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WSB-TV newsfilm clip of reporter Jim Whipkey commenting on community race relations; also an interracial meeting between white and African American leaders following the shooting death of an African American man by a white policeman in Macon, Georgia, 1971 July 6

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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 July 6, 1971, city officials from Macon, Georgia meet with local African American leaders after a white Macon policeman shot an African American man to death; also reporter Jim Whipkey comments on the racial tension in Macon.The clip begins with reporter Jim Whipkey standing in front of an apartment building. According to Whipkey, several days earlier Macon police officer John R. Beck was called to the apartment building. Following a disturbance at the scene, Officer Beck shot and killed Jimmy Lee White, an African American city employee. Whipkey reports that after the shooting, Macon experienced several days of civil strife. Whipkey documents the disconnect between white city leaders who think the shooting was the beginning of racial conflict in the city and African American leaders who "say it perhaps was only the beginning of the end."Following Whipkey's comments, the clip shows an interracial meeting between African American leaders and white Macon officials. As the segment begins, an African American man in a suit expresses his hope that the meeting can be a place for a peaceful exchange of ideas and the chance to try and settle concerns among community members. Macon mayor Ronnie Thompson speaks next, indicating that the city had gone for three years without a uniformed policeman being attacked. The camera shows other men, both African American and white, sitting around the table. A younger African American man raises his hand; Mayor Thompson indicates the man may take a turn addressing the...
Type:
Video
Contributors:
Whipkey, JimThompson, Ronnie
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Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia