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WSB-TV newsfilm clip of a press conference during which Alabama governor John Patterson condemns the Freedom Riders for instigating racial trouble and demands that the Freedom Riders and Martin Luther King, Jr. leave the state, Montgomery, Alabama, 1961 May 23

Thumbnail for WSB-TV newsfilm clip of a press conference during which Alabama governor John Patterson condemns the Freedom Riders for instigating racial trouble and demands that the Freedom Riders and Martin Luther King, Jr. leave the state, Montgomery, Alabama, 1961 May 23
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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 a press conference held in Montgomery, Alabama on May 23, 1961, Alabama governor John Patterson demands that "agitators" Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Riders leave Alabama immediately and condemns the Freedom Riders for seeking to cause racial trouble.The clip begins with Alabama governor John Patterson, wearing a suit with a flower in the lapel, and sitting in a chair in front of several microphones and with a curtain behind him. An off-screen reporter appears to ask governor Patterson a question. His comments are not completely recorded. Later, governor Patterson begins speaking, condemning Martin Luther King, Jr. as "the worst of all the agitators in this country." He asserts that King came to Montgomery in order to cause a race riot and that he was assisted by the federal government. Patterson declares that "the best thing for King and all of the so-called Freedom Riders is to return to their homes, go back to their books, and mind their own business."After a break in the clip, Patterson continues his criticism of the Freedom Ride. He counters the Freedom Riders' claim of interstate travel, reporting that the Freedom Riders are not traveling as interstate travelers but are instead buying tickets from one community to another. Additionally, he claims the riders, African American men and white women, seek to "force themselves into situations which tend to inflame the local people." He accuses the Freedom Riders of violating tradition and city ordinances in order to provoke...
Type:
Video
Contributors:
Patterson, John Malcolm, 1921
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Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia

Keywords

  1. African Americans
  2. Alabama
  3. Civil Rights
  4. Civil Rights Demonstrations
  5. Civil Rights Movements
  6. Civil Rights Workers
  7. Federal State Controversies
  8. Freedom Rides, 1961
  9. Governors
  10. History
  11. Montgomery
  12. Montgomery (Ala.)
  13. Press Conferences
  14. Race Relations
  15. Race Riots
  16. Reporters And Reporting
  17. Segregation In Transportation
  18. Southern States
  19. Southern States Race Relations
  20. United States
  21. United States Marshals
  22. Violence
  23. Violence Against

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