SIXTIES, THE: LONG MARCH TO FREEDOM (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series highlighting important people and events in the United States in the 1960’s.
This episode focuses on the racial segregation of African-Americans and the Civil Rights Movement. At the beginning of the 1960’s, African-Americans faced intense discrimination, unable to enjoy the same civil rights as white Americans and being confined to separate or reduced facilities and services. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had become famous across the country by this time for his sermons and advocacy for civil rights, but felt frustrated that his fame seemed to change nothing about the country. He contacted other African-American ministers across the South to begin a protest movement, greatly stressing the need for nonviolence. He learns much about nonviolent tactics from Reverend James Lawson, who instructs him in “Gandhian” methods of protest organization. In 1960, Lawson and many others educate supporters in Nashville, Tennessee on how to formulate their protest strategies, forming the foundations of what would become the Civil Rights Movement. Lawson teaches them how not to respond even if faced with offensive language or harm brought against them. The students in Nashville give a heretofore unseen organization and focus to the sit-ins they enact. The first one takes place at a lunch counter in Nashville, where students sit down to order food, knowing that it is illegal and that they may be arrested. However, they are not, and the sit-in’s effect is to provoke confusion and debate amongst the community. Dr. King advocates on behalf of the protestors on a televised debate.
The sit-ins continue, and resistance from white members of the community begins to make itself apparent in the form of arrests and violence against the protestors. A mass arrest of this kind occurs on February 29th, 1960, imprisoning over 80 Nashville students. The protestors also use boycotting as a form of protest, and by April 19th, the mayor of Nashville puts forward desegregation measures. This is viewed as a “great victory” for the protestors in Nashville, and other African-Americans across the country view their success as a framework for their own attempts to protest the injustices around them. Dr. King, pleased with this initial progress, participates in a sit-in in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is arrested and kept even when other protestors are released. His imprisonment attracts the attention of then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, who has his brother Robert Kennedy arrange to have Dr. King released. He is released on October 27th, 1960, and this action secures votes for Kennedy from many African-Americans, contributing to his narrow victory. Dr. King hopes that President Kennedy will have the ability to aid the cause of civil rights as those before him did not. However, his administration proves to be uneasy about tackling such a polarizing issue.
In 1961, the “Freedom Riders” come into existence, African-Americans riding on public buses to protest segregated seating. The original Freedom Ride takes place on two buses traveling from Washington D.C. to New Orleans, and the Riders stop at various waiting rooms and cafes along the way. The Rides provoke violence from Southern communities, who attack the Freedom Riders, such as an attack on May 14th, 1961 when an attacker destroys one of the buses by hurling a bomb at it. In Birmingham, Alabama, the other bus arrives to an angry mob which drags the Riders out of the bus and savagely beats them. The students in Nashville are horrified by this display of violence, but decide to pick up where the Riders left off, organized by protestor Diane Nash, who frames this as a prime example of using nonviolence to combat violence. This new Ride is met with a large mob in Montgomery, Alabama which attacks them. The police break up the fight and the Freedom Riders take refuge in a local Baptist church. Dr. King himself travels to Montgomery to lend his support, becoming “trapped” in the church as well. He contacts Robert Kennedy, who gets the United States Marshalls to put Montgomery under martial law. This saves them from further attacks and allows them to safely leave the city for Jackson, Mississippi. However, once they arrive there they are arrested and imprisoned by the police; unbeknownst to them, this is part of an agreement brokered by the Kennedy administration. The increased opposition to the Freedom Rides inspires others to attempt their own Freedom Rides, furthering the spread of civil rights protestors.
In 1962, James Meredith attempts to get admitted to the University of Mississippi, arguing that all people are entitled to receive an education; he is met with staunch opposition from the state government. The conflict erupts into a riot at the school, the federal government is asked to intervene and sends in the army to break up the rioters. Meredith is permitted to attend classes but still encounters a great deal of opposition and hatred. George C. Wallace becomes Governor of Alabama in 1963, promising “segregation forever” in his inaugural speech and representing the crux of white resistance to the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King sees this as an opportunity to rally the movement around this increased opposition in order to get more national exposure and attention; he hopes that seeing violent responses to their movement will garner sympathy from the rest of the country. Some, like Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene “Bull” Connor, take extreme measures to combat desegregation, such as putting Klansmen on his payroll. Demonstrations in Alabama continue for weeks as Connor makes mass arrests against protestors. James Bevel saves the deteriorating movement by inspiring teenagers in his youth workshops to protest as well. The large numbers of teenage protestors lead to an overwhelming amount of arrests, as well as the use of fire hoses and dogs as a means of breaking up protestors. Dramatic images of attacks on protestors are broadcast on national television.
The FCC orders that NBC give an alternate viewpoint other than the segregationist speeches they constantly broadcast, and allow Medgar Evers to have airtime and make a statement as to the goals of the Civil Rights Movement. This angers many television viewers in Mississippi. Later in 1963, two African-American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, attempt to apply to the University of Alabama; Governor Wallace publicly states that he will personally bar their entrance to the school if need be. The situation becomes precarious when national guardsmen are sent in to oversee the admittance; they are under the command of a state governor unless they are federalized, which the president can authorize at any time. On June 11th, 1963, the various parties assemble in front of the school, creating an atmosphere of extreme tension. Governor Wallace forbids the students to enter and speaks personally with United States Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach on the school steps. Kennedy becomes frustrated and federalizes the National Guard unit. They get Governor Wallace to step aside and allow the students to enter. This incident serves to change the Kennedy administration’s priorities in relation to the Civil Rights Movement, which they had previously endeavored not to become involved in overmuch. Later that day, President Kennedy gives a national television address to discuss the issue directly. It is framed as a “moral” rather than a political issue, representing a huge step in legitimizing the Civil Rights Movement in the eyes of the citizens of the United States. Evers is murdered several hours after this speech, ambushed on his driveway in front of his wife and children; this serves as a harsh reminder that there is still much that must be done to achieve equality between the races.
As 1963 progresses a massive march on the White House is organized by Civil Rights Movement leaders, including Bayard Rustin; he is described as an “organizational genius” who was nearly barred from organizing the demonstration due to his homosexuality, but is permitted to do so when Dr. King advocates on his behalf. The Washington police fear an outbreak of violence as a massive number of protestors travel there to assemble for the march. The march takes place on August 28th, 1963, and is comprised of both whites and African-Americans working together and in total peace. It is during this assembly that Dr. King makes his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, galvanizing the movement as never before. However, the reality of hatred in the country emerges again on September 15th, 1963, when a church in Birmingham, Alabama is bombed, killing four Sunday school students. On November 22nd, 1963, President Kennedy is assassinated, leaving the nation in shock and despair. Lyndon B. Johnson assumes the position of president, and he urges for the nascent Civil Rights Bill to be made into law as soon as possible. However, congressmen organize a filibuster to prevent the bill from moving forward. President Johnson counters this with a series of political maneuvers designed to use diplomacy to break up the filibuster.
By mid-1964, the bill is well on its way to being passed, and volunteers organize a trip to Mississippi as a means of assessing national opinions about race relations. Trouble arises when three civil rights workers, James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, are arrested by a local sheriff and disappear after being supposedly released. Soon the burned remnants of a car are found in a nearby lake, and it is believed that the three men were burned alive inside of it and then their bodies disposed of. On July 2nd, 1964, Johnson mentions this incident as he signs the Civil Rights Act into law. The law gives the Attorney General increased power to bring suits against individuals charged with racial discrimination. The civil rights workers are eventually found on August 4th, shot to death and buried under a newly-constructed dam. By December 4th, a number of suspects in the killings are arrested, a number of them are Klansmen who had aid from the sheriff’s department. However, they are soon released after their arrest, much to the shock of the Civil Rights Movement. On December 10th, Dr. King receives the Nobel Peace Price in Oslo, Norway; he says that he views it not as a “personal honor” but as emblematic of the progress of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole.
The Movement next turns its attention to the issue of voter registration discrimination, which was not addressed in the Civil Rights Act. Individual state laws and machinations make it difficult or impossible for African-Americans to become registered voters in many counties. In January of 1965, Dr. King organizes a march on Selma, Alabama in order to fully address this issue. Their progress is stymied by incredibly stiff resistance from the county police, led by the brutal sheriff Jim Clark. Clark himself bars entrance to the county courthouse and attacks protestors physically. On March 7th, 1965, protestors enact a massive march from Selma to Montgomery in another attempt to resolve the issue. This leads to a famous standoff at the Edmund Pettus Bridge between the marchers and a detachment of Alabama state troopers, as well as Clark and his privately-assembled “posse men.” This leads to a brutal assault against the marchers, dispersing them. ABC airs footage of the attack on national television, and the incident comes to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” This footage makes the reality of the Civil Rights Movement and its opponents apparent to television viewers across the country, inciting them to call for action from the government to put an end to such brutality. In response the government swiftly passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965. President Johnson gives a notable national address about the subject, echoing the slogan of the Movement: “we shall overcome.” Dr. King feels inspired to continue the planned march from Selma to Montgomery, and they obtain government protection to do so on March 17th. This time the march is successful, and Dr. King makes a speech in front of the Montgomery courthouse on March 25th.
The effects of the Voting Rights Act are immediate and dramatic, giving countless African-Americans the ability to influence politics as never before. This results in the election of a number of African-American officials to both local and federal positions. Meredith travels around Mississippi in the summer of 1966 in order to encourage more African-Americans to register to vote. It is during this trip when a gunman shoots him on the highway and the Movement feels compelled to respond. They decide to continue Meredith’s march through Mississippi, organized by Dr. King and by young civil rights organizer Stokely Carmichael. Carmichael urges African-Americans to exercise their new rights and privileges as a means of taking action in their own defense; he states that he does not agree with Dr. King’s nonviolent methods, believing that it makes African-Americans vulnerable to attacks from whites. The Civil Rights Movement then heads to Illinois to protest the state of housing for African-Americans there; this issue is less clearly-defined than those in the South and meet with hostile reactions from a growing “white power” movement. The press labels Illinois as a “defeat” for Dr. King and there are worries that his methods are not working properly. A newer generation of the Movement emerges, one more militant and aggressive than Dr. King’s vision, and the Movement in general starts to fragment into differing ideologies, including the “Black Power” movement. This leads to an increased amount of violence from some African-Americans, including the Watts Riots and a number of other race riots across the country, exposing the issues of inner city life that had previously been ignored. Dr. King is saddened by this outburst of violence but is hopeful for the future. He is assassinated on April 4th, 1968 at a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. His death represents a national tragedy and strikes a devastating blow to the Civil Rights Movement. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: CNN
- DATE: 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 122051
- GENRE: Public affairs/documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - News/Talk; Public affairs/documentaries
- SERIES RUN: CNN - TV series, 2014
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CREDITS
- Tom Hanks … Executive Producer
- Gary Goetzman … Executive Producer
- Mark Herzog … Executive Producer
- Christopher G. Cowen … Co-Executive Producer
- Kirk Saduski … Co-Executive Producer
- Dan Partland … Supervising Producer
- Stephen J. Morrison … Producer
- Jenny Ewig … Producer
- Jane E. Russell … Co-Producer
- Michael Goetzman … Associate Producer
- Patrick Roscoe … Associate Producer
- Simon Brown … Associate Producer
- Alex Fleming … Associate Producer
- Aileen Silverstone … Associate Producer
- Ryan Schiavo … Line Producer
- Blake Neely … Music by
- Nathaniel Blume … Music by
- Clarence Jones … Interviewee
- Taylor Branch … Interviewee
- C.T. Vivian … Interviewee
- Clayborne Carson … Interviewee
- James Lawson … Interviewee
- Douglas Brinkley … Interviewee
- Diane Nash … Interviewee
- David Garrow … Interviewee
- Dan T. Carter … Interviewee
- John Lewis … Interviewee
- Harris Wofford … Interviewee
- Richard Reeves … Interviewee
- Robert Dallek … Interviewee
- Gene Roberts … Interviewee
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. … Interviewee
- Timothy Naftali … Interviewee
- Diane McWhorter … Interviewee
- Dan Rather … Interviewee
- Eleanor Holmes Norton … Interviewee
- Jeff Greenfield … Interviewee
- Robert Caro … Interviewee
- Robert Schenkkan … Interviewee
- Barney Frank … Interviewee
- Bob Moses … Interviewee
- Mark Kurlansky … Interviewee
- Robert Abernathy
- Muhammad Ali
- James Baldwin
- Ross Barnett
- James Bevel
- Edward Blankenheim
- Julian Bond
- Edward Brooke
- Ned Brooks
- H. Rap Brown
- Stokely Carmichael
- Ben Chaney
- James Chaney
- Jim Clark
- Charles Collingwood
- Eugene "Bull" Connor
- Benjamin Cox
- Walter Cronkite
- John Darsa
- Dave Dennis
- Bob Evans
- Medgar Evers
- Andrew Goodman
- John Hart
- James Hood
- Chet Huntley
- Mahalia Jackson
- Tom Jarriel
- Jacob Javits
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Nicholas Katzenbach
- John F. Kennedy
- Robert Kennedy
- James J. Kilpatrick
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Vivian Malone
- Thurgood Marshall
- Frank McGee
- Ray Moore
- Edwin Newman
- John Patterson
- Cecil Price
- Willie Ricks
- Vermont Royster
- Richard Russell
- Bayard Rustin
- Bill Ryan
- Robert Schackne
- Michael Schwerner
- Albert Merriman Smith
- Howard K. Smith
- Lawerence Spivak
- Carl B. Stokes
- Allen C. Thompson
- Strom Thurmond
- Richard Valeriani
- George C. Wallace
- Mike Wallace