
AT THE FRONT OF THE SCHOOL,
OTHER BUSES PULLED UP
TO THE BACK.
THE BLACK STUDENTS AND LEADERS
MADE IT OUT
OF SOUTH BOSTON SAFELY.
MICHAEL FAITH DID NOT DIE.
BUT HIS STABBING
AND THE ENSUING RIOT
FURTHER POLARIZED THE CITY.
THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
STIFFENED ITS RESOLVE
NOT TO COMPLY WITH
THE COURT ORDER.
IN RESPONSE, JUDGE GARRITY
PLACED THREE MEMBERS
IN CONTEMPT OF COURT.
IT SEEMS TO ME
THAT JUDGE GARRITY IS GOING
TO BRING US THIS PLAN
WITH THE BOOT OF OFFICIAL
AUTHORITY AND THE UNIFORM.
IN A CERTAIN SENSE, YOU CAN SAY
THAT RECONSTRUCTION
HAS FINALLY COME
TO THE NORTH WITH A VENGEANCE.
Narrator:
IN THE FACE OF SCHOOL
COMMITTEE INTRANSIGENCE,
THE SCHOOLS WERE RUN
BY THE COURT.
JUDGE GARRITY'S
WAS THE FINAL WORD
ON CURRICULUM, HIRING AND
FIRING, AND POLICY.
JUST TIME WILL
CHANGE THESE
PEOPLES' MINDS,
IN YOUR OPINION?
NO, I THINK... NOT NECESSARILY.
I THINK THAT TIME
WILL BRING ABOUT
AN UNDERSTANDING
ON THE PART OF MOST PEOPLE
THAT THERE'S NO ALTERNATIVE
BUT TO COMPLIANCE
WITH THE PRINCIPLES
SET OUT BY THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS,
RESISTANCE CONTINUED.
IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS
OF DESEGREGATION,
ALMOST A THIRD OF THE WHITE
STUDENTS LEFT THE SYSTEM.
Stevie Wonder:
♪ PROCLAMATION ♪
♪ RACE RELATIONS ♪
♪ CONSOLATION... ♪
Narrator:
OVER TIME, THE COURT
GRADUALLY FORCED CHANGES
IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
BUT THE COST REMAINED HIGH.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
IS GOING TO HAPPEN
WHEN YOU GO
TO SCHOOL?
WHEN WE GO UP THERE,
WE GONNA BE STONED.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ME BECAUSE WHY
IS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
WHEN THEY COME UP HERE?
WHEN THEY COME UP HERE,
WE WON'T MESS WITH THEM
SO WHY WHEN WE COME UP THERE,
THEY MESS WITH US?
WHAT DO YOU THINK
ABOUT THE PEOPLE
OF SOUTH BOSTON,
JOANNE?
IF YOU HAD
A MESSAGE YOU'D
LIKE TO TELL THEM,
WHAT WOULD
IT BE?
I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ME.
Narrator:
THE GREATEST CHANGES WERE
NOT FOUND IN THE SCHOOLS.
IN 1977
LOUISE DAY HICKS' POLITICAL
CAREER ENDED IN DEFEAT,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THE 20th CENTURY
A BLACK CANDIDATE WON ELECTION
TO THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
I FELT THAT WHAT TOOK PLACE
ABSOLUTELY HAD TO HAPPEN.
IT MAY NOT HAVE HAD
TO HAPPEN THAT WAY,
IF THERE HAD BEEN A DIFFERENT
KIND OF LEADERSHIP
PROVIDED BY WHITE BOSTONIANS
OF ALL CLASSES
AND ALL NEIGHBORHOODS.
HOWEVER, WHEN YOU'RE
THE ANVIL, YOU BEAR,
AND WHEN YOU'RE THE HAMMER,
YOU STRIKE,
AND WE WERE STRIKING,
AND THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK.
Narrator:
IN BOSTON, BLACKS
WERE A MINORITY,
FORCED TO RELY ON
THE FEDERAL COURT
IN THEIR FIGHT FOR
QUALITY EDUCATION.
IN ATLANTA, BLACKS HAD
JUST BECOME A MAJORITY.
HERE, THE FIGHT
FOR BLACK PROGRESS
FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC EQUITY.
♪ TIME IS TRULY WASTING ♪
♪ THERE'S NO GUARANTEE, YEAH ♪
♪ THERE'S MATTERS
IN THE MAKING ♪
♪ WE GOT TO FIGHT
THE POWERS THAT BE ♪
♪ GOT IT, BABY? ♪
Narrator:
IN OCTOBER 1973,
ATLANTA MADE HISTORY.
MAYNARD JACKSON WAS ELECTED
THE FIRST BLACK MAYOR
OF A LARGE SOUTHERN CITY.
NEVER...
NEVER...
Crowd:
NEVER.
NEVER...
Crowd:
NEVER.
NEVER...
NEVER SHALL I LET YOU DOWN!
Jackson:
BEING THE FIRST BLACK MAYOR
IS WHAT YOU WISH ON YOUR ENEMY.
OKAY?
AND I SAY THAT WITH
TONGUE IN CHEEK...
A GREAT PRIDE TO BE
MAYOR OF ATLANTA...
AND EVERY BLACK MAYOR
WHO'S BEEN THE FIRST
BLACK MAYOR OF AMERICA
I'M SURE HAS FELT
THE SAME THING,
BUT IT TRULY IS, UM...
IS PART HELL.
FIRST OF ALL, START WITH
EXAGGERATED BLACK EXPECTATIONS
THAT OVERNIGHT,
THE VALHALLA WILL BE FOUND,
HEAVEN WILL COME ON EARTH
AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE THE
BLACK MAYOR'S BEEN ELECTED,
AND THINGS JUST DON'T
WORK THAT WAY.
THE OBLIGATION THAT
I FELT WAS TO TRY
WITH EVERYTHING IN MY POWER
IN EVERY LEGAL AND
ETHICAL WAY THAT I COULD
TO MOVE THINGS AS QUICKLY
AS POSSIBLE IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO HELP ME GOD.
SO HELP ME GOD.
CONGRATULATIONS.
WE MUST SEE THE OTHER ATLANTA,
THE ONE ACROSS THE TRACKS,
THE INNER-CITY ONE,
THE ATLANTA IN THE VALLEYS
AND THE SHADOWS
JUST BEYOND THE FIRST
EXPRESSWAY EXITS
ONE PASSES WHEN
LEAVING DOWNTOWN.
Woman:
IT MADE, IT REALLY
MADE A DIFFERENCE,
BECAUSE THAT'S THE FIRST
BLACK MAYOR WE HAD,
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WAS
WORKING HARD FOR...
TO BRING A BLACK
PERSON IN OFFICE,
YOU KNOW, THAT KNEW SOME OF
THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR PEOPLES.
Jackson:
ALL OF A SUDDEN, I BECAME
MAYOR NOT JUST OF ATLANTA
BUT OF THE BLACK PEOPLE
IN GEORGIA
AND EVEN SOME
NEIGHBORING STATES.
NOW, EQUALLY IMPORTANT
AND EQUALLY DIFFICULT
WAS WHAT WE FOUND
IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY...
EXAGGERATED ANXIETY.
THAT ANXIETY WAS, "OH, MY GOD,
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?
"WE GOT A BLACK MAYOR.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN...
IS THIS THE END OF ATLANTA?"
WE HAD JUST COME THROUGH
A RUN-OFF ELECTION
WHERE MY OPPONENT
RAN A CAMPAIGN THAT SAID,
"ATLANTA'S TOO YOUNG TO DIE."
Man:
I SUPPORTED A WHITE CANDIDATE
AND, UH...
AS MOST WHITE PEOPLE DID.
YEAH, WE WERE VERY FRIGHTENED
BECAUSE WE HAD
NOTHING TO GO ON.
THERE HAD BEEN
NO EXPERIENCE THERE
AND WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
Man:
I CAME TO ATLANTA
IN THE SUMMER OF 1972.
AND I HAD READ EBONY MAGAZINE
AND HAD SEEN WHERE
IT WAS THE BLACK MECCA
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE SAYING
THAT IF YOU WERE BLACK
AND HAD A COLLEGE DEGREE
THIS WAS THE BEST PLACE
IN THE WORLD TO LIVE.
IT'S A EXCELLENT PLACE
FOR SOME BLACK PEOPLES...
IT IS...
IT'S A EXCELLENT PLACE
FOR SOME BLACK PEOPLE
BUT NOT FOR ALL BLACK PEOPLES,
IT'S NOT A EXCELLENT PLACE
TO LIVE,
BECAUSE IF IT WAS
A EXCELLENT PLACE TO LIVE,
THEY WOULD GIVE
PEOPLE SOME JOBS.
Narrator:
ATLANTA WAS HARD HIT BY
A NATIONWIDE RECESSION.
MANY ATLANTANS SUBSISTED
ON UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
Woman:
WELL, $37 A WEEK
IS NOT MUCH TO LIVE ON.
IT WON'T EVEN COVER FOOD
EXPENSES FOR FOUR KIDS
AND MYSELF ALONE.
Woman:
THE THING ABOUT IT IS,
IT MAY SEEM LIKE A NICE
VACATION TO SOME PEOPLE,
BUT IT'S REALLY, REALLY
BAD FOR THE ECONOMY
AND PEOPLE ARE
REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IT.
Narrator:
JACKSON MOVED INTO A PUBLIC
HOUSING PROJECT FOR A WEEKEND.
THE THOMASES WERE SELECTED
TO BE HIS HOST FAMILY.
OH, IT WAS VERY STRANGE,
AND THE STRANGEST
THING TO ME WAS
THAT THEY CHOSE ME TO HOUSE HIM.
SO WHEN I GOT OFF FROM WORK,
I CAME UP TO THE EDGE
OF THE APARTMENTS
AND I LOOKED DOWN IN THE COURT
AND THE COURT WAS JUST FULL
OF NEWS, NEWS MEDIA,
JUST FULL OF PEOPLE.
I KNEW I COULDN'T GO THROUGH
THAT CROWD, SO I TURNED AROUND
AND I WENT ALL THE WAY
DOWN THROUGH THE BACK
AND I CRAWLED UP MY BACK STEPS
TO GET IN MY HOUSE
TO AVOID THE NEWS MEDIA,
BUT WHEN I GOT IN THE HOUSE,
THEN, I SEEN THE MAYOR COMING.
I KNEW I HAD TO OPEN
THE DOOR THEN.
IT WAS JUST A MOB, REALLY,
JUST A PURE MOB
JUST FELL ALL IN THE DOOR,
STANDING ALL UP ON MY FURNITURE.
WE WANT TO DRAMATIZE
WHAT ARE DRAMATICALLY
HORRIBLE CONDITIONS
SO THAT PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND
WHEN WE BEGIN TO TALK
ABOUT DRAMATIC CHANGES
AND DRAMATIC CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.
WE'RE NOT JUST OVERREACTING.
THE CONDITIONS HERE
DEFY DESCRIPTION.
Narrator:
THE MAYOR HAD LIMITED IMPACT ON
FEDERALLY FUNDED PUBLIC HOUSING.
BUT JACKSON DID HAVE THE POWER
TO CHANGE THE WAY
THE CITY OPERATED.
HE HIRED MORE
MINORITIES AND WOMEN.
HE MOVED AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY
BUSINESS PRACTICES.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WAS
ALREADY FEDERAL POLICY.
JACKSON MADE IT CITY POLICY.
WHEN I BECAME MAYOR,
0.5% OF ALL THE CONTRACTS
IN THE CITY OF ATLANTA
WENT TO AFRO-AMERICANS
IN A CITY WHICH,
AT THAT TIME, WAS 50-50.
Narrator:
MANY IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
RESISTED JACKSON'S
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY.
THIS WAS A MAJOR MANAGER
OF A MAJOR WHITE CORPORATION
WHO GOT VERY UPSET WITH ME
ABOUT THE POLICY ON
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AND SAID THAT, "I DON'T SEE
THIS TO BE NECESSARY.
WE'RE GOING TO DO
WHAT'S RIGHT," YOU KNOW.
"YOU CAN TRUST US,"
AND SO FORTH.
AND I SAID, "I HAVE
EVERY CONFIDENCE, BUT, UM...
"AND I WANT TO TRUST YOU,
BUT I ALSO WANT YOU TO SIGN
ON THE DOTTED LINE."
HE SAID, "WELL, LOOK, I'M
JUST NOT GOING TO GO OUT
AND HIRE THE FIRST NEGRO I SEE."
I SAID, "I THINK THAT'S A
PRETTY SOUND PERSONNEL POLICY."
I SAID, "I WOULDN'T EITHER."
Narrator:
JACKSON'S SUPPORT
OF BLACK BUSINESS
PULLED HIM INTO THE
RING WITH MUHAMMAD ALI
AT A PROMOTIONAL EVENT.
Jackson:
THIS IS OUR ODE TO ALI.
"DANCE LIKE A BUTTERFLY,
STING LIKE A BEE,
"MY FISTS ARE SO FAST
THAT THEY'LL DAZZLE ALI.
"THE CHAMP MAY BE STRONG,
BUT HE ISN'T ALL THERE
"IF HE THINKS HE CAN BEAT
THIS DYNAMITE MAYOR.
"BUT I'LL TELL YOU THIS,
YOU BETTER KNOW IT,
"I MAY NOT BE A FIGHTER,
"BUT I'M DARN SURE A POET.
"SO COME OUT AND SEE IT,
THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR,
"I'LL FACE ALI'S CHALLENGE
WITH COURAGE, NOT FEAR,
"BECAUSE HE MAY BE A FIGHTER
"BUT I'LL THROW OUT THIS DARE...
HE WOULDN'T SURVIVE
FOR A WEEK BEING MAYOR."
ONE.
TWO.
THREE.
FOUR...
Announcer:
AFTER THE FIGHT, ALI SAID
IT WAS THE MAYOR'S FLOWERED
BOXING TRUNKS THAT SAVED HIM.
ONE THING IS FOR SURE...
ALI HAS LEARNED THAT
YOU CANNOT FIGHT CITY HALL.
Narrator:
THE CHALLENGE TO JACKSON'S
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY
WAS ABOUT TO ESCALATE.
AIRPORT EXPANSION.
Huntley:
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW
AIRPORT FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTA
WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS,
IF NOT THE MAJOR PROJECT,
IN THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION.
THERE WERE A NUMBER
OF BIG CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
BETWEEN 1976 AND 1979 OR '80,
BUT THIS WAS THE CROWN JEWEL.
Narrator:
PLANNING WAS ALREADY UNDER WAY.
BUT DESPITE PUBLIC CRITICISM,
JACKSON ANNOUNCED THAT
CONSTRUCTION WOULD NOT BEGIN
WITHOUT FULL
BLACK PARTICIPATION.
EMMA DARNELL, ONE OF THE FIRST
TWO WOMEN COMMISSIONERS
EVER APPOINTED IN ATLANTA,
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION GUIDELINES.
WHEN YOU BEGIN TO MOVE
IN PUBLIC POLICY
IN AREAS THAT INVOLVE RACE,
YOU CAN EXPECT A GREAT
DEAL OF EMOTION.
THE BIDDING PROCESSES
THAT WE'VE HAD IN THIS CITY
HAVE STOOD FOR YEARS AND YEARS
LIKE A GRANITE ROCK.
THEY'VE BEEN STEADY
AND THEY'VE STOOD,
AND WE'VE HAD VERY LITTLE
PROBLEMS WITH THEM
AS LONG AS WE ADHERED TO
THE LOWEST AND THE BEST BID.
OPERATIONALLY.
BUT THERE ARE TWO RELEVANT LAWS
ALREADY ON THE BOOKS
WHICH, I THINK, IMPACT
UPON THIS QUESTION...
Man:
AND THE WHITE POWER
STRUCTURE DOWNTOWN
COULDN'T DEAL WITH EMMA,
BECAUSE NOT ONLY WAS SHE
BLACK AND A FEMALE,
BUT SHE WAS SMART, AND SHE WAS
A VERY EXCELLENT COMMUNICATOR.
SO SHE WOULD LOOK
AT THE CONTRACT
AND IF IT DIDN'T HAVE
THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT
OF MINORITY PARTICIPATION,
SHE'D SAY, "TAKE THAT BACK,
GET IT RIGHT."
THEY COULDN'T DEAL WITH THAT,
NOT A BLACK FEMALE.
I LOOKED AT HOW THE POWER
STRUCTURE MEMBERS
DEALT WITH EACH OTHER.
IF THEY DISAGREED, THEY'D SAY,
"THE HELL WITH YOU,
YOU'RE A SO-AND-SO."
BUT THEY WOULD NOT WALK AWAY
FROM THE RELATIONSHIP.
I SAID, "THAT'S FAIR ENOUGH,
I CAN DEAL WITH THAT."
MY PREFERENCE WAS
TO DO IT AS A TEAM.
IF WE STUMBLE,
WE'LL STUMBLE TOGETHER.
IF I MADE A MISTAKE,
FINE, SAY I'M A DUMMY
BUT DON'T WALK AWAY
FROM THE RELATIONSHIP.
I WAS DEAD WRONG.
WHEN TIMES GOT HOT, EVEN SOME
OF THE CLOSEST FRIENDS I HAD
IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY...
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE WHITE
POWER STRUCTURE NOW...
SAID, "MAYNARD, THAT WAS THE
DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN
AND GOOD-BYE."
SO, I MISCALCULATED.
BLACK LEADERSHIP MUST ACCEPT
THE NEW ROLES AS CITY LEADERS
AND NOT BLACK CITY LEADERS.
WITH POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY,
THEY MUST BE ABLE...
Munford:
WE FELT THAT WE WERE AT BAY.
WE WERE OUT THERE BARKING,
AND NOTHING WAS HAPPENING.
THERE WAS NO QUESTION
BUT HE WAS A FULL-FLEDGED
RACIST AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE,
AND THIS WAS WHAT HIS CHARGE WAS
WAS TO SEE THAT IT WAS
TURNED OVER TO BLACKS
AND YOU HAD TO BE
A RACIST TO DO THAT.
COLOR BLINDNESS WAS NOT PART
OF HIS REPERTOIRE.
Narrator:
JACKSON HELD HIS GROUND...
NO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION,
NO AIRPORT.
AFTER ALMOST A YEAR
OF POLITICAL INFIGHTING,
THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED
THE FIRST MINORITY CONTRACT.
NEW CITY GUIDELINES
CALLED FOR A MINIMUM OF 20%
MINORITY PARTICIPATION
IN ALL PHASES OF THE WORK.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OPENED UP
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOME,
BUT TIMES WERE STILL HARD
FOR ATLANTA'S WORKING POOR.
DEMANDING HIGHER WAGES,
THE CITY'S SANITATION WORKERS
WENT OUT ON STRIKE.
I MEAN, HE PROMISED THE MONEY,
AND THE MONEY IS THERE,
SO HE MAY AS WELL GIVE IT TO US,
OR GIVE US SOMETHING.
Narrator:
JACKSON SAID THE CITY
HAD NO MONEY
TO MEET THE STRIKERS' DEMANDS.
BUT SOME THOUGHT THAT
HE WANTED TO PROVE
THAT HE COULD HOLD THE LINE
ON SPENDING,
EVEN AGAINST A PREDOMINANTLY
BLACK UNION.
WHAT THEY THINK IS
THAT A LIBERAL BLACK MAYOR
WITH A PRO-UNION BACKGROUND
WOULD NOT DARE TO DEFY
ANY DEMAND THEY WOULD MAKE.
WE DIDN'T STRIKE MAYNARD
BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK.
WE STRUCK HIM BECAUSE OUR
FOLK WERE PICKING UP GARBAGE,
WORKING AMONG MAGGOTS,
AND WE FELT THAT THEY NEEDED
TO GET PAID FOR DOING THAT.
$7,000, $8,000, $9,000 A YEAR,
IN OUR OPINION, WAS NOT ENOUGH.
Jackson:
REPRESENTING ATLANTA,
I URGE ALL CITY EMPLOYEES
TO REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY.
I EMPHASIZE THAT THOSE
WHO IGNORE THIS DIRECTIVE
WILL BE DISCHARGED.
Narrator:
JACKSON GAVE NOTICE
TO 1,000 STRIKERS,
MOST OF WHOM WERE BLACK.
THE UNION LOST THE BITTER
AND DIVISIVE STRUGGLE,
BUT JACKSON REMAINED POPULAR
AMONG MOST BLACKS.
LATER THAT YEAR, HE WON
REELECTION BY A LANDSLIDE.
4:00 A.M., SEPTEMBER 21, 1980.
THE FIRST SCHEDULED
FLIGHT ARRIVED
AT THE WORLD'S LARGEST
PASSENGER TERMINAL.
THE MIDFIELD TERMINAL OF THE
HARTSFIELD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED.
Kool and the Gang:
♪ CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES ♪
♪ COME ON! ♪
♪ CELEBRATE ♪
♪ CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES,
COME ON! ♪
Narrator:
CONFOUNDING CRITICS WHO
LABELED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT
DOOMED TO FAIL,
THE $700 MILLION FACILITY
WAS COMPLETED ON SCHEDULE
AND ON BUDGET, WITH A MINIMUM
OF 20% MINORITY PARTICIPATION
IN ALL PHASES OF THE WORK.
♪ WE GONNA CELEBRATE ♪
♪ YOUR PARTY WITH YOU,
COME ON, NOW ♪
♪ CELEBRATION... ♪
Narrator:
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AND THE AIRPORT
WERE MAJOR TRIUMPHS OF
THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION.
BUT MOST BLACKS IN ATLANTA
HAD NOT BENEFITED.
BY THE TIME THE AIRPORT OPENED,
ATLANTA WAS THE SECOND
POOREST CITY IN THE COUNTRY.
THERE WERE CLEAR LIMITS
TO WHAT LOCAL ELECTORAL
POWER COULD ACHIEVE.
ELECTING BLACKS TO OFFICE
WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
WE WERE, FOR ALL
PRACTICAL PURPOSES,
ENGAGED IN A REVOLUTION.
WE KNEW THAT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS.
IT WAS STILL THE CIVIL
RIGHTS REVOLUTION.
THOSE PERSONS DURING THE '60s
LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES AND DIED
TO PUT US INTO THESE
POSITIONS OF POWER.
WE DID NOT CONSIDER
THESE POSITIONS OF POWER
TO BE ENDS IN AND OF THEMSELVES.
DR. KING TAUGHT US
TO REMEMBER OUR ROOTS,
REMEMBER OUR BROTHERS
AND SISTERS
WHO ARE STILL NOW LOCKED
IN THE DUNGEONS OF DEPRIVATION.
YET TODAY, HE SEES
SOME BLACK PEOPLE
WHO HAVE ESCAPED FROM POVERTY,
FOR THE TIME BEING,
AND WHO ALSO ARE TRYING TO
ESCAPE THEIR DUTY TO THE POOR.
Darnell:
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
IS WHAT'S ON THE INSIDE.
YOU KNOW, HAVE YOU REALLY BEEN
DEEPLY AND PERMANENTLY AFFECTED
BY THE BLOOD THAT HAS BEEN SHED
IN ORDER FOR YOU
TO SIT BEHIND THE DESK?
DO YOU ACTUALLY FEEL ANY
SENSITIVITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
TO ALL OF THOSE FOLK OUT THERE
IN THOSE CHURCHES
AND THOSE PROGRAMS
WHO STAND UP AND
GIVE YOU BIG APPLAUSE
BELIEVING THAT YOU
STAYED ON THE CASE
OR ARE YOU REALLY IN THERE
TRYING TO HOLD YOUR GROUND
TO GET YOUR HOUSE,
GET YOUR CAR, GET YOUR B.M.W.,
GET INVITED TO
THE RIGHT RECEPTIONS
AND BE CONSIDERED A LEADER?
All:
WE WON'T GO BACK,
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
TAKE BAKKE BACK!
Narrator:
OCTOBER 1977.
BLACK STUDENTS NATIONWIDE
WERE WORRIED.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN HIGHER
EDUCATION WAS UNDER ATTACK.
IN TEN YEARS OF
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EFFORTS,
THE NUMBERS OF BLACK
STUDENTS ENROLLED
IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
HAD MORE THAN DOUBLED.
WHEN I WAS... WENT TO WASHINGTON
TO RUN EDUCATION IN THE
CARTER ADMINISTRATION IN 1977,
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS
THAT HAPPENED WAS
THE HEAD OF MY STATISTICAL
AGENCY CAME IN TO SEE ME
AND SHE SAID, "GOOD NEWS, THE
COLLEGE-GOING RATE FOR BLACKS
"IS EQUAL TO THE COLLEGE-GOING
RATE FOR WHITES
FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN AMERICAN HISTORY."
♪ THANK YOU FOR THE FUSS,
I THANK YOU, LORD... ♪
Berry:
SO, THIS WAS
JUST WONDERFUL NEWS.
AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "IF WE
CAN JUST KEEP UP THIS PROGRESS
"FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS,
JUST THINK OF HOW FAR
WE WILL HAVE COME."
Narrator:
BLACK PROGRESS WAS
FACING A CHALLENGE.
ALAN BAKKE WAS
AN ENGINEER IN HIS 30s
WHEN HE DECIDED TO
BECOME A DOCTOR.
HE WAS TURNED DOWN
BY 12 MEDICAL SCHOOLS...
TWICE BY THE ONE
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS.
BAKKE SUED DAVIS.
HE ALLEGED ITS AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION PROGRAM UNFAIRLY LIMITED
HIS CHANCES OF ADMISSION.
BUT TONI JOHNSON WAS ADMITTED
TO DAVIS MEDICAL SCHOOL.
FIRST IN HER FAMILY
TO ATTEND COLLEGE,
SHE HAD GONE TO
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
ON AN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
AND GRADUATED IN THREE YEARS.
WHEN I WAS SELECTED FOR U.C.
DAVIS AND WENT INTO DAVIS,
IT WAS NOT UNTIL WELL
INTO MY FIRST YEAR
THAT I HAD ANY IDEA
THAT I HAD BEEN SELECTED
THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
CERTAINLY I HAD MET ALL THE
CRITERIA FOR REGULAR ENTRANCE.
CERTAINLY THERE WERE OTHER
STUDENTS, WHITE STUDENTS,
WHO DID NOT EVEN MEET
THE SAME CRITERIA.
THEIR G.P.A. WAS
FAR LESS THAN MINE.
THEIR M.C.A.T. SCORES
WERE FAR LESS THAN MINE.
SO I HAD NO IDEA
THAT I HAD EVEN COME IN
THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
YOU WANT TO HOLD HIM FOR ME?
I HEARD ABOUT ALAN BAKKE
THE VERY FIRST YEAR I WAS
IN MEDICAL SCHOOL,
OTHER THAN THERE WAS A GUY WHO
WANTED TO GET INTO OUR CLASS
AND HE WAS REALLY ANGRY THAT HE
DIDN'T GET INTO THE CLASS,
SO HE WAS GOING TO SUE.
I THINK FROM THE DAY
BAKKE WALKED IN OUR DOOR,
WE KNEW WHAT WAS AT STAKE.
BACK THEN, PEOPLE SAID
THAT THESE PROGRAMS LIKE THE
DAVIS PROGRAM ARE GREAT THINGS
BECAUSE THEY INCLUDE PEOPLE AND
BRING THEM INTO THE CLASS.
AND I THINK THE SHORTCOMING
OF THAT ANALYSIS IS
THEY FORGET THAT WHEN YOU
BRING IN ONE PERSON
YOU'RE KEEPING OUT
ANOTHER PERSON.
Narrator:
THE BAKKE CASE REACHED
THE SUPREME COURT
AND STIMULATED A NATIONAL DEBATE
ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
I THINK WE WERE MAKING
ENORMOUS PROGRESS
BEFORE ANYONE CONJURED UP
THIS PERVERSION OF
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
I BELIEVE THERE'S BEEN
A GOOD FAITH EFFORT, TOO,
ON THE PART OF MOST AMERICANS
TO COMPLY, TO DROP THE BLINDERS
THAT TOO MANY OF US
HAVE WORN OVER THE YEARS.
NO, THE PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE.
BUT WE ARE NOW SEEING
AND WHAT I FEAR, FRANKLY,
IS A BACKLASH, AND A VERY
SERIOUS BACKLASH.
YOU SEE THIS IN UNIONS,
FOR EXAMPLE,
YOU SEE THIS IN COLLEGES...
EVEN IN COLLEGES...
WHERE PEOPLE ARE SAYING
WE MUST DISCRIMINATE AGAINST
SOMEONE WHO HAPPENS TO BE WHITE
AND HAPPENS TO BE MALE.
WHEN YOU START TALKING
ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AS BEING
"PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT,"
YOU HAVE ALREADY
SET UP A SITUATION
WHERE ANYBODY
WHO IS THE BENEFICIARY
OF "PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT"
WILL LOSE.
IF YOU SAY
"REVERSE DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST SOMEBODY,"
IT ALREADY SOUNDS LIKE
A BAD THING IS HAPPENING
AND YOU DON'T FOCUS
ON WHAT THE INJUSTICE WAS.
IF, IN FACT, WOMEN, BLACKS,
HISPANICS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED,
THE QUESTION BECOMES,
HOW DO YOU INCLUDE THEM?
HOW DO YOU MAKE UP
FOR THE LEGAL WRONG?
Narrator:
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
CAMPED OVERNIGHT
ON THE STEPS
OF THE SUPREME COURT
TO GAIN ADMISSION
TO WHAT WAS BEING CALLED
THE MOST IMPORTANT
CIVIL RIGHTS CASE
SINCE BROWN v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
ARCHIBALD COX DEFENDED
U. CAL. DAVIS.
HE ARGUED FOR USING
RACE AS A FACTOR
IN SELECTING
QUALIFIED APPLICANTS...
NOT TO DISCRIMINATE
AGAINST WHITES,
BUT TO REMEDY THE EFFECTS
OF GENERATIONS OF DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST BLACKS.
BAKKE'S LAWYER, REYNOLD COLVIN,
PRESENTED HIS CLIENT AS
ONE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST
BECAUSE OF HIS RACE.
WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CASE
WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL'S
RIGHTS HAVE BEEN DEPRIVED.
Norton:
ONE OF THE MORE UNFORTUNATE
THINGS ABOUT THE BAKKE CASE
IS THAT IT BECAME THE VEHICLE
FOR EDUCATING...
OR SHOULD I SAY MISEDUCATING...
THE PUBLIC
ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
THE PUBLIC LEARNED ABOUT
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
ALMOST LITERALLY FOR THE FIRST
TIME THROUGH SOUND BITES,
TEN-SECOND SOUND BITES
ON TELEVISION,
WITH PEOPLE POLARIZED
AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.
AS A RESULT, WHAT IS REALLY
A QUITE COMPLICATED CONCEPT,
ONE HARD ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN,
EVEN IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME,
BECAME DIGESTED AS AN
ELEMENT OF UNFAIRNESS.
Narrator:
THE SUPREME COURT HANDED DOWN
A DIVIDED DECISION.
THE ONLY THING CLEAR WAS
THAT BAKKE WOULD BE
ADMITTED TO DAVIS.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WAS FOUND
PERMISSIBLE, BUT NOT MANDATORY.
CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATES WORRIED
THAT THE COURT HAD BACKED OFF
FROM UNEQUIVOCAL SUPPORT.
DID THIS SIGNAL A CHANGE
IN THE WAY THAT AMERICA LOOKED
AT CIVIL RIGHTS?
YOU THINK IT'S
GOING TO BE BAD
FOR MINORITIES?
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE
DEFINITELY BAD FOR MINORITIES.
I THINK PEOPLE,
INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW,
THE SINCERITY INVOLVED
IN REALLY GOING OUT
AND GETTING MINORITY STUDENTS
INTO DIFFERENT
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS...
THAT SINCERITY
WILL BE LOST, ALL RIGHT,
SINCE THERE IS
A LEGAL PRECEDENT STATED NOW
THAT, YOU KNOW, IT SORT OF KILLS
THE THRUST OF THE PROGRAM.
BY 1979, THE CLIMATE OF OPINION
HAD CHANGED ALMOST COMPLETELY
IN THE COUNTRY ON ISSUES
RELATED TO CIVIL RIGHTS
AND THE ADVANCEMENT
TOWARD EQUALITY
FOR BLACKS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY.
FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE WOULD SAY,
"WE CAN'T HAVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AND EXCELLENCE
AT THE SAME TIME."
AND WHAT DID THEY MEAN
BY EXCELLENCE?
IN MANY CASES,
IT SEEMED THAT THEY MEANT
AN ABSENCE OF BLACK FOLK
AT EVERY LEVEL OF ANY IMPORTANCE
IN THE SOCIETY.
Narrator:
FOR MANY AMERICANS,
THE COST OF REMEDYING A HISTORY
OF DISCRIMINATION WAS TOO HIGH.
FOR OTHERS, THE COSTS OF TURNING
BACK WERE ALL TOO CLEAR.
WHEN SHE COMPLETED HER STUDIES,
DR. TONI JOHNSON-CHAVIS
SET UP PRACTICE
IN A BLACK AND
LATINO COMMUNITY.
THERE ARE A LARGE AMOUNT
OF POOR PEOPLE,
AND THERE ARE ONLY
TWO PEDIATRICIANS
THE TWO PEDIATRICIANS HERE
ARE BOTH BLACK.
IF THE TWO OF US HAD NOT
BEEN TRAINED IN THAT ERA
AND WERE NOT HERE,
WHO WOULD FULFILL THAT NEED?
THAT'S THE QUESTION
I ASKED THEN,
AND THAT'S THE QUESTION
THAT I ASK NOW.
Woman:
♪ I'VE COME SO FAR ♪
♪ I BELIEVE THAT
I CAN RUN ON... ♪
♪ A LITTLE MORE... ♪
♪ I'VE COME SO FAR... ♪
♪ I BELIEVE THAT
I CAN RUN ON... ♪
♪ JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE... ♪
Students:
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
Crowd:
♪ WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY ♪
♪ OH, DEEP IN MY HEART,
KNOW THAT I DO BELIEVE... ♪
♪ OH, WE SHALL OVERCOME
SOMEDAY. ♪
THERE'S MOing
IS PROVIDED BY THE
ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION.
NATIONAL CORPORATE FUNDING
IS PROVIDED BY LIBERTY MUTUAL
AND THE SCOTTS COMPANY.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
IS ALSO MADE POSSIBLE
BY THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
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. ♪
♪ BLUE SKIES SMILING AT ME ♪
♪ NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES
DO I SEE... ♪
Woman:
WHEN BROWN AGAINST THE BOARD
OF EDUCATION WAS DECIDED, 1954,
I HAPPENED TO BE DOWNTOWN
IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE,
WITH MY HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER.
AND WE WERE BUYING
SOME MATERIALS
FOR THE SENIOR CLASS PLAY.
I WAS GRADUATING THAT YEAR.
AND I SAW THE HEADLINE ON THE
CASE AND I SAID TO MY TEACHER,
"YOU KNOW,
THIS MEANS THAT NEXT YEAR
"ALL THE KIDS WILL BE
GOING TO SCHOOL TOGETHER.
THEY WON'T HAVE TO BE GOING
TO SEPARATE SCHOOLS."
AND SHE SAID, "IT'S NOT GOING
TO HAPPEN QUITE THAT FAST.
NOT NEXT YEAR."
Man:
NO MORE SEGREGATION.
♪ NO MORE SEGREGATION... ♪
Narrator:
TEN YEARS
AFTER THE SUPREME COURT
RULED SCHOOL
SEGREGATION UNLAWFUL
THE FIGHT FOR BLACK PROGRESS
HAD MOVED NORTH
TO BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
WHEN WE FIGHT ABOUT EDUCATION,
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR WHAT
THAT EDUCATION WILL GIVE US.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR A JOB.
WE'RE FIGHTING TO EAT.
WE'RE FIGHTING TO PAY
OUR MEDICAL BILLS.
WE'RE FIGHTING
FOR A LOT OF THINGS.
SO THIS IS A TOTAL FIGHT
WITH US.
Narrator:
BY THE 1960s, A SMALL
BUT GROWING NUMBER OF PARENTS
AND TEACHERS WERE COMPLAINING
ABOUT CONDITIONS IN THE SCHOOLS.
HERE I WAS A BRAND NEW TEACHER
COMING INTO MY FIRST
TEACHING EXPERIENCE.
AND I WALKED INTO THIS OLD
BUILDING BUILT IN 1842
NAMED AFTER A WONDERFUL
NEW ENGLAND WRITER,
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT.
AND I HAD 42 STUDENTS, 36 SEATS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE NEW CRAYONS.
WE HAD A BOX
OF OLD NUBBLY CRAYONS.
PENCILS HAD TO BE COLLECTED
AT THE END OF THE DAY
SO YOU WOULD HAVE ENOUGH FOR
THE CHILDREN FOR THE NEXT DAY.
THERE WASN'T ENOUGH WHITE PAPER.
Narrator:
BOOKS WERE OFTEN
IN SHORT SUPPLY
AND SOMETIMES CONTAINED
LESSONS THAT DAMAGED.
McGuire:
AND HERE WAS THIS BOOK I FOUND
WHICH HAD, UM... IT HAD THE WORD
"NIGGERS" IN IT...
"TEN LITTLE NIGGERS
SITTING ON A FENCE,
NINE LITTLE NIGGERS
PLAYING IN A LINE."
AND IT WAS JUST LIKE "TEN LITTLE
INDIANS, NINE LITTLE INDIANS"
AND IT WAS VERY OFFENSIVE.
MANY OF THE NEGRO
PARENTS BELIEVE
THAT A PREDOMINANTLY NEGRO
SCHOOL IS INFERIOR PER SE.
BUT WE HERE IN BOSTON
DO NOT BELIEVE THAT PREMISE.
Narrator:
LOUISE DAY HICKS SAID
THAT THE SCHOOLS WERE FINE
THE WAY THEY WERE.
THE CITY'S TOP VOTE-GETTER
IN THE MID '60s,
HICKS CHAIRED
THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
IN 1965, ONE IN FOUR
STUDENTS WAS BLACK.
ONLY ONE IN 200 TEACHERS
WAS BLACK
AND THERE WAS NOT
ONE BLACK PRINCIPAL.
THE N.A.A.C.P. BROUGHT
PARENTS' CONCERNS
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
WE JUST WANTED THEM TO SAY,
"YES, THERE IS SEGREGATION
IN THE SCHOOLS,"
AND WE WANTED THEM
TO ACKNOWLEDGE
AND TO COMMIT THEMSELVES
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I FEEL THAT AT THIS TIME
ANY SCHOOL THAT IS
PREDOMINANTLY NEGRO
IS AN INADEQUATE SCHOOL.
I DIDN'T HEAR
WHAT YOU SAID,
MRS. JOHNSON.
I SAID THAT ANY SCHOOL
THAT IS PREDOMINANTLY
NEGRO, IN BOSTON,
IS AN INADEQUATE SCHOOL.
BUT MRS. JOHNSON,
THE SUPERINTENDENT
OF SCHOOLS
HAS STATED
AS HIS POLICY
THAT A RACIALLY
IMBALANCED SCHOOL
IS NOT
EDUCATIONALLY
HARMFUL.
WELL... MRS. HICKS,
MADAME CHAIRMAN,
MAY I SAY THIS:
SUPERINTENDENT OHRENBERGER
AND YOURSELF
AND OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS
DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN IN
A RACIALLY IMBALANCED SCHOOL
SO YOU DO NOT KNOW
WHAT THE EFFECT IS
ON OUR CHILDREN.
Woman:
THE STATEMENT THAT WE MADE
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE SAID
THAT WHERE THERE WERE
A MAJORITY OF BLACK STUDENTS
THERE WAS NOT CONCERN
FOR HOW THESE KIDS LEARNED...
THAT THERE WERE
CROWDED CLASSROOMS,
TEMPORARY TEACHERS, NOT ENOUGH
BOOKS, SUPPLIES WERE LOW
AND ALL OF THAT KIND OF THING.
EVEN PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
WERE POOR.
Narrator:
COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS COULD NOT
FORCE THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
TO ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM.
THIS PLAN DOESN'T NEED BRAINS.
IT JUST NEEDS SOME GOODWILL
AND SOME COMMON SENSE.
Narrator:
PARENTS RESPONDED
WITH A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES
THROUGHOUT THE MID-'60s.
THEY ORGANIZED ONE-DAY SCHOOL
BOYCOTTS AND FREEDOM SCHOOLS.
BUT SHORT-TERM PROTEST
WAS NOT ENOUGH.
THEY RAN CANDIDATES
FOR THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE,
BUT THEY LOST.
THEY PUSHED THROUGH A STATE LAW
OUTLAWING RACIALLY
IMBALANCED SCHOOLS.
BUT THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REFUSED TO ENFORCE IT.
NOT YET 15% OF THE CITY,
BLACKS WERE A MINORITY TOO SMALL
TO STRONGLY INFLUENCE ELECTIONS
OR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
SO PARENTS TOOK MATTERS
INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
SOME SET UP VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS
THAT MOVED CHILDREN
TO EMPTY SEATS IN WHITE SCHOOLS.
WE DECIDED THAT WHERE THERE WERE
A LARGE NUMBER OF WHITE STUDENTS
THAT'S WHERE THE CARE WENT.
THAT'S WHERE THE BOOKS WENT.
THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY WENT.
SO THEREFORE, OUR THEORY WAS,
MOVE OUR KIDS INTO THOSE SCHOOLS
WHERE THEY'RE PUTTING
ALL OF THE RESOURCES
SO THAT THEY CAN GET
A BETTER EDUCATION.
Teacher and students:
"KUJICHAGULIA" MEANS
SELF-DETERMINATION...
Narrator:
OTHER PARENTS TOOK
A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
INSTEAD OF WORKING TO INTEGRATE
WHITE SCHOOLS,
THEY ESTABLISHED THEIR OWN
PARENT-RUN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.
Teacher:
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
Students:
NO.
GO TO WORK.
PARENTS SAW THAT
PUBLIC EDUCATION
WAS NOT OFFERING YOUNG PEOPLE
NOT ONLY THE STRONG
EDUCATION THAT THEY NEEDED,
BUT THE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS,
A RECOGNITION OF WHO THEY WERE
AS AFRICAN-AMERICANS
JUST WAS NOT HAPPENING IN THE
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO THERE WAS A REAL MOVE,
COMMUNITY-WIDE
TO DEVELOP INSTITUTIONS THAT
WOULD MEET BOTH OF THOSE NEEDS.
Narrator:
THE BLACK COMMUNITY COULD NOT
AFFORD TO TRANSPORT
ALL ITS STUDENTS
TO WHITE SCHOOLS,
NOR TO RUN
ITS OWN SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THE BATTLE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
WOULD HAVE TO BE FOUGHT
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THAT STRUGGLE HAD BEEN
GOING ON FOR A DECADE.
BLACK PARENTS WERE NOT GOING
TO GIVE UP.
THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
WAS NOT GOING TO GIVE IN
AND MOST OTHER CITY LEADERS
DID NOT WANT TO GET INVOLVED.
I THINK IT'S NOT UNFAIR TO SAY
THAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY,
THE FINANCIAL COMMUNITY
AND, I WOULD SAY,
THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
TOOK A WALK IN THE EARLY 1970s,
LEAVING, REALLY, ONLY THE
POLITICIANS AND THE PARENTS
AS THE PEOPLE WHO CARED
ABOUT THE ISSUE.
IN A CERTAIN SENSE, THE PARENTS
GOT PITTED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER...
WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS
AGAINST BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS...
IN A WAY THAT NO ONE
HAD EVER BARGAINED FOR.
Narrator:
IN 1972, UNDER
N.A.A.C.P. LEADERSHIP,
BLACK PARENTS FILED
A CLASS ACTION SUIT
AGAINST THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT.
A CONFRONTATION WAS LOOMING
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE CITY
IN WAYS NEVER EXPECTED.
WE FILED A LAWSUIT
IN THE FEDERAL COURT
BECAUSE THERE WAS
NO OTHER PLACE FOR US TO GO.
IT WAS LITERALLY
THE COURT OF LAST RESORT.
HERE WE GO, BOSTON,
HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
IN A CITY WHERE NEIGHBORHOODS
WERE DIVIDED BY RACE,
DESEGREGATING THE SCHOOLS
WOULD MEAN BUSING CHILDREN
FROM ONE NEIGHBORHOOD
TO ANOTHER.
I WOULDN'T CARE
IF THEY WERE GREEN OR PURPLE.
IT'S THE IDEA
OF PUTTING MY KID ON A BUS
WHEN I HAVE A SCHOOL RIGHT
ACROSS THE STREET
FROM WHERE THEY SHOULD GO.
I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR
THEY ARE.
Narrator:
ON JUNE 21, 1974,
FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
W. ARTHUR GARRITY
RULED THAT THE BOSTON SCHOOL
COMMITTEE WAS GUILTY
OF CONSCIOUSLY MAINTAINING
TWO SEPARATE SCHOOL SYSTEMS...
ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE.
HE ORDERED AN IMMEDIATE REMEDY...
CITYWIDE BUSING,
TO START IN SEPTEMBER.
LESS THAN A MILE SEPARATED
TWO OF BOSTON'S
POORER NEIGHBORHOODS.
ROXBURY WAS THE HEART
OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
SOUTH BOSTON WAS
LOUISE DAY HICKS' HOME
AND A CENTER
OF WHITE RESISTANCE.
STUDENTS WERE TO BE BUSED
BETWEEN THE TWO NEIGHBORHOODS.
WHEN GARRITY'S DECISION
CAME DOWN IN JUNE OF 1974,
WE WERE SUNK WHEN WE HEARD
SOME OF THE REMEDIES,
THE ONE OF BUSING
TO SOUTH BOSTON,
BECAUSE THOSE OF US WHO HAD
LIVED IN BOSTON ALL OF OUR LIVES
KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE
A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT THING
TO PULL OFF.
Narrator:
WITH THE OPENING OF SCHOOL
ONLY 12 WEEKS AWAY,
POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
AMONG BLACKS GAVE WAY
TO SHARED CONCERN
FOR THE SAFETY OF THE CHILDREN.
FREEDOM HOUSE,
A ROXBURY COMMUNITY CENTER,
COORDINATED BLACK
PREPARATIONS FOR BUSING.
ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES DURING
THAT PERIOD OVER THE SUMMER
WAS TO ASSURE THAT THERE WOULD
BE A PEACEFUL TRANSITION
AND THAT WE WOULD COMMIT
OURSELVES TO DO THAT.
WE STAND UNITED
AT THIS CRITICAL TIME
TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP
AND RESOURCE
TO THE PARENTS AND CHILDREN
WHO ARE RESIDENTS
IN OUR COMMUNITY
AND THOSE CHILDREN
WITH THEIR PARENTS
WHO WILL BE ATTENDING PUBLIC
SCHOOLS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
WE CALL ON OTHER SECTIONS
IN THE CITY TO ASSUME
THE SAME KIND
OF RESPONSIBILITIES
THAT WE ARE ASSUMING.
BOSTON IS A VERY HIDEBOUND,
DISTRUSTFUL, TURF-CONSCIOUS,
CLASS-CONSCIOUS, PAROCHIAL CITY,
FULL OF PEOPLE WHO DID NOT MAKE
MUCH PROGRESS OVER THE YEARS.
I'M TALKING ABOUT WHITE FOLKS.
THEY WERE NOT
MIDDLE-INCOME PEOPLE.
THEY WERE POOR FOLK
AND THEY WERE RUNNING
HARD-SCRABBLE OPERATIONS
AND THEY WERE SCARED FOLK.
BY THE TIME BUSING CAME AROUND,
THESE PEOPLE WERE
RIPE FOR REVOLUTION.
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
PEOPLE, AS A COMMUNITY...
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
THEY MAY SAY THIS IS HELPING...
IT'S TEARING THEM APART.
I'M NOT FOR THIS!
I DON'T CARE,
MY ONE WILL NOT GO TO SCHOOL.
BUT IT'S TEARING THEM APART!
WELL, I'M THE MAYOR,
AND THE FIRST RECOGNITION IS
THAT IT'S A COURT ORDER
THAT HAS TO BE ENFORCED
BY THE CITY,
THAT IT'S A FINAL DECISION,
THAT IT'S IRREVOCABLE,
AND THAT I'M GOING
TO BE RESPONSIBLE
AT A MINIMUM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
AND AT A MAXIMUM
FOR THE SOCIAL HEALTH.
IN A WAY,
IT'S A LITTLE EXAGGERATED,
BUT THE MORALS OF THE TOWN...
IT'S A MORAL QUESTION,
AS WELL AS A POLITICAL QUESTION.
WHAT I DID WAS
RESPOND POLITICALLY.
Narrator:
IN A SERIES OF COFFEE HOURS
SET UP IN HOMES
THROUGHOUT THE CITY,
THE MAYOR MET WITH WHITE PARENTS
OPPOSED TO BUSING.
White:
ALL RIGHT, BUT IT'S
NOT BEHIND US YET.
IT WILL BE A PAINFUL PROCESS
GOING THROUGH IT,
BECAUSE THE SOUTH DIDN'T
JUST SLIDE THROUGH IT.
IT TORE THEM APART AS IT WILL
HELP TO TEAR US APART.
THE MOOD WAS ONE
OF CONFUSION, CONCERN AND FEAR,
BECAUSE THE ELECTED OFFICIALS
DURING THAT SUMMER OF 1974
AFTER THE ORDER HAD BEEN
GIVEN BY JUDGE GARRITY
WERE VERY OFTEN
MAKING STATEMENTS
THAT THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN.
NOW, HOW CAN WE BEAT
THE FEDERAL COURT?
BY GETTING SOME STRONG
ANTI-BUSING LEGISLATION
FROM WASHINGTON.
SO I SUGGEST TO YOU
IF WE'RE GOING TO WIN,
IF YOU'RE
GOING TO KEEP
YOUR CHILDREN
IN THEIR
NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS,
THAT YOU JOIN
WITH THE REST
OF THE CITY
ON SEPTEMBER 9, IN A GRAND MARCH
BEFORE THE FEDERAL BUILDING.
Woman:
JUST BECAUSE I'M WHITE
DOESN'T MEAN
THAT THE 14th AMENDMENT
DOESN'T APPLY TO ME EITHER.
I AM WHITE,
AND I WANT MY RIGHTS!
Narrator:
DEMONSTRATORS HAD COME
TO THE FEDERAL BUILDING
TO PROTEST SENATOR
EDWARD KENNEDY'S SUPPORT
OF DESEGREGATION.
HIS FAMILY HAD ALWAYS BEEN
THE PRIDE OF BOSTON'S
IRISH COMMUNITY,
BUT NOW, THE CROWD
TURNED ON KENNEDY.
THOSE PEOPLE
OUT THERE
DON'T CARE
TO LISTEN TO YOU.
OKAY, THAT'S FINE,
AS LONG AS WE UNDERSTAND...
THEY'RE TAKING MY KIDS,
WHAT NEXT?
YOU GOING TO PUT US
OUT OF THE TOWN?
Narrator:
THE CROWD PURSUED KENNEDY
TO THE DOORS
OF THE FEDERAL BUILDING.
COME ON!
I KNOW, BUT IT'S NO GOOD.
Woman in crowd:
THEY'RE TAKING MY KIDS!
Narrator:
SCHOOL WAS DUE TO START
IN THREE DAYS.
SEPTEMBER 12, 1974.
UNDER COURT ORDER,
AGAINST SCHOOL COMMITTEE WISHES,
THE INTEGRATION
OF BOSTON'S SCHOOLS BEGAN.
ARE YOU
IN THIS CLASS?
OH, GOODY!
Narrator:
IT WAS A QUIET FIRST DAY
OF SCHOOL IN ROXBURY,
AS IT WAS IN MOST OF THE CITY.
A COMMITTEE OF BLACK PARENTS
WAITED INSIDE
TO GREET THE FEW WHITE STUDENTS
WHO CAME TO ROXBURY HIGH SCHOOL.
BUT ACROSS TOWN, CROWDS
OF WHITES HAD BEEN GATHERING
OUTSIDE SOUTH BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL
SINCE EARLY MORNING.
♪ ...BELONGS TO SOUTHIE,
AND SOUTHIE BELONGS TO YOU. ♪
LET'S GO, GENTLEMEN,
LET'S GO.
GO TO SCHOOL OR GO HOME.
COME ON, LAROSA,
LET'S GO.
Narrator:
THE SCHOOL'S HEADMASTER
HAD BEEN AT SOUTH BOSTON HIGH
FOR NINE YEARS.
COME ON.
GET IN OR GO HOME.
Woman:
IF YOU CAN
TELL US TO LEAVE,
THEN WE CAN TELL KIDS
NOT TO GO TO SCHOOL!
COME ON.
LET'S GO,
GO TO SCHOOL OR GO HOME.
LET'S GO.
Crowd chanting:
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE,
HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
INSIDE, THINGS WERE QUIET,
WITH MOST WHITE STUDENTS ABSENT.
AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY,
MORE TROUBLE WAITED OUTSIDE.
ON THE EVENING NEWS,
BOSTONIANS SAW SCHOOL BUSES
BEING ATTACKED AS THEY LEFT
SOUTH BOSTON.
THEY WERE THROWING EGGS
AT THE WINDOW
AND TRY TO HIT PEOPLE WITH THEM,
AND THEY WAS CALLING US
BLACK NIGGERS.
I WANT TO SAY THAT MY LITTLE BOY
GOT BACK SAFE,
FOR THE ONLY REASON...
I DON'T SEE WHY THEY SHOULD
BUS THESE SMALLER KIDS
ACROSS THERE AND GET ALL HURT UP
WHEN THEY CAN'T
DEFEND THEMSELVES.
I FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD GO OVER
HERE TO THIS SCHOOL OVER HERE
INSTEAD OF BUSING THEM
WAY ACROSS THERE.
THEY CAN'T DEFENTHEMSELVES,
THEY CAN'T FIGHT,
THEY CAN'T DO NOTHING.
Narrator:
RACIAL VIOLENCE IN THE CITY
KNOWN AS THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY
MADE HEADLINES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY
AND AROUND THE WORLD.
THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WAS APPREHENSIVE, BUT HOPEFUL.
EVERY DAY... YESTERDAY
WAS THE FIRST DAY.
EVERY DAY GO BY, THERE'S GOING
TO BE MORE IMPROVEMENT ABOUT IT.
LIKE YESTERDAY WAS THE
FIRST DAY, TODAY IS THE SECOND,
YOU HAVE MORE IMPROVEMENT
TODAY THAN YOU HAD YESTERDAY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING
TO CONTINUE THAT WAY
UNTIL IT GETS BETTER.
BUT IT'S GOING
TO TAKE A WHILE.
YOU CAN'T DO IT
ALL IN ONE DAY.
Woman:
THEY'RE NOT GOING
UNTIL THEY GET
SOME BLACK COPS
AND SOME BLACK DRIVERS.
THEY DID NOT
PICK MY KID UP AT SCHOOL.
IT LEFT HER OVER THERE.
IT LEFT HER
IN SOUTH BOSTON?
IT LEFT HER
IN SOUTH BOSTON.
NO, THEY LEFT HER OVER THERE.
ALL THOSE PEOPLE
OUT THERE ARE IRISH.
THEY LEFT HER
OUT THERE!
AND THEY REFUSED
TO GO GET HER.
Narrator:
WHITES STAGED A CITYWIDE
SCHOOL BOYCOTT,
A TACTIC BORROWED
FROM THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
AT THE BOYCOTT'S PEAK,
MORE THAN 50% OF ALL
WHITE STUDENTS STAYED HOME.
WELL, THE BOYCOTT WAS THAT IF
THERE WERE NO CHILDREN IN SCHOOL
THEY COULDN'T
IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
SO WE DECIDED... AND IT
CAME FROM ANOTHER THING.
IT CAME FROM THE FREEDOM SCHOOLS
IN ROXBURY IN THE '60s.
WE HAD A COMMUNITY MEETING,
ASKED THE PARENTS,
EXPLAINED WHAT WE THOUGHT
AND ASKED THE PARENTS IF THEY
WOULD GO ALONG WITH THE BOYCOTT.
THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DID.
I DID NOT SUPPORT THE BOYCOTT
AND I SENT MY SON TO SCHOOL
FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY.
AND FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME,
HE RODE THE BUS BY HIMSELF.
Woman 1:
I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND
YOU'RE A SELL-OUT, TOO, LADY!
NO, PEOPLE HAVE
THEIR RIGHTS, TOO.
Woman 2:
WE WOULDN'T EVEN
BRING THEM OUT.
WE FEAR FOR THEIR SAFETY!
Woman 1:
FOR ONE LOUSY DAY
THEY COULDN'T
HAVE BOYCOTTED?
ONE DAY! ONE DAY!
BUT THEY
COULDN'T DO THAT!
MY KIDS ARE OUT!
AND THEY'RE NOT GOING!
Amalfitano:
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR US.
IT WAS ALMOST LIKE
GETTING UP EVERY MORNING
AND GOING TO WAR.
MANY DAYS I WOULD COME HOME
AND I WOULD THINK
ABOUT ALL THE LIBERALS
THAT GOT ON THE BUSES
AND WENT SOUTH WHEN...
FOR SIT-INS AND BOYCOTTS
IN THE SOUTH
AND I REALLY WOULD
COME HOME AND WONDER,
WHERE WERE THEY NOW?
Narrator:
THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR.
WHITES OPPOSED
TO CHANGE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
WERE NOT GOING TO BACK DOWN.
MOST SCHOOLS WERE CALM...
BUT SOME WERE BATTLEGROUNDS.
Woman:
WHEN WE STARTED UP THE HILL,
YOU COULD HEAR PEOPLE SAYING,
"NIGGERS GO HOME!"
THERE WERE SIGNS
SAYING "BLACK PEOPLE STAY OUT!"
"WE DON'T WANT ANY NIGGERS
IN OUR SCHOOL!"
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE
ON THE CORNERS
HOLDING BANANAS
LIKE WE WERE APES.
NIGGERS EAT SH...!
NIGGERS EAT SH...!
Batson:
AS WE WENT UP THE HILL
AND APPROACHED THE SCHOOL,
OUR STUDENTS GOT
VERY, VERY QUIET,
WHERE THEY HAD BEEN JUST LIKE
ANY OTHER KID RIDING A BUS,
MAKING NOISE, LAUGHING, TALKING.
SUDDENLY AS THEY APPROACHED THIS
PLACE THEY GOT VERY, VERY QUIET.
AND THEN THEY WOULD
HAVE TO STAY THERE
TILL THE POLICE CAME OVER,
ESCORTED THEM OUT THE BUS
AND IN THROUGH THE METAL
DETECTORS, INTO THE SCHOOL.
I BEGAN FOR THE FIRST
TIME TO SAY,
"RUTH, MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T
HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED.
MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T
HAVE URGED THIS DESEGREGATION."
IT KILLED ME TO SEE
OUR BLACK STUDENTS
GO THROUGH THAT PROCEDURE.
Woman:
IT WAS PRETTY AGGRAVATING,
ACTUALLY, TO GO
AND BE PUT ALL THROUGH THIS
BEFORE YOU EVEN STARTED
A DAY AT SCHOOL.
IT WAS KIND OF RIDICULOUS
FOR A 17-YEAR-OLD PERSON
TO BE TREATED THIS WAY.
ON A NORMAL DAY,
THERE WOULD BE ANYWHERE
BETWEEN TEN AND 15
FIGHTS PER DAY.
THE WHITE KIDS FELT INTIMIDATED
THAT THEY HAD BLACK KIDS
IN THE SCHOOL.
THE BLACK KIDS WERE INTIMIDATED
BECAUSE THEY WERE
IN THIS WHITE SCHOOL
AND THEY DID NOT WANT
TO BE PUSHED AROUND.
YOU COULD WALK DOWN THE CORRIDOR
AND A BLACK PERSON WOULD BUMP
INTO A WHITE PERSON
OR VICE VERSA.
THAT WOULD BE ONE FIGHT.
AND THEY'D TRY TO SEPARATE IT,
BECAUSE AT THAT TIME,
IT WAS SO MUCH TENSION
IN THE SCHOOL.
JUST THE SLIGHTEST THING
WOULD SET IT OFF.
Narrator:
THE N.A.A.C.P. SURVEYED
BLACK STUDENTS
ON PROBLEMS
AT SOUTH BOSTON HIGH.
ABOUT A WEEK LATER, I WAS
SITTING IN MY OFFICE ONE NIGHT
AND I REACHED INTO MY BRIEFCASE
AND HERE WERE THESE FORMS.
SO I TOOK THEM OUT AND I BEGAN,
SORT OF ABSENTLY,
TO READ THROUGH THEM.
AS I READ THROUGH ONE
AFTER ANOTHER OF THESE FORMS,
WHAT I SAW WAS THAT
THESE KIDS COULDN'T SPELL.
THEY COULD NOT WRITE
A SIMPLE DECLARATORY SENTENCE.
AND AS I READ THESE FORMS,
NONE OF WHICH WERE
GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT
OR SPELLING PROPER,
I JUST STARTED TO CRY.
IT WAS, IT WAS, UM...
IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN
THE FEELING
OF PAIN, ON THE ONE HAND,
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,
I KNEW WE WERE RIGHT.
Narrator:
BUT THE FIGHT TO CORRECT
YEARS OF MISEDUCATION
WAS OVERSHADOWED
BY FEAR AND VIOLENCE.
IN OCTOBER, A SOUTH BOSTON MOB
PULLED A PASSING BLACK MOTORIST
FROM HIS CAR.
A POLICEMAN FIRED SHOTS
OVER THE HEADS OF THE CROWD
AND PULLED THE MAN TO SAFETY.
WE DON'T TEACH OUR KIDS
TO HATE ANYBODY!
ALL WE WANT FOR OUR KIDS
IS TO LOVE
AND TO GET A DECENT EDUCATION
AND TO LIVE DECENTLY
AS HUMAN BEINGS.
BUT WE'RE NOT EVEN DISTINGUISHED
AS HUMAN BEINGS
AS FAR AS EAST BOSTON GOES
OR SOUTH BOSTON.
WE'RE NIGGERS!
AND I WOULD BE DAMNED
IF I HAD ANY CHILD OF MINE
EXPOSED TO ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
I WOULDN'T WANT MY CHILD
TO SIT BESIDE IT,
BECAUSE, SEE, I'M NOT GOING
TO TEACH IT TO HATE.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING!
THAT'S THE LESSON THAT THOSE
KIDS HAVE BEEN GETTING
"STAND BESIDE MOMMY, SWEETIE,
AND THROW A ROCK AT THE NIGGER!"
Narrator:
FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THE MOB VIOLENCE IN SOUTH BOSTON
WAS ECHOED IN ROXBURY.
GROUPS OF BLACK STUDENTS
ROAMED THE STREETS,
PELTING WHITE PASSERS-BY
WITH ROCKS.
I DEPLORE THE VIOLENCE
THAT I'VE READ ABOUT
AND SEEN ON TELEVISION.
I THINK THAT'S MOST UNFORTUNATE.
Narrator:
WHITES OPPOSED TO BUSING
TOOK HEART
FROM GERALD FORD'S FIRST
PRESS CONFERENCE AS PRESIDENT.
I HAVE CONSISTENTLY
OPPOSED FORCED BUSING
TO ACHIEVE RACIAL BALANCE
AS A SOLUTION
TO QUALITY EDUCATION.
AND THEREFORE, I RESPECTFULLY
DISAGREE WITH THE JUDGE'S ORDER.
Narrator:
BOSTON WAS LEFT ON ITS OWN.
THE CITY'S NEIGHBORHOODS GREW
EVEN MORE ISOLATED AND HOSTILE.
BUT THIS CITY SHOULD HAVE BEEN
OPEN TO EVERYONE, AND IT WASN'T.
AND IT WAS THAT FEAR THAT IF YOU
STEPPED OUT OF YOUR PLACE,
YOU COULD BE ATTACKED.
THERE WAS NO LEADERSHIP THAT
SAID, "THAT'S OFF LIMITS."
I NEVER HEARD
ANY PUBLIC OFFICIAL
ON THE STATE LEVEL OR ON THE
CITY LEVEL COME OUT AND SAY,
"THIS IS A GOOD THING.
"WE SHOULD ALL LEARN TOGETHER,
WE SHOULD ALL LIVE TOGETHER."
THERE WAS NO ENCOURAGEMENT
FROM ANYBODY.
I CALL IT COMPLETE
OFFICIAL NEGLECT.
Narrator:
SOUTH BOSTON,
DECEMBER 11, 1974.
A FIGHT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL
BETWEEN A BLACK
AND A WHITE STUDENT
GOT OUT OF HAND.
I REMEMBER THE DAY MICHAEL FAITH
GOT STABBED VIVIDLY,
BECAUSE I WAS
IN THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HEARD
A LOUD COMMOTION
AND YOU HEARD KIDS
SCREAMING AND YELLING, SAYING,
"HE'S DEAD, HE'S DEAD!
"THAT BLACK NIGGER KILLED HIM!
OH, JEEZ, THERE WAS... WE WERE
CLOSE ENOUGH THAT WE SAW.
THERE WAS BLOOD, YOU KNOW,
ON THE HALLWAY FLOOR.
Narrator:
WHITE STUDENTS LEFT.
RUMORS SPREAD.
SOUTH BOSTON RESIDENTS AND
OTHERS SURROUNDED THE SCHOOL.
THE BLACK STUDENTS
WERE TRAPPED INSIDE.
EVERYBODY BUT THE POLICE
OFF THE APRON.
Narrator:
LOUISE DAY HICKS
APPEALED TO THE CROWD.
Hicks:
I WANT YOU TO ALLOW THE BLACK
CHILDREN TO GO BACK TO ROXBURY!
Hicks:
NOW, THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY
TO GET THEM BACK TO ROXBURY
AND THAT'S TO HAVE THEM
GO BACK BY BUS.
LET'S SEND THEM BACK!
OKAY, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU,
WILL YOU PLEASE MOVE
TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET
SO THEY CAN GO BACK?
Crowd:
NO!!
Ellison:
I REMEMBER THE POLICE CARS
COMING UP THE STREET,
OR ATTEMPTING TO, AND TURNING
OVER THE POLICE CARS.
AND I WAS JUST AMAZED THAT THEY
COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO THEY TRIED... THE POLICE
TRIED TO GET HORSES UP.
THEY WOULDN'T LET
THE HORSES GET UP.
THEY STONED THE HORSES,
THEY STONED THE CARS.
THAT WE WOULD NEVER GET OUT
OF SOUTH BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL.
Crowd:
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
HERE WE GO,
SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
HERE WE GO, SOUTHIE, HERE WE GO!
Narrator:
BLACK COMMUNITY
LEADERS AND OFFICIALS
WORKED OUT A RESCUE PLAN.
VOLUNTEERS RODE
DECOY BUSES TO THE SCHOOL.
FRANKLY, WE WERE SCARED.
BUT WE WENT UP, AND WHEN
WE GOT CLOSER TO THE SCHOOL,
WE COULD HEAR THE NOISE.
IT'S LIKE A HOLLOW FEELING
WHEN YOU GO UP THAT HILL.
Ellison:
FINALLY, IT MUST HAVE BEEN
2:30 OR 3:00 THAT AFTERNOON.
ALL OF A SUDDEN,
ALL YOU HEARD WAS,
"YOU'RE GOING OUT THE BACK DOOR,
YOU'RE GOING OUT THE BACK DOOR."
AT THAT MOMENT, WE HAD
TO RUN TO THE BUSES.
Narrator:
WHILE THE DECOY BUSES
DISTRACTED THE MOB
AT THE FRONT OF THE SCHOOL,
OTHER BUSES PULLED UP
TO THE BACK.
THE BLACK STUDENTS AND LEADERS
MADE IT OUT
OF SOUTH BOSTON SAFELY.
MICHAEL FAITH DID NOT DIE.
BUT HIS STABBING
AND THE ENSUING RIOT
FURTHER POLARIZED THE CITY.
THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
STIFFENED ITS RESOLVE
NOT TO COMPLY WITH
THE COURT ORDER.
IN RESPONSE, JUDGE GARRITY
PLACED THREE MEMBERS
IN CONTEMPT OF COURT.
IT SEEMS TO ME
THAT JUDGE GARRITY IS GOING
TO BRING US THIS PLAN
WITH THE BOOT OF OFFICIAL
AUTHORITY AND THE UNIFORM.
IN A CERTAIN SENSE, YOU CAN SAY
THAT RECONSTRUCTION
HAS FINALLY COME
TO THE NORTH WITH A VENGEANCE.
Narrator:
IN THE FACE OF SCHOOL
COMMITTEE INTRANSIGENCE,
THE SCHOOLS WERE RUN
BY THE COURT.
JUDGE GARRITY'S
WAS THE FINAL WORD
ON CURRICULUM, HIRING AND
FIRING, AND POLICY.
JUST TIME WILL
CHANGE THESE
PEOPLES' MINDS,
IN YOUR OPINION?
NO, I THINK... NOT NECESSARILY.
I THINK THAT TIME
WILL BRING ABOUT
AN UNDERSTANDING
ON THE PART OF MOST PEOPLE
THAT THERE'S NO ALTERNATIVE
BUT TO COMPLIANCE
WITH THE PRINCIPLES
SET OUT BY THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS,
RESISTANCE CONTINUED.
IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS
OF DESEGREGATION,
ALMOST A THIRD OF THE WHITE
STUDENTS LEFT THE SYSTEM.
Stevie Wonder:
♪ PROCLAMATION ♪
♪ RACE RELATIONS ♪
♪ CONSOLATION... ♪
Narrator:
OVER TIME, THE COURT
GRADUALLY FORCED CHANGES
IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
BUT THE COST REMAINED HIGH.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
IS GOING TO HAPPEN
WHEN YOU GO
TO SCHOOL?
WHEN WE GO UP THERE,
WE GONNA BE STONED.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ME BECAUSE WHY
IS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
WHEN THEY COME UP HERE?
WHEN THEY COME UP HERE,
WE WON'T MESS WITH THEM
SO WHY WHEN WE COME UP THERE,
THEY MESS WITH US?
WHAT DO YOU THINK
ABOUT THE PEOPLE
OF SOUTH BOSTON,
JOANNE?
IF YOU HAD
A MESSAGE YOU'D
LIKE TO TELL THEM,
WHAT WOULD
IT BE?
I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ME.
Narrator:
THE GREATEST CHANGES WERE
NOT FOUND IN THE SCHOOLS.
IN 1977
LOUISE DAY HICKS' POLITICAL
CAREER ENDED IN DEFEAT,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THE 20th CENTURY
A BLACK CANDIDATE WON ELECTION
TO THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
I FELT THAT WHAT TOOK PLACE
ABSOLUTELY HAD TO HAPPEN.
IT MAY NOT HAVE HAD
TO HAPPEN THAT WAY,
IF THERE HAD BEEN A DIFFERENT
KIND OF LEADERSHIP
PROVIDED BY WHITE BOSTONIANS
OF ALL CLASSES
AND ALL NEIGHBORHOODS.
HOWEVER, WHEN YOU'RE
THE ANVIL, YOU BEAR,
AND WHEN YOU'RE THE HAMMER,
YOU STRIKE,
AND WE WERE STRIKING,
AND THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK.
Narrator:
IN BOSTON, BLACKS
WERE A MINORITY,
FORCED TO RELY ON
THE FEDERAL COURT
IN THEIR FIGHT FOR
QUALITY EDUCATION.
IN ATLANTA, BLACKS HAD
JUST BECOME A MAJORITY.
HERE, THE FIGHT
FOR BLACK PROGRESS
FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC EQUITY.
♪ TIME IS TRULY WASTING ♪
♪ THERE'S NO GUARANTEE, YEAH ♪
♪ THERE'S MATTERS
IN THE MAKING ♪
♪ WE GOT TO FIGHT
THE POWERS THAT BE ♪
♪ GOT IT, BABY? ♪
Narrator:
IN OCTOBER 1973,
ATLANTA MADE HISTORY.
MAYNARD JACKSON WAS ELECTED
THE FIRST BLACK MAYOR
OF A LARGE SOUTHERN CITY.
NEVER...
NEVER...
Crowd:
NEVER.
NEVER...
Crowd:
NEVER.
NEVER...
NEVER SHALL I LET YOU DOWN!
Jackson:
BEING THE FIRST BLACK MAYOR
IS WHAT YOU WISH ON YOUR ENEMY.
OKAY?
AND I SAY THAT WITH
TONGUE IN CHEEK...
A GREAT PRIDE TO BE
MAYOR OF ATLANTA...
AND EVERY BLACK MAYOR
WHO'S BEEN THE FIRST
BLACK MAYOR OF AMERICA
I'M SURE HAS FELT
THE SAME THING,
BUT IT TRULY IS, UM...
IS PART HELL.
FIRST OF ALL, START WITH
EXAGGERATED BLACK EXPECTATIONS
THAT OVERNIGHT,
THE VALHALLA WILL BE FOUND,
HEAVEN WILL COME ON EARTH
AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE THE
BLACK MAYOR'S BEEN ELECTED,
AND THINGS JUST DON'T
WORK THAT WAY.
THE OBLIGATION THAT
I FELT WAS TO TRY
WITH EVERYTHING IN MY POWER
IN EVERY LEGAL AND
ETHICAL WAY THAT I COULD
TO MOVE THINGS AS QUICKLY
AS POSSIBLE IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO HELP ME GOD.
SO HELP ME GOD.
CONGRATULATIONS.
WE MUST SEE THE OTHER ATLANTA,
THE ONE ACROSS THE TRACKS,
THE INNER-CITY ONE,
THE ATLANTA IN THE VALLEYS
AND THE SHADOWS
JUST BEYOND THE FIRST
EXPRESSWAY EXITS
ONE PASSES WHEN
LEAVING DOWNTOWN.
Woman:
IT MADE, IT REALLY
MADE A DIFFERENCE,
BECAUSE THAT'S THE FIRST
BLACK MAYOR WE HAD,
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WAS
WORKING HARD FOR...
TO BRING A BLACK
PERSON IN OFFICE,
YOU KNOW, THAT KNEW SOME OF
THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR PEOPLES.
Jackson:
ALL OF A SUDDEN, I BECAME
MAYOR NOT JUST OF ATLANTA
BUT OF THE BLACK PEOPLE
IN GEORGIA
AND EVEN SOME
NEIGHBORING STATES.
NOW, EQUALLY IMPORTANT
AND EQUALLY DIFFICULT
WAS WHAT WE FOUND
IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY...
EXAGGERATED ANXIETY.
THAT ANXIETY WAS, "OH, MY GOD,
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?
"WE GOT A BLACK MAYOR.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN...
IS THIS THE END OF ATLANTA?"
WE HAD JUST COME THROUGH
A RUN-OFF ELECTION
WHERE MY OPPONENT
RAN A CAMPAIGN THAT SAID,
"ATLANTA'S TOO YOUNG TO DIE."
Man:
I SUPPORTED A WHITE CANDIDATE
AND, UH...
AS MOST WHITE PEOPLE DID.
YEAH, WE WERE VERY FRIGHTENED
BECAUSE WE HAD
NOTHING TO GO ON.
THERE HAD BEEN
NO EXPERIENCE THERE
AND WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
Man:
I CAME TO ATLANTA
IN THE SUMMER OF 1972.
AND I HAD READ EBONY MAGAZINE
AND HAD SEEN WHERE
IT WAS THE BLACK MECCA
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE SAYING
THAT IF YOU WERE BLACK
AND HAD A COLLEGE DEGREE
THIS WAS THE BEST PLACE
IN THE WORLD TO LIVE.
IT'S A EXCELLENT PLACE
FOR SOME BLACK PEOPLES...
IT IS...
IT'S A EXCELLENT PLACE
FOR SOME BLACK PEOPLE
BUT NOT FOR ALL BLACK PEOPLES,
IT'S NOT A EXCELLENT PLACE
TO LIVE,
BECAUSE IF IT WAS
A EXCELLENT PLACE TO LIVE,
THEY WOULD GIVE
PEOPLE SOME JOBS.
Narrator:
ATLANTA WAS HARD HIT BY
A NATIONWIDE RECESSION.
MANY ATLANTANS SUBSISTED
ON UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
Woman:
WELL, $37 A WEEK
IS NOT MUCH TO LIVE ON.
IT WON'T EVEN COVER FOOD
EXPENSES FOR FOUR KIDS
AND MYSELF ALONE.
Woman:
THE THING ABOUT IT IS,
IT MAY SEEM LIKE A NICE
VACATION TO SOME PEOPLE,
BUT IT'S REALLY, REALLY
BAD FOR THE ECONOMY
AND PEOPLE ARE
REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IT.
Narrator:
JACKSON MOVED INTO A PUBLIC
HOUSING PROJECT FOR A WEEKEND.
THE THOMASES WERE SELECTED
TO BE HIS HOST FAMILY.
OH, IT WAS VERY STRANGE,
AND THE STRANGEST
THING TO ME WAS
THAT THEY CHOSE ME TO HOUSE HIM.
SO WHEN I GOT OFF FROM WORK,
I CAME UP TO THE EDGE
OF THE APARTMENTS
AND I LOOKED DOWN IN THE COURT
AND THE COURT WAS JUST FULL
OF NEWS, NEWS MEDIA,
JUST FULL OF PEOPLE.
I KNEW I COULDN'T GO THROUGH
THAT CROWD, SO I TURNED AROUND
AND I WENT ALL THE WAY
DOWN THROUGH THE BACK
AND I CRAWLED UP MY BACK STEPS
TO GET IN MY HOUSE
TO AVOID THE NEWS MEDIA,
BUT WHEN I GOT IN THE HOUSE,
THEN, I SEEN THE MAYOR COMING.
I KNEW I HAD TO OPEN
THE DOOR THEN.
IT WAS JUST A MOB, REALLY,
JUST A PURE MOB
JUST FELL ALL IN THE DOOR,
STANDING ALL UP ON MY FURNITURE.
WE WANT TO DRAMATIZE
WHAT ARE DRAMATICALLY
HORRIBLE CONDITIONS
SO THAT PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND
WHEN WE BEGIN TO TALK
ABOUT DRAMATIC CHANGES
AND DRAMATIC CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.
WE'RE NOT JUST OVERREACTING.
THE CONDITIONS HERE
DEFY DESCRIPTION.
Narrator:
THE MAYOR HAD LIMITED IMPACT ON
FEDERALLY FUNDED PUBLIC HOUSING.
BUT JACKSON DID HAVE THE POWER
TO CHANGE THE WAY
THE CITY OPERATED.
HE HIRED MORE
MINORITIES AND WOMEN.
HE MOVED AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY
BUSINESS PRACTICES.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WAS
ALREADY FEDERAL POLICY.
JACKSON MADE IT CITY POLICY.
WHEN I BECAME MAYOR,
0.5% OF ALL THE CONTRACTS
IN THE CITY OF ATLANTA
WENT TO AFRO-AMERICANS
IN A CITY WHICH,
AT THAT TIME, WAS 50-50.
Narrator:
MANY IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
RESISTED JACKSON'S
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY.
THIS WAS A MAJOR MANAGER
OF A MAJOR WHITE CORPORATION
WHO GOT VERY UPSET WITH ME
ABOUT THE POLICY ON
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AND SAID THAT, "I DON'T SEE
THIS TO BE NECESSARY.
WE'RE GOING TO DO
WHAT'S RIGHT," YOU KNOW.
"YOU CAN TRUST US,"
AND SO FORTH.
AND I SAID, "I HAVE
EVERY CONFIDENCE, BUT, UM...
"AND I WANT TO TRUST YOU,
BUT I ALSO WANT YOU TO SIGN
ON THE DOTTED LINE."
HE SAID, "WELL, LOOK, I'M
JUST NOT GOING TO GO OUT
AND HIRE THE FIRST NEGRO I SEE."
I SAID, "I THINK THAT'S A
PRETTY SOUND PERSONNEL POLICY."
I SAID, "I WOULDN'T EITHER."
Narrator:
JACKSON'S SUPPORT
OF BLACK BUSINESS
PULLED HIM INTO THE
RING WITH MUHAMMAD ALI
AT A PROMOTIONAL EVENT.
Jackson:
THIS IS OUR ODE TO ALI.
"DANCE LIKE A BUTTERFLY,
STING LIKE A BEE,
"MY FISTS ARE SO FAST
THAT THEY'LL DAZZLE ALI.
"THE CHAMP MAY BE STRONG,
BUT HE ISN'T ALL THERE
"IF HE THINKS HE CAN BEAT
THIS DYNAMITE MAYOR.
"BUT I'LL TELL YOU THIS,
YOU BETTER KNOW IT,
"I MAY NOT BE A FIGHTER,
"BUT I'M DARN SURE A POET.
"SO COME OUT AND SEE IT,
THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR,
"I'LL FACE ALI'S CHALLENGE
WITH COURAGE, NOT FEAR,
"BECAUSE HE MAY BE A FIGHTER
"BUT I'LL THROW OUT THIS DARE...
HE WOULDN'T SURVIVE
FOR A WEEK BEING MAYOR."
ONE.
TWO.
THREE.
FOUR...
Announcer:
AFTER THE FIGHT, ALI SAID
IT WAS THE MAYOR'S FLOWERED
BOXING TRUNKS THAT SAVED HIM.
ONE THING IS FOR SURE...
ALI HAS LEARNED THAT
YOU CANNOT FIGHT CITY HALL.
Narrator:
THE CHALLENGE TO JACKSON'S
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY
WAS ABOUT TO ESCALATE.
AIRPORT EXPANSION.
Huntley:
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW
AIRPORT FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTA
WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS,
IF NOT THE MAJOR PROJECT,
IN THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION.
THERE WERE A NUMBER
OF BIG CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
BETWEEN 1976 AND 1979 OR '80,
BUT THIS WAS THE CROWN JEWEL.
Narrator:
PLANNING WAS ALREADY UNDER WAY.
BUT DESPITE PUBLIC CRITICISM,
JACKSON ANNOUNCED THAT
CONSTRUCTION WOULD NOT BEGIN
WITHOUT FULL
BLACK PARTICIPATION.
EMMA DARNELL, ONE OF THE FIRST
TWO WOMEN COMMISSIONERS
EVER APPOINTED IN ATLANTA,
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION GUIDELINES.
WHEN YOU BEGIN TO MOVE
IN PUBLIC POLICY
IN AREAS THAT INVOLVE RACE,
YOU CAN EXPECT A GREAT
DEAL OF EMOTION.
THE BIDDING PROCESSES
THAT WE'VE HAD IN THIS CITY
HAVE STOOD FOR YEARS AND YEARS
LIKE A GRANITE ROCK.
THEY'VE BEEN STEADY
AND THEY'VE STOOD,
AND WE'VE HAD VERY LITTLE
PROBLEMS WITH THEM
AS LONG AS WE ADHERED TO
THE LOWEST AND THE BEST BID.
OPERATIONALLY.
BUT THERE ARE TWO RELEVANT LAWS
ALREADY ON THE BOOKS
WHICH, I THINK, IMPACT
UPON THIS QUESTION...
Man:
AND THE WHITE POWER
STRUCTURE DOWNTOWN
COULDN'T DEAL WITH EMMA,
BECAUSE NOT ONLY WAS SHE
BLACK AND A FEMALE,
BUT SHE WAS SMART, AND SHE WAS
A VERY EXCELLENT COMMUNICATOR.
SO SHE WOULD LOOK
AT THE CONTRACT
AND IF IT DIDN'T HAVE
THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT
OF MINORITY PARTICIPATION,
SHE'D SAY, "TAKE THAT BACK,
GET IT RIGHT."
THEY COULDN'T DEAL WITH THAT,
NOT A BLACK FEMALE.
I LOOKED AT HOW THE POWER
STRUCTURE MEMBERS
DEALT WITH EACH OTHER.
IF THEY DISAGREED, THEY'D SAY,
"THE HELL WITH YOU,
YOU'RE A SO-AND-SO."
BUT THEY WOULD NOT WALK AWAY
FROM THE RELATIONSHIP.
I SAID, "THAT'S FAIR ENOUGH,
I CAN DEAL WITH THAT."
MY PREFERENCE WAS
TO DO IT AS A TEAM.
IF WE STUMBLE,
WE'LL STUMBLE TOGETHER.
IF I MADE A MISTAKE,
FINE, SAY I'M A DUMMY
BUT DON'T WALK AWAY
FROM THE RELATIONSHIP.
I WAS DEAD WRONG.
WHEN TIMES GOT HOT, EVEN SOME
OF THE CLOSEST FRIENDS I HAD
IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY...
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE WHITE
POWER STRUCTURE NOW...
SAID, "MAYNARD, THAT WAS THE
DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN
AND GOOD-BYE."
SO, I MISCALCULATED.
BLACK LEADERSHIP MUST ACCEPT
THE NEW ROLES AS CITY LEADERS
AND NOT BLACK CITY LEADERS.
WITH POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY,
THEY MUST BE ABLE...
Munford:
WE FELT THAT WE WERE AT BAY.
WE WERE OUT THERE BARKING,
AND NOTHING WAS HAPPENING.
THERE WAS NO QUESTION
BUT HE WAS A FULL-FLEDGED
RACIST AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE,
AND THIS WAS WHAT HIS CHARGE WAS
WAS TO SEE THAT IT WAS
TURNED OVER TO BLACKS
AND YOU HAD TO BE
A RACIST TO DO THAT.
COLOR BLINDNESS WAS NOT PART
OF HIS REPERTOIRE.
Narrator:
JACKSON HELD HIS GROUND...
NO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION,
NO AIRPORT.
AFTER ALMOST A YEAR
OF POLITICAL INFIGHTING,
THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED
THE FIRST MINORITY CONTRACT.
NEW CITY GUIDELINES
CALLED FOR A MINIMUM OF 20%
MINORITY PARTICIPATION
IN ALL PHASES OF THE WORK.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OPENED UP
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOME,
BUT TIMES WERE STILL HARD
FOR ATLANTA'S WORKING POOR.
DEMANDING HIGHER WAGES,
THE CITY'S SANITATION WORKERS
WENT OUT ON STRIKE.
I MEAN, HE PROMISED THE MONEY,
AND THE MONEY IS THERE,
SO HE MAY AS WELL GIVE IT TO US,
OR GIVE US SOMETHING.
Narrator:
JACKSON SAID THE CITY
HAD NO MONEY
TO MEET THE STRIKERS' DEMANDS.
BUT SOME THOUGHT THAT
HE WANTED TO PROVE
THAT HE COULD HOLD THE LINE
ON SPENDING,
EVEN AGAINST A PREDOMINANTLY
BLACK UNION.
WHAT THEY THINK IS
THAT A LIBERAL BLACK MAYOR
WITH A PRO-UNION BACKGROUND
WOULD NOT DARE TO DEFY
ANY DEMAND THEY WOULD MAKE.
WE DIDN'T STRIKE MAYNARD
BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK.
WE STRUCK HIM BECAUSE OUR
FOLK WERE PICKING UP GARBAGE,
WORKING AMONG MAGGOTS,
AND WE FELT THAT THEY NEEDED
TO GET PAID FOR DOING THAT.
$7,000, $8,000, $9,000 A YEAR,
IN OUR OPINION, WAS NOT ENOUGH.
Jackson:
REPRESENTING ATLANTA,
I URGE ALL CITY EMPLOYEES
TO REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY.
I EMPHASIZE THAT THOSE
WHO IGNORE THIS DIRECTIVE
WILL BE DISCHARGED.
Narrator:
JACKSON GAVE NOTICE
TO 1,000 STRIKERS,
MOST OF WHOM WERE BLACK.
THE UNION LOST THE BITTER
AND DIVISIVE STRUGGLE,
BUT JACKSON REMAINED POPULAR
AMONG MOST BLACKS.
LATER THAT YEAR, HE WON
REELECTION BY A LANDSLIDE.
4:00 A.M., SEPTEMBER 21, 1980.
THE FIRST SCHEDULED
FLIGHT ARRIVED
AT THE WORLD'S LARGEST
PASSENGER TERMINAL.
THE MIDFIELD TERMINAL OF THE
HARTSFIELD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED.
Kool and the Gang:
♪ CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES ♪
♪ COME ON! ♪
♪ CELEBRATE ♪
♪ CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES,
COME ON! ♪
Narrator:
CONFOUNDING CRITICS WHO
LABELED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT
DOOMED TO FAIL,
THE $700 MILLION FACILITY
WAS COMPLETED ON SCHEDULE
AND ON BUDGET, WITH A MINIMUM
OF 20% MINORITY PARTICIPATION
IN ALL PHASES OF THE WORK.
♪ WE GONNA CELEBRATE ♪
♪ YOUR PARTY WITH YOU,
COME ON, NOW ♪
♪ CELEBRATION... ♪
Narrator:
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AND THE AIRPORT
WERE MAJOR TRIUMPHS OF
THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION.
BUT MOST BLACKS IN ATLANTA
HAD NOT BENEFITED.
BY THE TIME THE AIRPORT OPENED,
ATLANTA WAS THE SECOND
POOREST CITY IN THE COUNTRY.
THERE WERE CLEAR LIMITS
TO WHAT LOCAL ELECTORAL
POWER COULD ACHIEVE.
ELECTING BLACKS TO OFFICE
WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
WE WERE, FOR ALL
PRACTICAL PURPOSES,
ENGAGED IN A REVOLUTION.
WE KNEW THAT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS.
IT WAS STILL THE CIVIL
RIGHTS REVOLUTION.
THOSE PERSONS DURING THE '60s
LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES AND DIED
TO PUT US INTO THESE
POSITIONS OF POWER.
WE DID NOT CONSIDER
THESE POSITIONS OF POWER
TO BE ENDS IN AND OF THEMSELVES.
DR. KING TAUGHT US
TO REMEMBER OUR ROOTS,
REMEMBER OUR BROTHERS
AND SISTERS
WHO ARE STILL NOW LOCKED
IN THE DUNGEONS OF DEPRIVATION.
YET TODAY, HE SEES
SOME BLACK PEOPLE
WHO HAVE ESCAPED FROM POVERTY,
FOR THE TIME BEING,
AND WHO ALSO ARE TRYING TO
ESCAPE THEIR DUTY TO THE POOR.
Darnell:
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
IS WHAT'S ON THE INSIDE.
YOU KNOW, HAVE YOU REALLY BEEN
DEEPLY AND PERMANENTLY AFFECTED
BY THE BLOOD THAT HAS BEEN SHED
IN ORDER FOR YOU
TO SIT BEHIND THE DESK?
DO YOU ACTUALLY FEEL ANY
SENSITIVITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
TO ALL OF THOSE FOLK OUT THERE
IN THOSE CHURCHES
AND THOSE PROGRAMS
WHO STAND UP AND
GIVE YOU BIG APPLAUSE
BELIEVING THAT YOU
STAYED ON THE CASE
OR ARE YOU REALLY IN THERE
TRYING TO HOLD YOUR GROUND
TO GET YOUR HOUSE,
GET YOUR CAR, GET YOUR B.M.W.,
GET INVITED TO
THE RIGHT RECEPTIONS
AND BE CONSIDERED A LEADER?
All:
WE WON'T GO BACK,
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
TAKE BAKKE BACK!
Narrator:
OCTOBER 1977.
BLACK STUDENTS NATIONWIDE
WERE WORRIED.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN HIGHER
EDUCATION WAS UNDER ATTACK.
IN TEN YEARS OF
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EFFORTS,
THE NUMBERS OF BLACK
STUDENTS ENROLLED
IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
HAD MORE THAN DOUBLED.
WHEN I WAS... WENT TO WASHINGTON
TO RUN EDUCATION IN THE
CARTER ADMINISTRATION IN 1977,
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS
THAT HAPPENED WAS
THE HEAD OF MY STATISTICAL
AGENCY CAME IN TO SEE ME
AND SHE SAID, "GOOD NEWS, THE
COLLEGE-GOING RATE FOR BLACKS
"IS EQUAL TO THE COLLEGE-GOING
RATE FOR WHITES
FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN AMERICAN HISTORY."
♪ THANK YOU FOR THE FUSS,
I THANK YOU, LORD... ♪
Berry:
SO, THIS WAS
JUST WONDERFUL NEWS.
AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "IF WE
CAN JUST KEEP UP THIS PROGRESS
"FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS,
JUST THINK OF HOW FAR
WE WILL HAVE COME."
Narrator:
BLACK PROGRESS WAS
FACING A CHALLENGE.
ALAN BAKKE WAS
AN ENGINEER IN HIS 30s
WHEN HE DECIDED TO
BECOME A DOCTOR.
HE WAS TURNED DOWN
BY 12 MEDICAL SCHOOLS...
TWICE BY THE ONE
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS.
BAKKE SUED DAVIS.
HE ALLEGED ITS AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION PROGRAM UNFAIRLY LIMITED
HIS CHANCES OF ADMISSION.
BUT TONI JOHNSON WAS ADMITTED
TO DAVIS MEDICAL SCHOOL.
FIRST IN HER FAMILY
TO ATTEND COLLEGE,
SHE HAD GONE TO
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
ON AN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
AND GRADUATED IN THREE YEARS.
WHEN I WAS SELECTED FOR U.C.
DAVIS AND WENT INTO DAVIS,
IT WAS NOT UNTIL WELL
INTO MY FIRST YEAR
THAT I HAD ANY IDEA
THAT I HAD BEEN SELECTED
THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
CERTAINLY I HAD MET ALL THE
CRITERIA FOR REGULAR ENTRANCE.
CERTAINLY THERE WERE OTHER
STUDENTS, WHITE STUDENTS,
WHO DID NOT EVEN MEET
THE SAME CRITERIA.
THEIR G.P.A. WAS
FAR LESS THAN MINE.
THEIR M.C.A.T. SCORES
WERE FAR LESS THAN MINE.
SO I HAD NO IDEA
THAT I HAD EVEN COME IN
THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
YOU WANT TO HOLD HIM FOR ME?
I HEARD ABOUT ALAN BAKKE
THE VERY FIRST YEAR I WAS
IN MEDICAL SCHOOL,
OTHER THAN THERE WAS A GUY WHO
WANTED TO GET INTO OUR CLASS
AND HE WAS REALLY ANGRY THAT HE
DIDN'T GET INTO THE CLASS,
SO HE WAS GOING TO SUE.
I THINK FROM THE DAY
BAKKE WALKED IN OUR DOOR,
WE KNEW WHAT WAS AT STAKE.
BACK THEN, PEOPLE SAID
THAT THESE PROGRAMS LIKE THE
DAVIS PROGRAM ARE GREAT THINGS
BECAUSE THEY INCLUDE PEOPLE AND
BRING THEM INTO THE CLASS.
AND I THINK THE SHORTCOMING
OF THAT ANALYSIS IS
THEY FORGET THAT WHEN YOU
BRING IN ONE PERSON
YOU'RE KEEPING OUT
ANOTHER PERSON.
Narrator:
THE BAKKE CASE REACHED
THE SUPREME COURT
AND STIMULATED A NATIONAL DEBATE
ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
I THINK WE WERE MAKING
ENORMOUS PROGRESS
BEFORE ANYONE CONJURED UP
THIS PERVERSION OF
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
I BELIEVE THERE'S BEEN
A GOOD FAITH EFFORT, TOO,
ON THE PART OF MOST AMERICANS
TO COMPLY, TO DROP THE BLINDERS
THAT TOO MANY OF US
HAVE WORN OVER THE YEARS.
NO, THE PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE.
BUT WE ARE NOW SEEING
AND WHAT I FEAR, FRANKLY,
IS A BACKLASH, AND A VERY
SERIOUS BACKLASH.
YOU SEE THIS IN UNIONS,
FOR EXAMPLE,
YOU SEE THIS IN COLLEGES...
EVEN IN COLLEGES...
WHERE PEOPLE ARE SAYING
WE MUST DISCRIMINATE AGAINST
SOMEONE WHO HAPPENS TO BE WHITE
AND HAPPENS TO BE MALE.
WHEN YOU START TALKING
ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
AS BEING
"PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT,"
YOU HAVE ALREADY
SET UP A SITUATION
WHERE ANYBODY
WHO IS THE BENEFICIARY
OF "PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT"
WILL LOSE.
IF YOU SAY
"REVERSE DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST SOMEBODY,"
IT ALREADY SOUNDS LIKE
A BAD THING IS HAPPENING
AND YOU DON'T FOCUS
ON WHAT THE INJUSTICE WAS.
IF, IN FACT, WOMEN, BLACKS,
HISPANICS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED,
THE QUESTION BECOMES,
HOW DO YOU INCLUDE THEM?
HOW DO YOU MAKE UP
FOR THE LEGAL WRONG?
Narrator:
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
CAMPED OVERNIGHT
ON THE STEPS
OF THE SUPREME COURT
TO GAIN ADMISSION
TO WHAT WAS BEING CALLED
THE MOST IMPORTANT
CIVIL RIGHTS CASE
SINCE BROWN v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
ARCHIBALD COX DEFENDED
U. CAL. DAVIS.
HE ARGUED FOR USING
RACE AS A FACTOR
IN SELECTING
QUALIFIED APPLICANTS...
NOT TO DISCRIMINATE
AGAINST WHITES,
BUT TO REMEDY THE EFFECTS
OF GENERATIONS OF DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST BLACKS.
BAKKE'S LAWYER, REYNOLD COLVIN,
PRESENTED HIS CLIENT AS
ONE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST
BECAUSE OF HIS RACE.
WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CASE
WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL'S
RIGHTS HAVE BEEN DEPRIVED.
Norton:
ONE OF THE MORE UNFORTUNATE
THINGS ABOUT THE BAKKE CASE
IS THAT IT BECAME THE VEHICLE
FOR EDUCATING...
OR SHOULD I SAY MISEDUCATING...
THE PUBLIC
ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
THE PUBLIC LEARNED ABOUT
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
ALMOST LITERALLY FOR THE FIRST
TIME THROUGH SOUND BITES,
TEN-SECOND SOUND BITES
ON TELEVISION,
WITH PEOPLE POLARIZED
AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.
AS A RESULT, WHAT IS REALLY
A QUITE COMPLICATED CONCEPT,
ONE HARD ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN,
EVEN IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME,
BECAME DIGESTED AS AN
ELEMENT OF UNFAIRNESS.
Narrator:
THE SUPREME COURT HANDED DOWN
A DIVIDED DECISION.
THE ONLY THING CLEAR WAS
THAT BAKKE WOULD BE
ADMITTED TO DAVIS.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WAS FOUND
PERMISSIBLE, BUT NOT MANDATORY.
CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATES WORRIED
THAT THE COURT HAD BACKED OFF
FROM UNEQUIVOCAL SUPPORT.
DID THIS SIGNAL A CHANGE
IN THE WAY THAT AMERICA LOOKED
AT CIVIL RIGHTS?
YOU THINK IT'S
GOING TO BE BAD
FOR MINORITIES?
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE
DEFINITELY BAD FOR MINORITIES.
I THINK PEOPLE,
INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW,
THE SINCERITY INVOLVED
IN REALLY GOING OUT
AND GETTING MINORITY STUDENTS
INTO DIFFERENT
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS...
THAT SINCERITY
WILL BE LOST, ALL RIGHT,
SINCE THERE IS
A LEGAL PRECEDENT STATED NOW
THAT, YOU KNOW, IT SORT OF KILLS
THE THRUST OF THE PROGRAM.
BY 1979, THE CLIMATE OF OPINION
HAD CHANGED ALMOST COMPLETELY
IN THE COUNTRY ON ISSUES
RELATED TO CIVIL RIGHTS
AND THE ADVANCEMENT
TOWARD EQUALITY
FOR BLACKS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY.
FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE WOULD SAY,
"WE CAN'T HAVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AND EXCELLENCE
AT THE SAME TIME."
AND WHAT DID THEY MEAN
BY EXCELLENCE?
IN MANY CASES,
IT SEEMED THAT THEY MEANT
AN ABSENCE OF BLACK FOLK
AT EVERY LEVEL OF ANY IMPORTANCE
IN THE SOCIETY.
Narrator:
FOR MANY AMERICANS,
THE COST OF REMEDYING A HISTORY
OF DISCRIMINATION WAS TOO HIGH.
FOR OTHERS, THE COSTS OF TURNING
BACK WERE ALL TOO CLEAR.
WHEN SHE COMPLETED HER STUDIES,
DR. TONI JOHNSON-CHAVIS
SET UP PRACTICE
IN A BLACK AND
LATINO COMMUNITY.
THERE ARE A LARGE AMOUNT
OF POOR PEOPLE,
AND THERE ARE ONLY
TWO PEDIATRICIANS
THE TWO PEDIATRICIANS HERE
ARE BOTH BLACK.
IF THE TWO OF US HAD NOT
BEEN TRAINED IN THAT ERA
AND WERE NOT HERE,
WHO WOULD FULFILL THAT NEED?
THAT'S THE QUESTION
I ASKED THEN,
AND THAT'S THE QUESTION
THAT I ASK NOW.
Woman:
♪ I'VE COME SO FAR ♪
♪ I BELIEVE THAT
I CAN RUN ON... ♪
♪ A LITTLE MORE... ♪
♪ I'VE COME SO FAR... ♪
♪ I BELIEVE THAT
I CAN RUN ON... ♪
♪ JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE... ♪
Students:
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
WE WON'T GO BACK!
Crowd:
♪ WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY ♪
♪ OH, DEEP IN MY HEART,
KNOW THAT I DO BELIEVE... ♪
♪ OH, WE SHALL OVERCOME
SOMEDAY. ♪
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