- Collection:
- WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection
- Title:
- Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of reporter Gail Edmonds and others with coverage of the fatal shooting by Marcus Wayne Chenault, Jr., of Alberta Williams King and church deacon Edward Boykin at Ebenezer Baptist Church, with reactions from community members including Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, Atlanta, Georgia, 1974 June 30
- Creator:
- WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)
- Contributor to Resource:
- Edmonds, Gail
Jackson, Maynard, 1938-2003 - Date of Original:
- 1974-06-30
- Subject:
- Mass shootings--Georgia--Atlanta
Political violence--Georgia--Atlanta
Religious institutions--Georgia--Atlanta
Attempted murder
Murder
Atlanta (Ga.)--Social conditions
Fulton County (Ga.)--Social conditions - People:
- Edmonds, Gail
Chenault, Marcus Wayne, Jr., 1951-1995
King, Alberta Williams, 1904-1974
Boykin, Edward, -1974
Jackson, Maynard, 1938-2003
King, Martin Luther, Sr., 1899-1984 - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, 33.79025, -84.46702
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798 - Medium:
- moving images
news
unedited footage - Type:
- MovingImage
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips from June 30, 1974, Gail Edmonds and others report on the fatal shooting by Marcus Wayne Chenault, Jr. (who is not mentioned by name in the clip) of Alberta Williams King and church deacon Edward Boykin at Ebenezer Baptist Church, with reactions from Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson and other members of the community, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The first clip shows the exterior of Ebenezer Baptist Church, with several unidentified black people outside. As Edmonds speaks, the camera pulls back to reveal her standing on a corner opposite the church. Edmonds says, "Mrs. Alberta King sat at the organ in the Ebenezer Baptist Church, playing the Lord's Prayer, when a young man sprang to his feet and yelled, 'I'm going to kill everyone in here,' and shot Mrs. King three times."
In the next clip, a group of unidentified black people are gathered inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, clearly in great distress.
The next clip shows unidentified black men, women, and children leaving and entering Ebenezer Baptist Church as an unidentified white man, probably a cameraman, stands outside.
In the next clip, as two other unidentified black men stand in the background, an unidentified white reporter interviews an unidentified black man, who says, "Well, I was sitting in the back, and that's why I got a better look at him, because as he was shooting, it was such a shock, I was just standing there. I couldn't believe--I thought it was something like a, you know, a toy gun with blanks or something. And--"
The reporter asks, "Was he down the front, or in the middle of the congregation?"
The man replies, "Well, after he shot, you know, I seen some people falling, and I knew then. I knew. I said, 'Yeah, he's shooting for real,' you know. Then this gentleman says, 'Fall to the floor!', and I fell, I started crawl--everyone started falling, and crawling."
The next clips show the exterior of Grady Memorial Hospital, where members of the congregation were treated after the shooting, and where Deacon Boykin and Mrs. King were transported after the shooting.
In the next clip, Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson is seen in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church in a procession of mostly black men and women, although some white people can be seen, including an unidentified man who walks by Jackson's side. The first part of Jackson's sentence is not heard, but he says, "--almost as if the King family is being tested. I've never seen a family suffer so much tragedy in my life. This city loves that family, this nation loves that family. And what we want to do now is to try to comfort them and the family of Deacon Boykin and the families of the others who have been injured. My message to the people of Ebenezer was to be strong, not to give up, not to let tragedy defeat them, and to understand that Daddy King would want them to be strong, and that the family of Deacon Boykin would want them to be strong, too."
The next clip shows the interior of Ebenezer Baptist Church; a number of unidentified black congregants are gathered, visibly grieving and in great distress.
In the next clip, unidentified black men and women enter Ebenezer Baptist Church.
The next clip shows groups of unidentified people, all or mostly black people, gathered in an outdoor space, probably in the neighborhood of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Reporter: Edmonds, Gail
Title supplied by cataloger.
Supporting information was taken from the following sources:The Atlanta Constitution, 1 July 1974:1A. Web. 2 April 2020. The Washington Post, 1 July 1974:A1. Web. 2 April 2020. - Local Identifier:
- Clip number: wsbn17929
- Metadata URL:
- https://crdl.usg.edu/id:ugabma_wsbn_wsbn17929
- Digital Object URL:
- https://crdl.usg.edu/do:ugabma_wsbn_wsbn17929
- IIIF manifest:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/ugabma_wsbn_wsbn17929/presentation/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: wsbn17929, Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of reporter Gail Edmonds and others with coverage of the fatal shooting by Marcus Wayne Chenault, Jr., of Alberta Williams King and church deacon Edward Boykin at Ebenezer Baptist Church, with reactions from community members including Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, Atlanta, Georgia, 1974 June 30, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 2053, 15:08/17:04, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia
- Extent:
- 1 clip (about 1 mins., 56 secs.): color, 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:
-
