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WSB-TV newsfilm clip of attorney Moreton Rolleston speaking to a reporter following the United States Supreme Court ruling upholding the public accommodations section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the integration of the Heart of Atlanta Motel in Atlanta, Georgia, 1964 December 14

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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 Atlanta, Georgia on December 14, 1964, Moreton Rolleston, attorney and owner of the Heart of Atlanta Motel, speaks to a reporter about the United States Supreme Court decision upholding the public accommodations section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The clip begins with an off-screen reporter asking Rolleston if the Supreme Court decision, announced earlier in the day, surprised him. Rolleston admits that when he thought the court would rule after the hearing in October or before the election in November, he expected the court to side with the government; when the court took six weeks to issue the ruling, he did not expect the decision they issued. The reporter comments that Rolleston has been under court order to serve African American patrons while waiting for the court's decision and asks Rolleston how many he has served. Rolleston responds that he has served very few African Americans, a fact that has had little effect on his business. He adds that he believes the court's ruling requiring integrated hotels will negatively effect the South's hotel business. He anticipates Southerners will never like the decision, but will eventually get used to it. Rolleston stands in an office in front of a map of Atlanta that the camera focuses on from time to time. Rolleston reports that he plans to continue operating the Heart of Atlanta Motel and complying with the court's integration order. The reporter and Rolleston repeat the exchange about admitting few African Americans since...
Type:
Video
Contributors:
Rolleston, Moreton
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Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia