- Collection:
- WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection
- Title:
- Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to a reporter, after being indicted and arrested for tax fraud in Alabama, in Atlanta, Georgia, 1960 February 17
- Creator:
- WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)
- Contributor to Resource:
- King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
- Date of Original:
- 1961-02-17
- Subject:
- Reporters and reporting--Georgia--Atlanta
Tax evasion--Investigation--Alabama
Indictments--Alabama
Grand jury--Alabama
Arrest--Alabama--Montgomery
Nonviolence--Georgia--Atlanta
Intimidation--Southern States
Sit-ins--North Carolina
Mass meetings--North Carolina--Durham
Southern States--Race relations--History--20th century - People:
- King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Trials, litigation, etc.
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Interviews
Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869-1948--Influence - Location:
- United States, Alabama, Montgomery County, 32.22026, -86.20761
United States, Alabama, Montgomery County, Montgomery, 32.36681, -86.29997
United States, Georgia, Atlanta Metropolitan Area, 33.8498, 84.4383
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, 33.79025, -84.46702
United States, North Carolina, Durham County, Durham, 35.99403, -78.89862
United States, Tennessee, Grundy County, 35.38837, -85.72258
United States, Tennessee, Marion County, Monteagle, 35.24008, -85.8397 - Medium:
- moving images
news
unedited footage - Type:
- MovingImage
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips from Atlanta, Georgia on February 17, 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to an unidentified reporter about fear, sacrifice, and taxes after being indicted and arrested for tax fraud in Alabama. In the first clip, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. tells the reporter that while he knew he was being investigated for tax fraud in Alabama, he did not expect for the grand jury to indict him or that he would be arrested that day. King confirms his willingness to go to jail, hoping his "willingness to suffer and accept this type of sacrifice" will arouse the "conscience of many citizens of our nation." The reporter mentions comments King made the day before in Durham, North Carolina at a mass meeting supporting student-led sit-ins in the state before asking King more about the indictment; there is a break in the audio during the reporter's question. Citing the recent closing of the Highlander Folk School by Tennessee officials, King points out that many areas in the South use tax charges to "harass individuals working in the area of freedom and integration and brotherhood." When asked if he is ever afraid, King replies that while he has not totally overcome fear, he is strengthened "from the realization that in the struggle we have cosmic companionship and that the cause is right." The reporter asks King about rumors that he moved into an $85,000 house when he moved from Montgomery, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia. King acknowledges the rumor but counters that he is renting his home and that the only property he owns is a 1954 Pontiac. He also reports that his taxes have been investigated two or three times before; when he announced that he was moving from Montgomery to Atlanta, the state of Alabama initiated another tax audit. While the Alabama auditor who reviewed King's returns made it clear everything was in order, he also recognized the state's pressure to bring a charge against King.The second clip records only a portion of the reporter's question about King's nonviolent inspiration. King recognizes the influence of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and asserts "the method of nonviolent resistance is one of the most potent, if not the most potent, weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom."After King's February 17 arrest, he willingly returned to Alabama to face the perjury charges (according to King biographer David Garrow, "the first time Alabama had ever prosecuted someone for perjury on a tax return"). Testimony began May 25, and on May 28, an all-white jury returned a not guilty verdict, clearing King of the charges.
Title supplied by cataloger.
IMLS Grant, 2008.
Digibeta Center Cut (4 x 3) downconvert from HDD5 1080/23.98PsF film transfer. - Local Identifier:
- Clip number: wsbn42194
- Metadata URL:
- https://crdl.usg.edu/id:ugabma_wsbn_wsbn42194
- Digital Object URL:
- https://crdl.usg.edu/do:ugabma_wsbn_wsbn42194
- IIIF manifest:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/ugabma_wsbn_wsbn42194/presentation/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: wsbn42194, Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to a reporter, after being indicted and arrested for tax fraud in Alabama, in Atlanta, Georgia, 1960 February 17, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0919, 00:00/03:47, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia
- Extent:
- 1 clip (about 3 mins., 47 secs.): black-and-white, sound ; 16 mm.
1 clip (about 30 secs.): black-and-white, sound ; 16 mm. - Original Collection:
- Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.
- Contributing Institution:
- Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection
- Rights:
-
