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

Description

In this silent WSB newsfilm clip from December 1963, civil rights workers, primarily African Americans, protest segregation at two Toddle House restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia. The clip intersperses scenes from inside and outside the restaurants. It begins with a Toddle House sign advertising "Food you enjoy." Inside the restaurant African American and white demonstrators sit at one end of a lunch counter while white patrons sit at the other end of the counter. While the protesters appear to wait for service, an African American photographer takes pictures, and a white policeman watches the group. A white man, possibly a restaurant manager, speaks to the students sitting at the counter one by one and pushes a microphone away; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) member John Lewis is seen sitting at the counter. An African American young man stands near two white men who are eating at a restaurant booth. Later a white photographer takes pictures of the demonstrators and a white restaurant employee takes coffee cups and glasses away from the demonstrators at the counter. Other African Americans stand by the door or sit on the floor apparently waiting for empty seats to fill and white employees gather together. SNCC's John Lewis, sitting in the restaurant, speaks to a reporter; his comments are not recorded. Outside the restaurant a white policeman appears to lead a group from the restaurant, several students, African American and white, sing and clap their hands, and an Atlanta police car pulls into a parking lot. The...

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia