Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of mayor William B. Hartsfield speaking to reporters about recent civil rights demonstrations and the arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia, 1960 October 24

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Collection:: WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection
Title:: Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of mayor William B. Hartsfield speaking to reporters about recent civil rights demonstrations and the arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia, 1960 October 24
Creator:: WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)
Contributor to Resource:: Hartsfield, William Berry
Date of Original:: 1960-10-24
Subject:: African American civil rights workers--Georgia--Atlanta
African Americans--Civil rights--Georgia--Atlanta
African Americans--Politics and government
Arrest--Georgia--Atlanta
Boycotts--Georgia--Atlanta
Central business districts--Georgia--Atlanta
Civil rights demonstrations--Georgia--Atlanta
Civil rights movements--Georgia--Atlanta
Civil rights workers--Georgia--Atlanta
Demonstrations--Georgia--Atlanta
Direct action--Georgia--Atlanta
Discrimination in public accommodations--Georgia--Atlanta
Interviews--Georgia--Atlanta
Mayors--Georgia--Atlanta
Negotiation--Georgia--Atlanta
Passive resistance--Georgia--Atlanta
Picketing--Georgia--Atlanta
Race discrimination--Georgia--Atlanta
Sit-ins--Georgia--Atlanta
Stores, Retail--Georgia--Atlanta
Political candidates--United States
Presidents--United States--Election--1960
Reporters and reporting--Georgia--Atlanta
Atlanta (Ga.)--Race relations--History--20th century
People:: Hartsfield, William Berry--Interviews
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Imprisonment
King, A. D., 1930-1969
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Location:: 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 a press conference held in Atlanta, Georgia on October 24, 1960, mayor William B. Hartsfield speaks to reporters about recent civil rights demonstrations and the October 19 arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The clip begins with mayor William B. Hartsfield explaining to reporters that he anticipates the city will receive only a few critical responses to its handling of civil rights demonstrators' arrests. Critical responses, mayor Hartsfield continues, most often come from people unaware of the potential national and international impact of sit-ins and arrests. Mayor Hartsfield's response to a question about interaction with the governor about the situation is not recorded. He explains that officials at Rich's Department store, where King was arrested, told county prosecuting officials they did not want to prosecute King. The answer to another reporter's question is not recorded, and mayor Hartsfield is next seen in a silent portion of the clip, sitting at his desk. After the silent portion, mayor Hartsfield reports that he has begun working with downtown merchants to resolve the racial conflict, alluding to a thirty-day truce. Civil rights leaders agreed to stop demonstrations and community leaders agreed to release the twenty-three demonstrators who had been arrested on city-owned land. The truce did not cover thirty-nine demonstrators who were arrested on county-owned land, including King. Hartsfield indicates that while he has not communicated with Dr. King's brother, A.D. King, about Dr. King's release from jail and the demonstrations, he still hopes for a friendly settlement. The clip records a portion of a reporter's question about inquiries about King and the demonstrations made by individuals such as Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy to the governor and others. Hartsfield indicates Kennedy is interested in a "friendly solution to the matter," an interest he views "in perfectly good taste and good order"; Hartsfield does not say who from Kennedy's national headquarters spoke with him. When asked to expand on negotiations with white business leaders, Hartsfield reports that he has started conferences with individual leaders and so far is pleased with preliminary negotiations. However he also recognizes the challenges of working with chain stores with "out-of-town connections."Student-led civil rights demonstrations in Atlanta began in March 1960, inspired by the Greensboro sit-ins the month before. The Committee on Appeal for Human Rights (COAHR), an organization of students from the historically African American Atlanta University Center, began their "fall campaign" against segregation on October 19 by targeting several downtown stores, including Rich's. Members of the Atlanta-based Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were also involved in planning and demonstrating. Protests continued until Saturday, October 22 when mayor Hartsfield announced the month-long truce mentioned above. While Hartsfield and others worked to reach a desegregation agreement, talks broke down and civil rights workers began demonstrations again the day after Thanksgiving, November 25.
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: wsbn43085
Metadata URL:: https://crdl.usg.edu/id:ugabma_wsbn_wsbn43085
Digital Object URL:: https://crdl.usg.edu/id:ugabma_wsbn_wsbn43085
IIIF manifest:: https://dlg.usg.edu/record/ugabma_wsbn_wsbn43085/presentation/manifest.json
Language:: eng
Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):: Cite as: wsbn43085, Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of mayor William B. Hartsfield speaking to reporters about recent civil rights demonstrations and the arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia, 1960 October 24, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0962, 45:39/53:08, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia
Extent:: 1 clip (about 7 mins., 29 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: