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

Description

This silent WSB newsfilm clip from March 28, 1963, shows several buildings in Rome, Georgia, including the jail and downtown businesses, as well as a Rome city police chief Nelson Camp speaking on the telephone. The clip begins with the chief Camp apparently speaking on the telephone. After he finishes the conversation on the phone, he appears to speak to someone off camera. Next, the sides of two buildings are seen, the second possibly being the jail in Rome. The clip ends with cars driving in downtown Rome, and people standing outside the G.C. Murphy Company building. While Rome experienced a smoother transition to desegregation than many other cities in Georgia, due in part to in part because of the work of an interracial ministers group, several student demonstrations occurred in February and March 1963. On March 28, 1963, Rome Main High School students participated in a sit-in at four lunch counters in downtown Rome. Sixty-eight students were arrested during the sit-ins and on April 3, 1963, fifty-seven were convicted of violating city ordinances governing disorderly conduct and sentenced to pay a fifty dollar fine or serve five days in jail. City officials allowed the students to serve their jail sentences on the weekends in order to continue attending school. After these demonstrations, the informal biracial committee in Rome called for an end to demonstrations and a community cooling-off period. Negotiations allowed for the successful integration of the Rome public library in March 1963.Title supplied by cataloger.

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia