King (2011) s01e02 Episode Script
T-Bone
Toughest city this side of Johannesburg, South Africa.
That's why we're here.
There he is Bull Connor.
Nobody looks like that.
They must've made him up.
Bull Connor is Birmingham.
Who is he? He was a sports announcer.
He was very popular.
Then he got it in his mind that he wanted to go into politics.
Now he's Commissioner for Public Safety.
I know Mr.
Connor from way back.
He was a first class strikebreaker.
Still thinkin' you can desegregate this place nonviolently? Birmingham is the most powerful city in the South.
If we can desegregate it nonviolently, we can desegregate the South.
There's a medium invented called television that captures faces.
I'd like the rest of the country to see what we've seen all our lives.
Television is going to be the medium in which we're going to bring this country face-to-face with itself.
- Morning, Dr.
King.
- Hello.
My brother A.
D.
, do you know where he is? - He's in the office.
- Thank you.
I thought you were gonna meet me at the airport, what happened? I want you to give one of your special introductions tonight, all right? Now, don't make it too long.
Last time, you just went on and on.
About eight minutes would be about right.
I can't do it, I ain't up to it.
What do you mean you're not up to it? You're a wonderful speaker.
You're lovable.
That's what you are, you're lovable, and you know why? Because you make people feel important.
They askin' me to resign.
Nobody's gonna ask you to resign, 'cause you're gonna be brilliant tonight.
Martin Luther King has become a famous man.
But to me, he's still my brother Mike.
I opened one of the letters that came to our house today, and it said, "This is not a threat, but a promise.
Your head will be blown off.
" But Mike got a hard head.
I remember a time when Mike was leaning against an upstairs banister.
He plunged headfirst into the floor.
It must have been 20 feet from the top of the banister, I said, it must have been 20 feet from the top of the banister, right on his head! But nothin' broken, nothin' scratched.
Then he was riding a bike, and a car hit the bike and hurled M.
L.
Into the sidewalk.
I mean, he flew over the handlebars into the ground.
He flew over the handlebars into the ground! Still all right.
- All right! - Then I remember a time when we were playin' baseball.
Mike was the bat catcher, and my bat slipped out of my hands and hit Mike on the head.
I bent over Mike, I said, "Are you all right?" And the first thing Mike said when he opened his eyes was, "You out! You missed on your third strike!" I told this to one of the women in the congregation, and she said, "The Lord had a hand on him even then.
" She said, "He was savin' him for us.
" Amen! No harm could come to him, I said, no harm could come to him! You know, I think maybe she was right.
I just think maybe she was right.
Maybe He gave Mike a hard head for that purpose.
My brother, Martin Luther King.
Thank you.
Yes, thank you.
I've always thought that A.
D.
Was a better preacher than I am.
And tonight proves it, doesn't it? Thank you.
Tonight, many people, including black people, are asking, why are we in Birmingham? Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? My friends, I must tell you that we have not made one single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure.
Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.
Close the doors.
Close the doors! Close the doors! Don't let anybody in or out! What would you like to do? Kill him? Well, that is not our movement! What would you like to do, use Molotov cocktails? That is not our movement! I'll tell you I will tell you I'll tell you what our movement is.
It's to understand him.
Yes, even him.
It's to ask yourself what it would be like if you were taught since you were a child, since you were baby enough to crawl, that the Negro is a thing.
If you had been taught by your parents, by your teachers, yes, even the preachers and the people sitting next to you in church, that it's not wrong to hate, what would you be then? That's what this movement is.
It's to reveal these people to themselves.
Turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-talkin', marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round, Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Up against the wall! Get 'em right up against the wall, that's it, that's it! Get 'em all against the wall, that's it! Get 'em all up against the wall, right against it! - All of 'em, up against the wall! - Take down their names.
I want everyone's name, take down their names.
We're gonna get their names.
We should start down here.
- You, what's your name? - Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth.
Give me your name.
So, you're Shuttlesworth? Yes, sir.
Shuttlesworth, you've done more to hurt the niggers in this city, to set them back, than any man in the history of this city.
That depends on how you look at it, Mr.
Connor.
You're gonna find that I'm your best friend.
You're my best friend? That's a surprise.
What are you up to now? We gonna shut down Birmingham.
We gonna integrate it.
You're gonna shut down Birmingham? Yes, sir.
Who's that? That's Mr.
Al Hibler, famous singer from New York.
Come down here to give us a hand.
- Famous singer.
- Yes, sir.
I've got an injunction here from Judge Jenkins banning all demonstrations.
I'm askin' you to disband.
We can't do that.
Why not? We gonna shut Birmingham down.
Get the wagon.
Get him in the wagon.
- Get 'em all in the wagon! - Yes, sir, come on! Get that blind nigger, get that blind nigger down here! Come on, get the folks outta here.
Let's go now.
There you go, that's it.
Get him in there.
What about that, huh? Come down here to cause trouble, huh? What about that? This beats anything I ever saw! Bunch of yahoos.
This is going to destroy everything we've been working for.
But we have to go ahead.
It isn't the time.
Oh, I know.
It's never the time.
If you wait a few months We've waited long enough.
We can't stop now.
He won't stop.
So, what do we do? Can you imagine the guts it takes to try to integrate Birmingham? I said, what do we do? Same thing we always do nothing.
Martin, some gentlemen to see you.
- I'm Father Mikeljohn.
- How do you do? This is Reverend Redding and Reverend Jenkins, Rabbi Kaplan, Father Deans, - and Reverend Hardwell.
- Would you like to sit down? I understand you're planning to use children now in your protests.
Yes, that's right.
It hardly seems brave to use children to do a man's work.
Children are very useful.
They can't be pressured to stop demonstrating because they may lose their jobs.
We want you to leave Birmingham.
We can deal with our own problems.
You haven't dealt with them very well up to this time.
We're not the only ones in this community that want you to leave.
There are black people in this community that want you to leave, too.
Yeah, I'll bet there are.
I can't understand you.
You're clergymen.
We're here because we are clergymen.
Then how can you stand there and preach to your congregations about Jesus? What you're doing here is illegal.
And everything that Adolph Hitler did in Germany was legal! And yet, I know that if I had lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided the Jews.
I would have openly advocated disobeying the law.
You protest now, but why have you never protested the reasons that we're here? Why didn't you protest when homes were bombed and people were killed? Where are your collective voices when hatred and defiance are called for by the white people - that sit in your very own churches?! - Will you stop these demonstrations? No.
If you continue, people will be hurt.
People may be killed.
Perhaps.
You're a man who preaches nonviolence, and prays in his heart for violence.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round What are we gonna do with 'em? Where we gonna put 'em? Bessemer Jail's full, the field jail's full.
Put 'em in the fairground.
But after this, I don't think we'll have any more.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Turn me round, keep on a-walkin' Keep on a-talkin', marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round - I'm askin' you to disband! - Ain't gonna let nobody Turn me round, I'm gonna keep on a-walkin' Keep on a-talkin' - Marchin' up to freedom land - I'm askin' you to disband! Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody You're sure lookin' good, Bull.
Get my best side.
You know, I used to be one of you guys.
Had the best sports program in this city.
What kinda lens is that? It's the new zoom lens, Bull.
We got it just for you.
Zoom lens.
I heard about that.
You know, I'm thinkin' of havin' my own talk show.
A few laughs, a little meat on it.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round, - Turn me round - My God, it's kids this time.
- Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round - Makes no difference.
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round - What do you want? - Freedom.
You are in violation of City Ordinance Number 1169 of the City Code demonstratin' and paradin' without a license.
Now, just go back.
Just go back, now.
Come on, go back.
Go back, now.
Go back home.
Come on, now.
You all just go back.
Just go back, now.
Go back home.
Turn 'em on.
All advance! I can't believe my eyes.
Bull Connor may be the best ally the Civil Rights Movement ever had.
There just comes a time when a movement is judged by its leader.
I can't be out of jail while old ladies and children are in.
Martin, you can't go to jail.
Where would we be if something happened to you? You're too important to the movement.
They could set up a riot, you could be killed by "accident.
" We've run out of bail money, Martin.
You're the only one that can help us raise it.
If you go, all those people in jail will stay there indefinitely.
I'm going.
I don't know what's going to happen to those 300 people in jail, but there are 20 million people in this country watching us.
You ain't leavin' your old buddy, I'm gonna get my dungarees, too.
We shall overcome We shall overcome Some day Deep in my heart I do believe That we shall overcome Some day God bless you, Dr.
King.
Oh, freedom On me, over me And before I'd be a slave I'll be buried in my grave And go home to my Lord And be free Oh, freedom Over me, over me And before I'd be a slave I'll be buried in my grave And go home to my Lord And be free, and be free Oh, freedom - Hello.
- Hello.
- Did you hear anything? - Nothin'.
Nothin' at all.
Hello? Hello, Mrs.
King.
This is Robert Kennedy.
I know you tried to get in touch with the President, but he's not available right now.
Is there anything I can do? My husband is in jail in Birmingham.
Yes, I know.
I haven't heard from my husband in three days.
He always calls me after he's arrested.
Even his lawyers can't get in to see him.
I don't know what happened to him.
Birmingham is a difficult place, Mrs.
King.
We're doing everything we can.
I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything.
Thank you.
I guess what they say about Jack Kennedy is true.
He made the call because of the election.
Where's Yoki? Oh, now, it's all right.
No, it isn't all right.
You're good enough to come down here and cook us a meal, and she's on the telephone.
It's getting to be a disease.
Mommy, there's a woman on the phone.
Hello? - Mrs.
King? - Yes? The President is on the phone.
Oh, yes.
How are you, Mrs.
King? I understand you talked to my brother yesterday.
Sorry I couldn't call you personally.
I was with my father, he's ill.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You might be interested to know that the Justice Department was called in last night.
They talked to your husband.
He's all right.
Oh, thank you.
We'll be keeping on top of the situation.
If you get worried again, feel free to call the Attorney General or Mr.
Salinger.
They know where to reach me.
Thank you.
You know where to reach me now, don't you? Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you so very much.
You have got to get up and get out of here.
All of you! Now, come on! Come on, get up and move! Come on.
Come on.
Get up and get out of here now! - Lieutenant! - All of you! Lieutenant Dunn, can I speak with you for a moment? All of you, listen to me, move! Can I speak with you for one moment? - We cannot allow demonstrations.
- This is Easter Sunday.
Nearly every leader of our movement is in jail.
We'd like to go to the jail, kneel in front of it and say a few prayers, just an Easter Sunday meeting.
- I can't allow you to do that.
- Why? Because it's against the law! If you really want to enforce the law, move your men back two blocks and give us half an hour.
But if you wanna beat me, if you wanna beat up children, just like your own kids, go ahead, it's your choice.
What's goin' on here? What's goin' on here?! They they just want to go over by the jail and pray.
Disperse 'em.
Come on, get up.
Come on, get up! Get up! Come on! Get outta here! Come on, get up! Get outta here! Get outta here! Turn on the hose! Turn it on! Turn 'em on! Turn on the hose! Turn 'em on! Turn on the hose!!! Turn it on! Turn on the hose! Martin Luther King had come to Birmingham with a few hundred people.
He had raised an army of thousands.
He had filled the jails the way Gandhi had in India.
The department stores were empty.
The effectiveness of the work in the steel plants was sharply curtailed because of the division among the men.
Martin Luther King had desegregated the toughest town in the South.
But Birmingham wasn't the end.
Hundreds, then thousands, of other cities in the South desegregated because of Birmingham.
Birmingham became the Bunker Hill of the movement.
The idea is to consolidate our gains.
A.
Phillip Randolph's been talking to me about a march.
- It's a march on Washington.
- But marches on Washington Hold, Fred.
I didn't say what we've been talking about.
No, the idea is, in order to put pressure on Hi, Fred, how are ya? About half a million people.
- Half a million? - Yeah.
Was anybody hurt? Well, yes.
Of course I'll come.
Bernard, find out what time the next plane leaves for Birmingham.
They bombed Reverend Cross' church.
They killed four children, they were sitting in Sunday School.
What are we doin'? Is it worth it? Is anything worth it? Am I a monster? Why?! Why did this happen to my child?! Why?! Why me? Oh, God! Please, God, yes! Yes! Why?! Why?! We see before us a great triumph for segregation the murder of four little girls while they were studying at Sunday School.
It was a terrible deed but perhaps less terrible than the response of this community.
I suppose it was too much to ask that it be officially said that the murder of children is wrong.
I suppose it was too much to expect that one white official might attend the ceremonies so that the parents might feel better.
As a matter of fact, I don't see one white face here, except for white ministers.
Yet, I still believe in nonviolence.
Consider this a down payment on freedom.
History has proved again and again that unmerited suffering is redemptive.
And perhaps the innocent blood of these these little girls might prove to be the redemptive force to bring light to this dark city.
David.
I'm gonna speak on television tomorrow night.
I wanna go on record.
If you make this speech, your chances of being reelected are nil.
I know you were moved by King's speech Somebody has to use the moral power of this office to say that segregation is wrong.
Is that such a brave thing to do? Yes.
There have been some brave men in that chair, but they've all been very clever and very careful how they reacted in regard to this issue.
Maybe that's the trouble.
Maybe we've all been too clever.
It ought to be possible for American students of any color to attend any public institutions without having to be backed up by troops.
And it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register to vote in a free election without fear of reprisal.
But such is not the case.
We say to the world, and to each other, that this is the land of the free.
Does it mean that it is the land of the free, except to the Negroes? That we have no master race, except with respect to Negroes? We're confronted, primarily, with a moral issue.
It is as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution.
The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities.
Those who do nothing are inviting shame, as well as violence.
Those who act boldly are recognizing right, as well as reality.
Next week, I will ask Congress to make the commitment it has not yet fully made in this century the commitment to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law.
J.
Edgar Hoover was one of the greatest investigators and administrators this country has ever known, but he was 68 years old.
His knowledge of Blacks came from the area around Washington when Blacks were allowed to be nothing more than janitors and chauffeurs.
He felt that they should be restricted to that.
He asked me to make the most intensive investigation in the Bureau's history about the influence of Communists on the Civil Rights Movement and on Dr.
King.
I knew he wasn't going to like my conclusions.
"There has been an obvious failure "of the Communist Party of the United States "to appreciably infiltrate, influence or control large numbers of American Negroes in this community.
" Dr.
King? There's no reason to suspect him of being a Communist or a Communist sympathizer.
This memo reminds me vividly of those I received when Castro took over Cuba.
You contended then that Castro and his cohorts were not Communists and were not influenced by Communists.
Time proved you wrong.
Mr.
Hoover, I can only report my findings to you as honestly as I can.
I spent a good many months working on that report.
- I know you have.
- Yes, I did that.
I know you've taken time for it that you could have been doing other things.
Well That's why it's all the more a disappointment.
I can't help it if those are the conclusions that I honestly reached.
I said that, excuse me I said that Back here I said that time alone would tell, and over here I said that they're making prodigious efforts to infiltrate them.
I said that.
Why are you qualifying this? You've made your report.
Good morning.
He didn't speak to me for months.
To be in trouble with Hoover was a serious matter.
He was capable of firing a whole department.
We all had mortgages on homes, children in school, et cetera.
Take down this memo.
We regret greatly that the memo did not live up to what the Director has a right to expect from us, from our analysis.
But now, we're stressing the urgent need for imaginative and aggressive tactics to be utilized through our counterintelligence program to attempt to neutralize or disrupt the Party's activities in the Negro field.
We must mark King now, if we have not already done so, as the most dangerous Negro to the future of this nation, from the standpoint of Communism, the Negro, and national security.
I can't understand how you can so agilely switch your thinking.
Now you want to load down the field with more coverage, in spite of your past evaluation.
I don't intend to waste time and money until you can make up your minds what the situation really is.
- What does he want with us? - What does he want? You know what he wants, don't you? He wants us to tell him he was mild in his assessment of the influence of Communists on King and the movement, even though there's no evidence there's any.
He wants us to out-Hoover Hoover.
Find out if there's any possibility of using Mrs.
King, find out if there are any disgruntled employees, find out about all the financial dealings of King and what we can exploit to our advantage.
Give me the files on King's aides, will you? If we can't find anything on King, maybe we can find something on them.
That's what Hoover wants.
People later asked me whether I thought what we were doing was illegal, unethical or immoral.
The matter of legality, morals or ethics was never raised by myself or anyone else.
Marty, run! I know who did it, too.
Boy, when I get ahold of them, they gonna know they've been held.
Where are those devils? I'm gonna shake the serpent out of 'em! Now, where are they? Yoki! Marty! I know Yoki Poki wouldn't do that to old Daddy.
No! Yoki! Yoki! Marty, you're not really frightened of me, are you? It's all right, it's all right.
Why did you cry with your father today, Marty? They tease me because of him.
They say, "Your father's a jailbird.
" Do you know why he goes to jail? He goes to jail to help people.
Do you remember when you wanted to go to Funtown? Remember how you felt when we told you you couldn't go because you were black? Your father couldn't sleep all night.
He had to go to Birmingham the next day, and he said, "Tell him that it isn't because "he's not as good as anybody else.
Tell him that he'll be able to go someday.
" So you gotta help him, Marty, 'cause he doesn't like going to jail.
He's as frightened of it as anybody else, and he's alone.
He's very much alone.
I want to thank you for what was said.
It had never been said before.
Thank you, but I'm concerned about this march.
We want a civil rights bill, not a television spectacular.
Supposin' there's an incident? There won't be an incident.
I know those fellas on the Hill.
I spent a good many years with 'em.
You don't want them to say, "Yes, I am for the bill, but I'll be damned if I'll vote for it at the point of a gun.
" If they don't want to vote for it, they'll find a reason not to, won't they? It isn't the time.
I've never been engaged in any direct action movement that didn't seem ill-timed.
Some people thought that Birmingham was ill-timed.
Including the Attorney General.
If you want to hold the march, there's nothing we can do to stop you.
Robert wants to talk to you about something.
Certainly.
Would you mind, Mr.
Vice President? Dr.
King.
We'd like to talk to you about an advisor of yours.
What advisor? Stanley Levison.
What about Stanley? Hoover says he's a Communist.
I thought we'd gone beyond that in this country.
McCarthy's dead, but the melody lingers on.
I've looked at the files.
There's enough ammunition there.
What sort of ammunition? People have said things about him, there are statements that he's made.
People have said things about you, too.
There are statements you have made.
Would you like be held accountable for everything you've said? I'm a pragmatist, I'm telling you these things can be used and they can be used effectively.
Now, you have to dismiss Levison.
It isn't as easy as that.
He's a valuable man to the movement.
And in addition, he is a friend of mine.
The southern strategy is gonna be to say that the Civil Rights Movement is riddled with Communists.
I've got a civil rights bill I want to pass.
We can't take a chance of anything hurting that, can we? There is no choice.
I have to go.
You you've had to work in the shadows because there are racists in our own people who don't like the idea of a white man contributing too much.
Stanley, I owe you so much.
Remember when they tried to frame me on taxes? You said, "It isn't up to you to defend yourself, "it's up to us to defend you.
"Lt'll be you against the State of Alabama, but the people will believe you.
" It doesn't matter now.
Does it? Nothing must be allowed to hurt the movement.
I wonder whether it's worth it? I wonder whether, in spite of it all, I shouldn't just call Hoover on this thing and see it out all the way to the end.
You tried that once.
He gets a better press than you.
So long, Martin.
It's been the most inspiring experience of my life.
What happened? Stanley's leaving the movement.
I talked to the Attorney General's Office.
He has no evidence.
It's a downright lie.
Stanley is not a Communist, never has been.
We need that bill.
We can't take a chance on anything hurting it.
We need that bill, but I wonder, is anything worth doing this to Stanley? Washington is a city of spectacle.
Every four years, there are imposing presidential inaugurations.
But in its entire history, Washington had never seen a spectacle of the size and grandeur that assembled there on August 28th, 1963.
250,000 people journeyed that day to the capital.
They came from almost every state in the Union.
They came in every form of transportation.
They were an army without guns, but not without strength.
I say to you today, my friends, that even though we face difficulties today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
" I have a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day, even the State of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, sweltering with the heat of injustice, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today! And when we let freedom ring, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing the words of that old Negro spiritual "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we're free at last!" Yoki, think you can make a comeback? Are you turning that living room into a handball court again? Cory, we don't have no place else to play! We're not gonna break none of your things.
It's your serve.
Go ahead, it's all right, Yoki.
Nothin' fell, it just stumbled a little bit, that's all.
Martin, would you come here a minute, please? in the streets in front of the Police Station, and it's practically impossible to find out Kennedy's been shot.
Here is a flash from Dallas.
Two priests who were with President Kennedy say he is dead of bullet wounds suffered in the assassination attempt today.
I repeat, with the greatest regret, this flash two priests who were with President Kennedy say he has died of bullet wounds.
The events of the day seem almost more bizarre in retrospect.
Just this morning, the President seemed so relaxed.
The apprehensions he had had before about the Texas trip were gone.
The crowd seemed friendly, receptive.
Whatever reservations the people of Texas had about Kennedy seemed to have been overcome.
This is the way I'm going to go.
Martin, what are you talkin' about? The sickness in this country, Cory.
It's deeper than I ever knew.
I won't reach my 40th birthday.
Dr.
King.
I am delighted to see you.
Thank you, Mr.
President.
- Won't you sit down? - Thank you.
I've had every public leader worth anything in this room in the last ten days Meaney, Rockefeller, Henry Ford.
But this is the moment that I've been waiting for.
There's been a great deal of rhetoric about civil rights spoken here in the last few years.
There's been a little more than rhetoric.
Of course.
But it is a long way from rhetoric to action.
You and I are going to do some great things together.
And I am going to get particular satisfaction out of it because it is going to be accomplished by a Southerner.
- Hello? - Is this Mrs.
King? Yes.
This is Ned Ramsey from the Associated Press.
We've just received word from Norway that your husband has been given the Nobel Peace Prize for 1964.
Is it possible for us to talk to Dr.
King? Well, he's in the hospital right now.
- I hope nothing's wrong.
- Just fatigue, that's all.
You must be very proud of him.
Well, yes, yes, I am.
Can I call back for a comment? Yes, of course.
How's the Nobel Peace Prize winner for 1964 feeling this morning? Oh, fine, fine.
Martin, did you hear what I said? You have won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Come on, sit down.
Sit down! I have something to tell you.
I need to tell you somethin' Hello? - Cory.
- Yes? Cory, did you just call me? Yes, I did.
I thought I was dreaming.
Are you sure it's not a hoax? No, it's not a hoax, Martin.
Do you know what it says? It says that they're wrong and you're right, Martin.
That's what it says! Why didn't you check with me before you sent this out? I didn't see the necessity of checking with you.
Will you tell me why it was necessary to send these to generals in the Army? To Adlai Stevenson? To Vice President Humphrey? To Rockefeller, to President Johnson and to Bill Moyers? It was my judgment that they needed to have it.
Needed to have it?! They needed to have this character assassination, this compendium of scurrilous gossip and hearsay? Why?! It's good for them to know who they're dealing with when the crisis comes.
Yes, what crisis? The Black insurrection.
Mr.
Hoover I know that you've done a great deal of service for this country, but I think that for any man to have as much power for as long as you have is not only wrong, but it's dangerous! It's terribly dangerous! Now I want back every copy of this so-called monograph.
It's already gone out.
I am ordering you to get them back! And I believe I am your superior! No Attorney General has ever said that to me before.
No president has ever said that before.
I appreciate the high moral tone of your tenure, Mr.
Kennedy except that you authorized wiretaps on your friend Dr.
King yourself.
I have it in your own handwriting.
Yes, I did.
And I was wrong to have authorized them.
I thought that my brother was getting mixed up with Dr.
King in the public mind.
I thought that if Dr.
King were discredited, then my brother would be discredited.
But my brother is no longer alive, Mr.
Hoover.
I have nothing to protect now.
So, besides getting back every copy of these monographs, I want a letter from each of the people stating that they never read it! And I want it in writing! Is that clear?! I I would like to make a toast to God.
To God? Don't you think that's a little pretentious, Dad? My father was a sharecropper, and I wasn't able to finish college till I was a grown man with a wife and three children.
And I prayed to God that He would let my children do the things that I couldn't do.
And He has answered my prayer.
In some kind of way, I don't even know how, He come down through Georgia and laid His hands on me and my wife and gave us Martin Luther King.
And now, the King family will go down, not only in American history, but in the history of the world as well, because Martin Luther King is a Nobel Prize winner.
I want to tell a story about myself one that I'm ashamed of.
It's about I believe it was the first time Martin spoke publicly.
It was for high school debate.
Martin worked so hard for it.
He spoke so well.
Everyone attending was so sure he'd won.
But the other boy was white, and Martin was black, so of course the white boy won.
I never saw Martin so disappointed.
So when he got home, I said, "Martin, you're a little Negro boy, you're not gonna change this world.
" I was trying to save him from what I thought could be heartbreak.
I was so afraid for him.
I almost did what millions of black mothers do all the time make our sons less.
But one man can make a difference.
And that's why we're here tonight.
Modern man has built gigantic bridges to span the seas and gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies.
And yet, in spite of these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, there is a poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance.
We have learned to fly the air like birds, and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.
What are you doing? Don't hit him! Don't hit him! You're not gonna stop us from our constitutional right to vote.
I've been lookin' down the line, and I see people here that have been in jail on felonies, that's what I'm lookin' at.
Many of those who have felony actions against them Many of those who have felony actions against them, they have them because Sheriff Carothers made them felony actions, not because they were rightfully arrested! Wait! You don't have to beat him! What are you doing? Don't hit him! - You don't have to beat him! - On your feet.
We come here to register to vote! Arrest us if we're wrong! Arrest us if we're wrong! We have a right to register to vote! I graduated from a university in this state! We leavin'! We goin', we leavin'! What you pushin' us back for? - May I congratulate you? - Thank you so much.
- Brilliant! Brilliant! - Thank you.
It's a great honor.
Congratulations.
- That was great.
- My pleasure.
How many people can you get here for a demonstration? - Thirty to forty, at least.
- Well, that's good.
We want to register, and then have these people You're the lowest form of humanity! - Leave him alone.
- Are you all right? I got a hard head.
No registration today.
Why not? There are no registrars working today.
Well, I would like to go in and see if the registrar is in the election office.
Take my word for it.
There's nobody in there.
We'll be back.
Some of these people here have been arrested for felonies.
Every person here is a citizen who has contributed to this community, and has led a decent life, and deserves the right to exercise his constitutional privilege.
We're gonna stop you from using that club in the shadows and make you do it in the glaring light of television.
There's no registration today.
I can't promise you that you won't get beaten.
I can't promise you that your homes won't be bombed, but I can promise you that we'll be back.
If they won't let us register, we'll go to George Wallace, and if he doesn't listen, we'll appeal to the Legislature.
And if the Legislature doesn't listen, we'll dramatize the situation by marching by the thousands to places of registration.
I'll go to the President.
And, if need be, we'll go to jail by the thousands.
We need a voting rights bill.
But we just passed the Civil Rights Bill.
You're going too fast.
People have a constitutional right to vote.
But Congress isn't ready for it yet.
Then we'll have to make them ready for it.
We're planning a march from Selma to Montgomery.
All right.
I can't tell you this officially, of course, but, march.
We'll need you to send in federal troops.
No, not yet.
You know what happened on the bridge.
Not yet if we call out the troops now, it'll just make a martyr out of George Wallace.
Those are 50 of the most dangerous miles in this country for a black man to march.
If you want a voting rights bill, you're gonna need pressure, a lot of pressure.
Something big.
Something spectacular.
Something like Birmingham.
People died in Birmingham.
Where we gonna spend the night? Bailey's pasture.
- What about security? - I'm taking care of it.
I wanna see them.
We've got to be sure that there are no snipers on the roofs.
We can get a clear view of those roofs from that alley right over there.
- We march in the morning.
- Is Johnson sending in troops? - I don't know.
- You don't know? Anything can happen in any one of those 54 miles.
Andy, there is nothing we can do.
There's something you can do.
Jimmy Lee Jackson's gone, Medgar Evers, Kennedy, Tom Moore.
Now we've got the tip that the Klan has hired someone to kill you.
But it isn't just the Klan.
You think the Nobel Prize has helped? It's made it worse.
You're the biggest target in this country.
Well, Damon? Judge Johnson has given you permission to march two abreast, and only 50 of you.
Why? That's suicide! Why? To guarantee traffic safety.
All right.
We will march, only 50 of us, and two abreast.
We will march from here to the steps of the cradle of the Confederacy to ensure that everybody has their right to vote.
Damon, get me Archbishop lakovos, get me Walter Reuther, get me Bishop Millard, get me every member of the S.
C.
L.
C.
And anybody else you can think of.
They won't be able to march with us on the highway, but they can march with us to it.
And anybody else who wants to join us in Montgomery later when we get there.
If we get there.
What?! Cory, what are you doing here? I'm going to march.
No, you cannot go on this march.
Oh, yes, I can.
You're not gonna keep me in the house this time.
Not this time.
But what about the kids? The children are all right.
I left them with Mom and Dad.
I guess there's just no stopping you, is there? Not this time.
You look so tired.
You know, I can't even smoke in front of anybody else.
Julian Bond told me he was as shocked to see me smoke as if it was his own mother.
I'm not a saint.
I wish I were.
What's the matter? It's the march.
This is the most dangerous march we've ever been on.
I know that somebody is gonna die on these 54 miles.
Why is it that we need a human sacrifice for every gain that we make? It's a dangerous march, Martin, but it's the most important one.
It's 102 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, and yet college graduates in Selma, Alabama can't vote.
Didn't you say that one day we would have a say in who's president of these United States? "Give us the ballot," you said, "and we will change the history of this country.
" I know, Cory.
But isn't there some other way? Turn me 'round, turn me 'round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin' Keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me 'round Turn me 'round, turn me 'round Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me 'round We're gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me round We're gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Gonna squash you like a bug, ya little jungle bunny! Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round We're gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marching up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me round, turn me round Turn me round Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse turn me round, Gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' - Marchin' up to freedom land - My name is Ramsey Clark.
I was Deputy Attorney General of the United States.
My job was to watch over the march from Selma to Montgomery.
It was a dangerous situation.
You could feel the poison the country had drawn to that area.
Violent racists had drifted toward the scene from hundreds of miles around.
We knew murder could strike from any window or rooftop, from around any corner of any building or alleyway.
You had to guard against a potential assassin in every pickup truck that drove by, around every farmhouse or country store, every clump of trees or bend in the road.
Over me, over me - And before I'd be your slave - Hey, get off the road! - I'll be buried in my grave - Get off the road! And go home to my Lord And be free, and be free No segregation Over me, over me Fill it up.
There's Tony Bennett.
He's here for that nigger King.
He's my favorite singer, too.
Just in time I found you just in time Before you came, my time was runnin' low I was lost The losin' dice were tossed My bridges all were crossed Nowhere to go Well, now you're here Now I know just where I'm goin' No more doubt or fear I can't tell you how weird that was, singing in the dark, not knowing what was out there.
I looked out to see what I could see on that platform, and there was just his face looking at me, smiling as though we were on a Sunday School picnic.
And out there were thousands of people just waiting to kill him if they could.
And I concentrated on that face and sang to him.
No more doubt or fear I found my way 'Cause your love came just in time I found you just in time Then you changed my lonely life That lovely day You changed my lonely life That lovely day I wanna thank Mr.
Bennett, Mr.
Belafonte, and all the other wonderful entertainers who have come down here to help us.
I wonder if they know how much it means to us and how much we appreciate it? Appreciate it.
I've sung before royalty and movie stars, and the White House since, but nothing ever meant as much to me as his saying that.
Hurry and get it unloaded, the marchers will be here in a half hour.
Please get those tables all the way in the back of the tent, all right? Need more bedrolls today! - Hi.
- But we're gonna make it? Yeah, nine miles to go.
It's our last night camping out.
- I'll bet you'll miss it.
- Like hell I will.
I've got all this food.
Oh, good, good.
I think the kids are starving.
George! Harry! Ellie! Food! Come on! I even brought table cloths and napkins.
Now we can dine in style.
How many people you think will show up in Montgomery? I don't know, it's been like an insane asylum back at the office.
What do we have there? Food! Mustard greens! Collard greens! Ham hocks! Nah, just the same old canned junk.
- How many trips have you made today? - Must be about five already.
- Where are you from? - Detroit.
I'm just a housewife.
The only way I can help is to drive.
- Every little bit helps.
- I'll see ya later.
See ya.
What's your name? Ellie.
Bye! Ellie! I forgot the mustard.
Thank you very much.
You a student? In a way.
I wanna be.
I wanna attend barber school over in Mobile.
Barber school.
Are you tired? You want me to drive? No.
No, I'll be all right.
They must be crazy.
You got someplace to stay in Selma? No, I was gonna make one more trip back.
Unless I'm killed in the meantime.
I don't think you hit him.
Baby brother, I don't miss.
Help! Help! The tensions at the end of this historic march from Selma to Montgomery have been heightened by the knowledge that it has cost the lives of three human beings Jimmy Lee Jackson, Reverend James Reeb, and now Viola Liuzzo.
Sheriff Jim Clark has said, "If you march, you do so over my dead body.
" And George Wallace has said, "They will not pass.
" The authorities have forbidden the demonstrators to set foot on the Capitol steps.
But the marchers, now over 20,000 of them, are here in the cradle of confederacy.
The marchers now have the support of President Lyndon Johnson.
He has demanded a voting rights bill from Congress.
A wooden platform has been set up directly across from the Capitol, where Martin Luther King will speak.
Last Sunday, 8,000 of us started on a mighty walk - from Selma, Alabama.
- All right.
They said we wouldn't get here.
There were those who said that we would get here - only over their dead bodies.
- All right.
Yet today, all the world knows that we are here, - Yes, sir.
- And we are standing before the forces of power in the State of Alabama, saying, "We ain't about to turn around!" No, sir.
Today, I want to tell the City of Selma Tell them, Doctor.
Today, I want to say to the State of Alabama Say it, sir.
Today, I want to say to the people of America and the nations of the world that we are not about to turn around! - Yes, sir.
- We're on the move now! - All right.
- Yes, we're on the move! And no wave of racism can stop us.
All right.
The burning of our churches will not deter us.
The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us.
The beating and killing of Jimmy Lee Jackson - will not divide us.
- Yes, sir.
The shooting of Viola Liuzzo, the mother of three children, - will not stop us.
- No, sir.
The release of their known murderers will not discourage us.
- No, sir.
- We're on the move now, like an idea whose time has come! Not even the marching of mighty armies can hold us! We are moving to the land of freedom! All right.
I know you're asking today, "How long will it take?" How long, sir? Somebody is asking how long will prejudice - blind the visions of men? - How long, sir? Well, I come to say to you this afternoon that however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, - it will not be long.
- All right, sir.
Because truth crushed to earth will rise again.
- Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long! - Because no lie can live forever.
- Yes, sir.
How long? Not long! Because you shall reap what you sow! - Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long.
Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne, yet behind it in the dim unknown standeth God keeping watch above his own! - Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long.
Because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
- Say it, Doctor.
- How long? Not long.
Because mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.
He has loosed the faithful lightning of His terrible swift sword, His truth is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat.
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat.
O, be swift, my soul to answer Him, - be jubilant, my feet! - Say it, Doctor Our God is marching on! Glory hallelujah! Our God is marching on!
That's why we're here.
There he is Bull Connor.
Nobody looks like that.
They must've made him up.
Bull Connor is Birmingham.
Who is he? He was a sports announcer.
He was very popular.
Then he got it in his mind that he wanted to go into politics.
Now he's Commissioner for Public Safety.
I know Mr.
Connor from way back.
He was a first class strikebreaker.
Still thinkin' you can desegregate this place nonviolently? Birmingham is the most powerful city in the South.
If we can desegregate it nonviolently, we can desegregate the South.
There's a medium invented called television that captures faces.
I'd like the rest of the country to see what we've seen all our lives.
Television is going to be the medium in which we're going to bring this country face-to-face with itself.
- Morning, Dr.
King.
- Hello.
My brother A.
D.
, do you know where he is? - He's in the office.
- Thank you.
I thought you were gonna meet me at the airport, what happened? I want you to give one of your special introductions tonight, all right? Now, don't make it too long.
Last time, you just went on and on.
About eight minutes would be about right.
I can't do it, I ain't up to it.
What do you mean you're not up to it? You're a wonderful speaker.
You're lovable.
That's what you are, you're lovable, and you know why? Because you make people feel important.
They askin' me to resign.
Nobody's gonna ask you to resign, 'cause you're gonna be brilliant tonight.
Martin Luther King has become a famous man.
But to me, he's still my brother Mike.
I opened one of the letters that came to our house today, and it said, "This is not a threat, but a promise.
Your head will be blown off.
" But Mike got a hard head.
I remember a time when Mike was leaning against an upstairs banister.
He plunged headfirst into the floor.
It must have been 20 feet from the top of the banister, I said, it must have been 20 feet from the top of the banister, right on his head! But nothin' broken, nothin' scratched.
Then he was riding a bike, and a car hit the bike and hurled M.
L.
Into the sidewalk.
I mean, he flew over the handlebars into the ground.
He flew over the handlebars into the ground! Still all right.
- All right! - Then I remember a time when we were playin' baseball.
Mike was the bat catcher, and my bat slipped out of my hands and hit Mike on the head.
I bent over Mike, I said, "Are you all right?" And the first thing Mike said when he opened his eyes was, "You out! You missed on your third strike!" I told this to one of the women in the congregation, and she said, "The Lord had a hand on him even then.
" She said, "He was savin' him for us.
" Amen! No harm could come to him, I said, no harm could come to him! You know, I think maybe she was right.
I just think maybe she was right.
Maybe He gave Mike a hard head for that purpose.
My brother, Martin Luther King.
Thank you.
Yes, thank you.
I've always thought that A.
D.
Was a better preacher than I am.
And tonight proves it, doesn't it? Thank you.
Tonight, many people, including black people, are asking, why are we in Birmingham? Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? My friends, I must tell you that we have not made one single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure.
Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.
Close the doors.
Close the doors! Close the doors! Don't let anybody in or out! What would you like to do? Kill him? Well, that is not our movement! What would you like to do, use Molotov cocktails? That is not our movement! I'll tell you I will tell you I'll tell you what our movement is.
It's to understand him.
Yes, even him.
It's to ask yourself what it would be like if you were taught since you were a child, since you were baby enough to crawl, that the Negro is a thing.
If you had been taught by your parents, by your teachers, yes, even the preachers and the people sitting next to you in church, that it's not wrong to hate, what would you be then? That's what this movement is.
It's to reveal these people to themselves.
Turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-talkin', marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round, Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Up against the wall! Get 'em right up against the wall, that's it, that's it! Get 'em all against the wall, that's it! Get 'em all up against the wall, right against it! - All of 'em, up against the wall! - Take down their names.
I want everyone's name, take down their names.
We're gonna get their names.
We should start down here.
- You, what's your name? - Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth.
Give me your name.
So, you're Shuttlesworth? Yes, sir.
Shuttlesworth, you've done more to hurt the niggers in this city, to set them back, than any man in the history of this city.
That depends on how you look at it, Mr.
Connor.
You're gonna find that I'm your best friend.
You're my best friend? That's a surprise.
What are you up to now? We gonna shut down Birmingham.
We gonna integrate it.
You're gonna shut down Birmingham? Yes, sir.
Who's that? That's Mr.
Al Hibler, famous singer from New York.
Come down here to give us a hand.
- Famous singer.
- Yes, sir.
I've got an injunction here from Judge Jenkins banning all demonstrations.
I'm askin' you to disband.
We can't do that.
Why not? We gonna shut Birmingham down.
Get the wagon.
Get him in the wagon.
- Get 'em all in the wagon! - Yes, sir, come on! Get that blind nigger, get that blind nigger down here! Come on, get the folks outta here.
Let's go now.
There you go, that's it.
Get him in there.
What about that, huh? Come down here to cause trouble, huh? What about that? This beats anything I ever saw! Bunch of yahoos.
This is going to destroy everything we've been working for.
But we have to go ahead.
It isn't the time.
Oh, I know.
It's never the time.
If you wait a few months We've waited long enough.
We can't stop now.
He won't stop.
So, what do we do? Can you imagine the guts it takes to try to integrate Birmingham? I said, what do we do? Same thing we always do nothing.
Martin, some gentlemen to see you.
- I'm Father Mikeljohn.
- How do you do? This is Reverend Redding and Reverend Jenkins, Rabbi Kaplan, Father Deans, - and Reverend Hardwell.
- Would you like to sit down? I understand you're planning to use children now in your protests.
Yes, that's right.
It hardly seems brave to use children to do a man's work.
Children are very useful.
They can't be pressured to stop demonstrating because they may lose their jobs.
We want you to leave Birmingham.
We can deal with our own problems.
You haven't dealt with them very well up to this time.
We're not the only ones in this community that want you to leave.
There are black people in this community that want you to leave, too.
Yeah, I'll bet there are.
I can't understand you.
You're clergymen.
We're here because we are clergymen.
Then how can you stand there and preach to your congregations about Jesus? What you're doing here is illegal.
And everything that Adolph Hitler did in Germany was legal! And yet, I know that if I had lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided the Jews.
I would have openly advocated disobeying the law.
You protest now, but why have you never protested the reasons that we're here? Why didn't you protest when homes were bombed and people were killed? Where are your collective voices when hatred and defiance are called for by the white people - that sit in your very own churches?! - Will you stop these demonstrations? No.
If you continue, people will be hurt.
People may be killed.
Perhaps.
You're a man who preaches nonviolence, and prays in his heart for violence.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round What are we gonna do with 'em? Where we gonna put 'em? Bessemer Jail's full, the field jail's full.
Put 'em in the fairground.
But after this, I don't think we'll have any more.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Turn me round, keep on a-walkin' Keep on a-talkin', marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round - I'm askin' you to disband! - Ain't gonna let nobody Turn me round, I'm gonna keep on a-walkin' Keep on a-talkin' - Marchin' up to freedom land - I'm askin' you to disband! Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody You're sure lookin' good, Bull.
Get my best side.
You know, I used to be one of you guys.
Had the best sports program in this city.
What kinda lens is that? It's the new zoom lens, Bull.
We got it just for you.
Zoom lens.
I heard about that.
You know, I'm thinkin' of havin' my own talk show.
A few laughs, a little meat on it.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round, - Turn me round - My God, it's kids this time.
- Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round - Makes no difference.
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round - What do you want? - Freedom.
You are in violation of City Ordinance Number 1169 of the City Code demonstratin' and paradin' without a license.
Now, just go back.
Just go back, now.
Come on, go back.
Go back, now.
Go back home.
Come on, now.
You all just go back.
Just go back, now.
Go back home.
Turn 'em on.
All advance! I can't believe my eyes.
Bull Connor may be the best ally the Civil Rights Movement ever had.
There just comes a time when a movement is judged by its leader.
I can't be out of jail while old ladies and children are in.
Martin, you can't go to jail.
Where would we be if something happened to you? You're too important to the movement.
They could set up a riot, you could be killed by "accident.
" We've run out of bail money, Martin.
You're the only one that can help us raise it.
If you go, all those people in jail will stay there indefinitely.
I'm going.
I don't know what's going to happen to those 300 people in jail, but there are 20 million people in this country watching us.
You ain't leavin' your old buddy, I'm gonna get my dungarees, too.
We shall overcome We shall overcome Some day Deep in my heart I do believe That we shall overcome Some day God bless you, Dr.
King.
Oh, freedom On me, over me And before I'd be a slave I'll be buried in my grave And go home to my Lord And be free Oh, freedom Over me, over me And before I'd be a slave I'll be buried in my grave And go home to my Lord And be free, and be free Oh, freedom - Hello.
- Hello.
- Did you hear anything? - Nothin'.
Nothin' at all.
Hello? Hello, Mrs.
King.
This is Robert Kennedy.
I know you tried to get in touch with the President, but he's not available right now.
Is there anything I can do? My husband is in jail in Birmingham.
Yes, I know.
I haven't heard from my husband in three days.
He always calls me after he's arrested.
Even his lawyers can't get in to see him.
I don't know what happened to him.
Birmingham is a difficult place, Mrs.
King.
We're doing everything we can.
I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything.
Thank you.
I guess what they say about Jack Kennedy is true.
He made the call because of the election.
Where's Yoki? Oh, now, it's all right.
No, it isn't all right.
You're good enough to come down here and cook us a meal, and she's on the telephone.
It's getting to be a disease.
Mommy, there's a woman on the phone.
Hello? - Mrs.
King? - Yes? The President is on the phone.
Oh, yes.
How are you, Mrs.
King? I understand you talked to my brother yesterday.
Sorry I couldn't call you personally.
I was with my father, he's ill.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You might be interested to know that the Justice Department was called in last night.
They talked to your husband.
He's all right.
Oh, thank you.
We'll be keeping on top of the situation.
If you get worried again, feel free to call the Attorney General or Mr.
Salinger.
They know where to reach me.
Thank you.
You know where to reach me now, don't you? Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you so very much.
You have got to get up and get out of here.
All of you! Now, come on! Come on, get up and move! Come on.
Come on.
Get up and get out of here now! - Lieutenant! - All of you! Lieutenant Dunn, can I speak with you for a moment? All of you, listen to me, move! Can I speak with you for one moment? - We cannot allow demonstrations.
- This is Easter Sunday.
Nearly every leader of our movement is in jail.
We'd like to go to the jail, kneel in front of it and say a few prayers, just an Easter Sunday meeting.
- I can't allow you to do that.
- Why? Because it's against the law! If you really want to enforce the law, move your men back two blocks and give us half an hour.
But if you wanna beat me, if you wanna beat up children, just like your own kids, go ahead, it's your choice.
What's goin' on here? What's goin' on here?! They they just want to go over by the jail and pray.
Disperse 'em.
Come on, get up.
Come on, get up! Get up! Come on! Get outta here! Come on, get up! Get outta here! Get outta here! Turn on the hose! Turn it on! Turn 'em on! Turn on the hose! Turn 'em on! Turn on the hose!!! Turn it on! Turn on the hose! Martin Luther King had come to Birmingham with a few hundred people.
He had raised an army of thousands.
He had filled the jails the way Gandhi had in India.
The department stores were empty.
The effectiveness of the work in the steel plants was sharply curtailed because of the division among the men.
Martin Luther King had desegregated the toughest town in the South.
But Birmingham wasn't the end.
Hundreds, then thousands, of other cities in the South desegregated because of Birmingham.
Birmingham became the Bunker Hill of the movement.
The idea is to consolidate our gains.
A.
Phillip Randolph's been talking to me about a march.
- It's a march on Washington.
- But marches on Washington Hold, Fred.
I didn't say what we've been talking about.
No, the idea is, in order to put pressure on Hi, Fred, how are ya? About half a million people.
- Half a million? - Yeah.
Was anybody hurt? Well, yes.
Of course I'll come.
Bernard, find out what time the next plane leaves for Birmingham.
They bombed Reverend Cross' church.
They killed four children, they were sitting in Sunday School.
What are we doin'? Is it worth it? Is anything worth it? Am I a monster? Why?! Why did this happen to my child?! Why?! Why me? Oh, God! Please, God, yes! Yes! Why?! Why?! We see before us a great triumph for segregation the murder of four little girls while they were studying at Sunday School.
It was a terrible deed but perhaps less terrible than the response of this community.
I suppose it was too much to ask that it be officially said that the murder of children is wrong.
I suppose it was too much to expect that one white official might attend the ceremonies so that the parents might feel better.
As a matter of fact, I don't see one white face here, except for white ministers.
Yet, I still believe in nonviolence.
Consider this a down payment on freedom.
History has proved again and again that unmerited suffering is redemptive.
And perhaps the innocent blood of these these little girls might prove to be the redemptive force to bring light to this dark city.
David.
I'm gonna speak on television tomorrow night.
I wanna go on record.
If you make this speech, your chances of being reelected are nil.
I know you were moved by King's speech Somebody has to use the moral power of this office to say that segregation is wrong.
Is that such a brave thing to do? Yes.
There have been some brave men in that chair, but they've all been very clever and very careful how they reacted in regard to this issue.
Maybe that's the trouble.
Maybe we've all been too clever.
It ought to be possible for American students of any color to attend any public institutions without having to be backed up by troops.
And it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register to vote in a free election without fear of reprisal.
But such is not the case.
We say to the world, and to each other, that this is the land of the free.
Does it mean that it is the land of the free, except to the Negroes? That we have no master race, except with respect to Negroes? We're confronted, primarily, with a moral issue.
It is as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution.
The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities.
Those who do nothing are inviting shame, as well as violence.
Those who act boldly are recognizing right, as well as reality.
Next week, I will ask Congress to make the commitment it has not yet fully made in this century the commitment to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law.
J.
Edgar Hoover was one of the greatest investigators and administrators this country has ever known, but he was 68 years old.
His knowledge of Blacks came from the area around Washington when Blacks were allowed to be nothing more than janitors and chauffeurs.
He felt that they should be restricted to that.
He asked me to make the most intensive investigation in the Bureau's history about the influence of Communists on the Civil Rights Movement and on Dr.
King.
I knew he wasn't going to like my conclusions.
"There has been an obvious failure "of the Communist Party of the United States "to appreciably infiltrate, influence or control large numbers of American Negroes in this community.
" Dr.
King? There's no reason to suspect him of being a Communist or a Communist sympathizer.
This memo reminds me vividly of those I received when Castro took over Cuba.
You contended then that Castro and his cohorts were not Communists and were not influenced by Communists.
Time proved you wrong.
Mr.
Hoover, I can only report my findings to you as honestly as I can.
I spent a good many months working on that report.
- I know you have.
- Yes, I did that.
I know you've taken time for it that you could have been doing other things.
Well That's why it's all the more a disappointment.
I can't help it if those are the conclusions that I honestly reached.
I said that, excuse me I said that Back here I said that time alone would tell, and over here I said that they're making prodigious efforts to infiltrate them.
I said that.
Why are you qualifying this? You've made your report.
Good morning.
He didn't speak to me for months.
To be in trouble with Hoover was a serious matter.
He was capable of firing a whole department.
We all had mortgages on homes, children in school, et cetera.
Take down this memo.
We regret greatly that the memo did not live up to what the Director has a right to expect from us, from our analysis.
But now, we're stressing the urgent need for imaginative and aggressive tactics to be utilized through our counterintelligence program to attempt to neutralize or disrupt the Party's activities in the Negro field.
We must mark King now, if we have not already done so, as the most dangerous Negro to the future of this nation, from the standpoint of Communism, the Negro, and national security.
I can't understand how you can so agilely switch your thinking.
Now you want to load down the field with more coverage, in spite of your past evaluation.
I don't intend to waste time and money until you can make up your minds what the situation really is.
- What does he want with us? - What does he want? You know what he wants, don't you? He wants us to tell him he was mild in his assessment of the influence of Communists on King and the movement, even though there's no evidence there's any.
He wants us to out-Hoover Hoover.
Find out if there's any possibility of using Mrs.
King, find out if there are any disgruntled employees, find out about all the financial dealings of King and what we can exploit to our advantage.
Give me the files on King's aides, will you? If we can't find anything on King, maybe we can find something on them.
That's what Hoover wants.
People later asked me whether I thought what we were doing was illegal, unethical or immoral.
The matter of legality, morals or ethics was never raised by myself or anyone else.
Marty, run! I know who did it, too.
Boy, when I get ahold of them, they gonna know they've been held.
Where are those devils? I'm gonna shake the serpent out of 'em! Now, where are they? Yoki! Marty! I know Yoki Poki wouldn't do that to old Daddy.
No! Yoki! Yoki! Marty, you're not really frightened of me, are you? It's all right, it's all right.
Why did you cry with your father today, Marty? They tease me because of him.
They say, "Your father's a jailbird.
" Do you know why he goes to jail? He goes to jail to help people.
Do you remember when you wanted to go to Funtown? Remember how you felt when we told you you couldn't go because you were black? Your father couldn't sleep all night.
He had to go to Birmingham the next day, and he said, "Tell him that it isn't because "he's not as good as anybody else.
Tell him that he'll be able to go someday.
" So you gotta help him, Marty, 'cause he doesn't like going to jail.
He's as frightened of it as anybody else, and he's alone.
He's very much alone.
I want to thank you for what was said.
It had never been said before.
Thank you, but I'm concerned about this march.
We want a civil rights bill, not a television spectacular.
Supposin' there's an incident? There won't be an incident.
I know those fellas on the Hill.
I spent a good many years with 'em.
You don't want them to say, "Yes, I am for the bill, but I'll be damned if I'll vote for it at the point of a gun.
" If they don't want to vote for it, they'll find a reason not to, won't they? It isn't the time.
I've never been engaged in any direct action movement that didn't seem ill-timed.
Some people thought that Birmingham was ill-timed.
Including the Attorney General.
If you want to hold the march, there's nothing we can do to stop you.
Robert wants to talk to you about something.
Certainly.
Would you mind, Mr.
Vice President? Dr.
King.
We'd like to talk to you about an advisor of yours.
What advisor? Stanley Levison.
What about Stanley? Hoover says he's a Communist.
I thought we'd gone beyond that in this country.
McCarthy's dead, but the melody lingers on.
I've looked at the files.
There's enough ammunition there.
What sort of ammunition? People have said things about him, there are statements that he's made.
People have said things about you, too.
There are statements you have made.
Would you like be held accountable for everything you've said? I'm a pragmatist, I'm telling you these things can be used and they can be used effectively.
Now, you have to dismiss Levison.
It isn't as easy as that.
He's a valuable man to the movement.
And in addition, he is a friend of mine.
The southern strategy is gonna be to say that the Civil Rights Movement is riddled with Communists.
I've got a civil rights bill I want to pass.
We can't take a chance of anything hurting that, can we? There is no choice.
I have to go.
You you've had to work in the shadows because there are racists in our own people who don't like the idea of a white man contributing too much.
Stanley, I owe you so much.
Remember when they tried to frame me on taxes? You said, "It isn't up to you to defend yourself, "it's up to us to defend you.
"Lt'll be you against the State of Alabama, but the people will believe you.
" It doesn't matter now.
Does it? Nothing must be allowed to hurt the movement.
I wonder whether it's worth it? I wonder whether, in spite of it all, I shouldn't just call Hoover on this thing and see it out all the way to the end.
You tried that once.
He gets a better press than you.
So long, Martin.
It's been the most inspiring experience of my life.
What happened? Stanley's leaving the movement.
I talked to the Attorney General's Office.
He has no evidence.
It's a downright lie.
Stanley is not a Communist, never has been.
We need that bill.
We can't take a chance on anything hurting it.
We need that bill, but I wonder, is anything worth doing this to Stanley? Washington is a city of spectacle.
Every four years, there are imposing presidential inaugurations.
But in its entire history, Washington had never seen a spectacle of the size and grandeur that assembled there on August 28th, 1963.
250,000 people journeyed that day to the capital.
They came from almost every state in the Union.
They came in every form of transportation.
They were an army without guns, but not without strength.
I say to you today, my friends, that even though we face difficulties today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
" I have a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day, even the State of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, sweltering with the heat of injustice, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today! And when we let freedom ring, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing the words of that old Negro spiritual "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we're free at last!" Yoki, think you can make a comeback? Are you turning that living room into a handball court again? Cory, we don't have no place else to play! We're not gonna break none of your things.
It's your serve.
Go ahead, it's all right, Yoki.
Nothin' fell, it just stumbled a little bit, that's all.
Martin, would you come here a minute, please? in the streets in front of the Police Station, and it's practically impossible to find out Kennedy's been shot.
Here is a flash from Dallas.
Two priests who were with President Kennedy say he is dead of bullet wounds suffered in the assassination attempt today.
I repeat, with the greatest regret, this flash two priests who were with President Kennedy say he has died of bullet wounds.
The events of the day seem almost more bizarre in retrospect.
Just this morning, the President seemed so relaxed.
The apprehensions he had had before about the Texas trip were gone.
The crowd seemed friendly, receptive.
Whatever reservations the people of Texas had about Kennedy seemed to have been overcome.
This is the way I'm going to go.
Martin, what are you talkin' about? The sickness in this country, Cory.
It's deeper than I ever knew.
I won't reach my 40th birthday.
Dr.
King.
I am delighted to see you.
Thank you, Mr.
President.
- Won't you sit down? - Thank you.
I've had every public leader worth anything in this room in the last ten days Meaney, Rockefeller, Henry Ford.
But this is the moment that I've been waiting for.
There's been a great deal of rhetoric about civil rights spoken here in the last few years.
There's been a little more than rhetoric.
Of course.
But it is a long way from rhetoric to action.
You and I are going to do some great things together.
And I am going to get particular satisfaction out of it because it is going to be accomplished by a Southerner.
- Hello? - Is this Mrs.
King? Yes.
This is Ned Ramsey from the Associated Press.
We've just received word from Norway that your husband has been given the Nobel Peace Prize for 1964.
Is it possible for us to talk to Dr.
King? Well, he's in the hospital right now.
- I hope nothing's wrong.
- Just fatigue, that's all.
You must be very proud of him.
Well, yes, yes, I am.
Can I call back for a comment? Yes, of course.
How's the Nobel Peace Prize winner for 1964 feeling this morning? Oh, fine, fine.
Martin, did you hear what I said? You have won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Come on, sit down.
Sit down! I have something to tell you.
I need to tell you somethin' Hello? - Cory.
- Yes? Cory, did you just call me? Yes, I did.
I thought I was dreaming.
Are you sure it's not a hoax? No, it's not a hoax, Martin.
Do you know what it says? It says that they're wrong and you're right, Martin.
That's what it says! Why didn't you check with me before you sent this out? I didn't see the necessity of checking with you.
Will you tell me why it was necessary to send these to generals in the Army? To Adlai Stevenson? To Vice President Humphrey? To Rockefeller, to President Johnson and to Bill Moyers? It was my judgment that they needed to have it.
Needed to have it?! They needed to have this character assassination, this compendium of scurrilous gossip and hearsay? Why?! It's good for them to know who they're dealing with when the crisis comes.
Yes, what crisis? The Black insurrection.
Mr.
Hoover I know that you've done a great deal of service for this country, but I think that for any man to have as much power for as long as you have is not only wrong, but it's dangerous! It's terribly dangerous! Now I want back every copy of this so-called monograph.
It's already gone out.
I am ordering you to get them back! And I believe I am your superior! No Attorney General has ever said that to me before.
No president has ever said that before.
I appreciate the high moral tone of your tenure, Mr.
Kennedy except that you authorized wiretaps on your friend Dr.
King yourself.
I have it in your own handwriting.
Yes, I did.
And I was wrong to have authorized them.
I thought that my brother was getting mixed up with Dr.
King in the public mind.
I thought that if Dr.
King were discredited, then my brother would be discredited.
But my brother is no longer alive, Mr.
Hoover.
I have nothing to protect now.
So, besides getting back every copy of these monographs, I want a letter from each of the people stating that they never read it! And I want it in writing! Is that clear?! I I would like to make a toast to God.
To God? Don't you think that's a little pretentious, Dad? My father was a sharecropper, and I wasn't able to finish college till I was a grown man with a wife and three children.
And I prayed to God that He would let my children do the things that I couldn't do.
And He has answered my prayer.
In some kind of way, I don't even know how, He come down through Georgia and laid His hands on me and my wife and gave us Martin Luther King.
And now, the King family will go down, not only in American history, but in the history of the world as well, because Martin Luther King is a Nobel Prize winner.
I want to tell a story about myself one that I'm ashamed of.
It's about I believe it was the first time Martin spoke publicly.
It was for high school debate.
Martin worked so hard for it.
He spoke so well.
Everyone attending was so sure he'd won.
But the other boy was white, and Martin was black, so of course the white boy won.
I never saw Martin so disappointed.
So when he got home, I said, "Martin, you're a little Negro boy, you're not gonna change this world.
" I was trying to save him from what I thought could be heartbreak.
I was so afraid for him.
I almost did what millions of black mothers do all the time make our sons less.
But one man can make a difference.
And that's why we're here tonight.
Modern man has built gigantic bridges to span the seas and gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies.
And yet, in spite of these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, there is a poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance.
We have learned to fly the air like birds, and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.
What are you doing? Don't hit him! Don't hit him! You're not gonna stop us from our constitutional right to vote.
I've been lookin' down the line, and I see people here that have been in jail on felonies, that's what I'm lookin' at.
Many of those who have felony actions against them Many of those who have felony actions against them, they have them because Sheriff Carothers made them felony actions, not because they were rightfully arrested! Wait! You don't have to beat him! What are you doing? Don't hit him! - You don't have to beat him! - On your feet.
We come here to register to vote! Arrest us if we're wrong! Arrest us if we're wrong! We have a right to register to vote! I graduated from a university in this state! We leavin'! We goin', we leavin'! What you pushin' us back for? - May I congratulate you? - Thank you so much.
- Brilliant! Brilliant! - Thank you.
It's a great honor.
Congratulations.
- That was great.
- My pleasure.
How many people can you get here for a demonstration? - Thirty to forty, at least.
- Well, that's good.
We want to register, and then have these people You're the lowest form of humanity! - Leave him alone.
- Are you all right? I got a hard head.
No registration today.
Why not? There are no registrars working today.
Well, I would like to go in and see if the registrar is in the election office.
Take my word for it.
There's nobody in there.
We'll be back.
Some of these people here have been arrested for felonies.
Every person here is a citizen who has contributed to this community, and has led a decent life, and deserves the right to exercise his constitutional privilege.
We're gonna stop you from using that club in the shadows and make you do it in the glaring light of television.
There's no registration today.
I can't promise you that you won't get beaten.
I can't promise you that your homes won't be bombed, but I can promise you that we'll be back.
If they won't let us register, we'll go to George Wallace, and if he doesn't listen, we'll appeal to the Legislature.
And if the Legislature doesn't listen, we'll dramatize the situation by marching by the thousands to places of registration.
I'll go to the President.
And, if need be, we'll go to jail by the thousands.
We need a voting rights bill.
But we just passed the Civil Rights Bill.
You're going too fast.
People have a constitutional right to vote.
But Congress isn't ready for it yet.
Then we'll have to make them ready for it.
We're planning a march from Selma to Montgomery.
All right.
I can't tell you this officially, of course, but, march.
We'll need you to send in federal troops.
No, not yet.
You know what happened on the bridge.
Not yet if we call out the troops now, it'll just make a martyr out of George Wallace.
Those are 50 of the most dangerous miles in this country for a black man to march.
If you want a voting rights bill, you're gonna need pressure, a lot of pressure.
Something big.
Something spectacular.
Something like Birmingham.
People died in Birmingham.
Where we gonna spend the night? Bailey's pasture.
- What about security? - I'm taking care of it.
I wanna see them.
We've got to be sure that there are no snipers on the roofs.
We can get a clear view of those roofs from that alley right over there.
- We march in the morning.
- Is Johnson sending in troops? - I don't know.
- You don't know? Anything can happen in any one of those 54 miles.
Andy, there is nothing we can do.
There's something you can do.
Jimmy Lee Jackson's gone, Medgar Evers, Kennedy, Tom Moore.
Now we've got the tip that the Klan has hired someone to kill you.
But it isn't just the Klan.
You think the Nobel Prize has helped? It's made it worse.
You're the biggest target in this country.
Well, Damon? Judge Johnson has given you permission to march two abreast, and only 50 of you.
Why? That's suicide! Why? To guarantee traffic safety.
All right.
We will march, only 50 of us, and two abreast.
We will march from here to the steps of the cradle of the Confederacy to ensure that everybody has their right to vote.
Damon, get me Archbishop lakovos, get me Walter Reuther, get me Bishop Millard, get me every member of the S.
C.
L.
C.
And anybody else you can think of.
They won't be able to march with us on the highway, but they can march with us to it.
And anybody else who wants to join us in Montgomery later when we get there.
If we get there.
What?! Cory, what are you doing here? I'm going to march.
No, you cannot go on this march.
Oh, yes, I can.
You're not gonna keep me in the house this time.
Not this time.
But what about the kids? The children are all right.
I left them with Mom and Dad.
I guess there's just no stopping you, is there? Not this time.
You look so tired.
You know, I can't even smoke in front of anybody else.
Julian Bond told me he was as shocked to see me smoke as if it was his own mother.
I'm not a saint.
I wish I were.
What's the matter? It's the march.
This is the most dangerous march we've ever been on.
I know that somebody is gonna die on these 54 miles.
Why is it that we need a human sacrifice for every gain that we make? It's a dangerous march, Martin, but it's the most important one.
It's 102 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, and yet college graduates in Selma, Alabama can't vote.
Didn't you say that one day we would have a say in who's president of these United States? "Give us the ballot," you said, "and we will change the history of this country.
" I know, Cory.
But isn't there some other way? Turn me 'round, turn me 'round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round I'm gonna keep on a-walkin' Keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me 'round Turn me 'round, turn me 'round Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me 'round We're gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me round We're gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Gonna squash you like a bug, ya little jungle bunny! Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round We're gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marching up to freedom land Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Turn me round, turn me round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round Keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' Marchin' up to freedom land Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse Turn me round, turn me round Turn me round Ain't gonna let no sheriff's posse turn me round, Gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' - Marchin' up to freedom land - My name is Ramsey Clark.
I was Deputy Attorney General of the United States.
My job was to watch over the march from Selma to Montgomery.
It was a dangerous situation.
You could feel the poison the country had drawn to that area.
Violent racists had drifted toward the scene from hundreds of miles around.
We knew murder could strike from any window or rooftop, from around any corner of any building or alleyway.
You had to guard against a potential assassin in every pickup truck that drove by, around every farmhouse or country store, every clump of trees or bend in the road.
Over me, over me - And before I'd be your slave - Hey, get off the road! - I'll be buried in my grave - Get off the road! And go home to my Lord And be free, and be free No segregation Over me, over me Fill it up.
There's Tony Bennett.
He's here for that nigger King.
He's my favorite singer, too.
Just in time I found you just in time Before you came, my time was runnin' low I was lost The losin' dice were tossed My bridges all were crossed Nowhere to go Well, now you're here Now I know just where I'm goin' No more doubt or fear I can't tell you how weird that was, singing in the dark, not knowing what was out there.
I looked out to see what I could see on that platform, and there was just his face looking at me, smiling as though we were on a Sunday School picnic.
And out there were thousands of people just waiting to kill him if they could.
And I concentrated on that face and sang to him.
No more doubt or fear I found my way 'Cause your love came just in time I found you just in time Then you changed my lonely life That lovely day You changed my lonely life That lovely day I wanna thank Mr.
Bennett, Mr.
Belafonte, and all the other wonderful entertainers who have come down here to help us.
I wonder if they know how much it means to us and how much we appreciate it? Appreciate it.
I've sung before royalty and movie stars, and the White House since, but nothing ever meant as much to me as his saying that.
Hurry and get it unloaded, the marchers will be here in a half hour.
Please get those tables all the way in the back of the tent, all right? Need more bedrolls today! - Hi.
- But we're gonna make it? Yeah, nine miles to go.
It's our last night camping out.
- I'll bet you'll miss it.
- Like hell I will.
I've got all this food.
Oh, good, good.
I think the kids are starving.
George! Harry! Ellie! Food! Come on! I even brought table cloths and napkins.
Now we can dine in style.
How many people you think will show up in Montgomery? I don't know, it's been like an insane asylum back at the office.
What do we have there? Food! Mustard greens! Collard greens! Ham hocks! Nah, just the same old canned junk.
- How many trips have you made today? - Must be about five already.
- Where are you from? - Detroit.
I'm just a housewife.
The only way I can help is to drive.
- Every little bit helps.
- I'll see ya later.
See ya.
What's your name? Ellie.
Bye! Ellie! I forgot the mustard.
Thank you very much.
You a student? In a way.
I wanna be.
I wanna attend barber school over in Mobile.
Barber school.
Are you tired? You want me to drive? No.
No, I'll be all right.
They must be crazy.
You got someplace to stay in Selma? No, I was gonna make one more trip back.
Unless I'm killed in the meantime.
I don't think you hit him.
Baby brother, I don't miss.
Help! Help! The tensions at the end of this historic march from Selma to Montgomery have been heightened by the knowledge that it has cost the lives of three human beings Jimmy Lee Jackson, Reverend James Reeb, and now Viola Liuzzo.
Sheriff Jim Clark has said, "If you march, you do so over my dead body.
" And George Wallace has said, "They will not pass.
" The authorities have forbidden the demonstrators to set foot on the Capitol steps.
But the marchers, now over 20,000 of them, are here in the cradle of confederacy.
The marchers now have the support of President Lyndon Johnson.
He has demanded a voting rights bill from Congress.
A wooden platform has been set up directly across from the Capitol, where Martin Luther King will speak.
Last Sunday, 8,000 of us started on a mighty walk - from Selma, Alabama.
- All right.
They said we wouldn't get here.
There were those who said that we would get here - only over their dead bodies.
- All right.
Yet today, all the world knows that we are here, - Yes, sir.
- And we are standing before the forces of power in the State of Alabama, saying, "We ain't about to turn around!" No, sir.
Today, I want to tell the City of Selma Tell them, Doctor.
Today, I want to say to the State of Alabama Say it, sir.
Today, I want to say to the people of America and the nations of the world that we are not about to turn around! - Yes, sir.
- We're on the move now! - All right.
- Yes, we're on the move! And no wave of racism can stop us.
All right.
The burning of our churches will not deter us.
The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us.
The beating and killing of Jimmy Lee Jackson - will not divide us.
- Yes, sir.
The shooting of Viola Liuzzo, the mother of three children, - will not stop us.
- No, sir.
The release of their known murderers will not discourage us.
- No, sir.
- We're on the move now, like an idea whose time has come! Not even the marching of mighty armies can hold us! We are moving to the land of freedom! All right.
I know you're asking today, "How long will it take?" How long, sir? Somebody is asking how long will prejudice - blind the visions of men? - How long, sir? Well, I come to say to you this afternoon that however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, - it will not be long.
- All right, sir.
Because truth crushed to earth will rise again.
- Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long! - Because no lie can live forever.
- Yes, sir.
How long? Not long! Because you shall reap what you sow! - Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long.
Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne, yet behind it in the dim unknown standeth God keeping watch above his own! - Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long.
Because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
- Say it, Doctor.
- How long? Not long.
Because mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.
He has loosed the faithful lightning of His terrible swift sword, His truth is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat.
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat.
O, be swift, my soul to answer Him, - be jubilant, my feet! - Say it, Doctor Our God is marching on! Glory hallelujah! Our God is marching on!