WSB-TV newsfilm clip of police chief Laurie Pritchett speaking to reporters about the arrest of Freedom Riders in Albany, Georgia, 1961 December 10
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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 December 10, 1961 police chief Laurie Pritchett speaks to reporters following the arrest of Freedom Riders in Albany, Georgia.The clip begins with a reporter introducing chief Pritchett and asking him to explain what happened when the Freedom Riders arrived in Albany the day before. Chief Pritchett begins by explaining that the police department had learned about the Freedom Ride through the Southwest Georgian, the local African American weekly newspaper as well as through the local office of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Pritchett reports that while the train station is usually quiet on Sunday afternoons, on the day the Freedom Riders arrived, a crowd started gathering around the train station about three p.m. Policemen were stationed around the station both in uniforms and in plain clothes. According to Pritchett, after the interracial group of nine riders arrived at the train station they moved into the waiting room. Pritchett then ordered the police officers to block off the doors to protect the Freedom Riders. He then says that he asked the Freedom Riders if they were planning to stay in town or move on. When the Freedom Riders said they were going to stay in town, Pritchett says he asked them to "proceed on to where they were going to avoid causing trouble." Pritchett explains that the Freedom Riders left the waiting room and were greeted outside by a large group of African Americans who blocked the street. Pritchett indicates that he had the...
Video
Pritchett, Laurie, 1926-2000
Record Contributed By
Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards CollectionRecord Harvested From
Digital Library of GeorgiaKeywords
- African American Civil Rights Workers
- African American College Students
- African Americans
- Albany
- Albany (Ga.)
- Arrest
- Civil Rights
- Civil Rights Demonstrations
- Civil Rights Movements
- Civil Rights Workers
- Direct Action
- Discrimination
- Georgia
- Government
- History
- Imprisonment
- Passive Resistance
- Police
- Police Chiefs
- Police Vehicles
- Politics And Government
- Press Conferences
- Race Discrimination
- Race Relations
- Railroad Stations
- Reporters And Reporting
- Segregation
- Segregation In Transportation