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WSB-TV newsfilm clip of United States Senator John Sparkman speaking against the Civil Rights Commission's threat of withholding federal funds from states because of ongoing racial disorders, Washington, D.C., 1963 April

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@ Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)

Description

In this WSB newsfilm clip from April 1963, United States Senator John Sparkman speaks from Washington D.C. against the Civil Rights Commission and the prospect of withholding federal funds from states because of ongoing racial disorders.The clip begins in the middle of Senator Sparkman explaining that Congress established federal funds for a purpose, "not to be used for the purpose of carrying out some kind of social program that somebody thinks ought to be carried out." The camera briefly focuses on the reporter who is sitting at a table facing Sparkman. Sparkman continues asserting that withholding funds wold hurt African American children the most. Sparkman contends that the proposed penalties are "utterly ridiculous" and asserts his long-standing position "that the Civil Rights Commission ought not to be in existence."John Sparkman served as one of the United States Senators from Alabama from 1946 to 1979. In April 1963 the United States Civil Rights Commission proposed that president John F. Kennedy cut off funds to Mississippi because of ongoing racial disturbances in the state. Senators from the South publicly spoke out against the proposal. In a New York Times report of the situation, Sparkman stated the proposal "doesn't seem to represent clear thinking."Title supplied by cataloger.
Type:
Video
Contributors:
Sparkman, John, 1899-1985
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Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia