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

Description

In this series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips from Atlanta, Georgia on October 19, 1966, local ministers, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Aldermanic Board of Firemen discuss the possibility of rehiring of Atlanta firemen who went on strike to protest their wages and hours. The clip's audio is inconsistent; not all comments are completely recorded.The clip begins with an interracial group of men sitting around a table in a conference room. Dr. King expresses sympathy for the firemen who were fired after striking. He calls for the city officials to have compassion for the firemen and to recognize their responsibility to the firemen. An unidentified white man, probably Atlanta Fire Chief C.H. Hildebrand, responds to King's comments stressing that he believes city officials and the Aldermanic Board of Firemen have done enough and warns of the importance of maintaining good human relations in the negotiations and in the outcomes. King expresses concern that if the situation is not worked out in a way that removes conflict, former firemen and their supporters in the city will harbor "great bitterness." He appeals to the Aldermanic Board to reopen negotiations with the firemen. The man (Hildebrand?) replies that legally the city cannot reopen negotiations. He emphasizes that he believes the city has given "every kind of opportunity that I could see that we could possibly afford them."In June 1966, a group of firemen discontent with their wages and hours split from the International Association of Fire Fighters local 134, which could...

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia