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

Description

In this WSB newsfilm clip from October 6, 1971, several African Americans, including civil rights leader and future U.S. Representative John Lewis comment on a speech recently delivered to the Hungry Club by Atlanta mayor Sam Massell.The clip begins with John Lewis speaking to a reporter; he comments that black Atlantans have lived in the city a long time, represent its resources, and should have an interest in controlling the city, noting "we are a majority of the city, and we should control it." Next, Dr. Benjamin Mays, president emeritus of Morehouse College and president of the Atlanta Board of Education, describes Mayor Sam Massell's speech as "sincere;" he goes on to say that overall, the speech was good, and that "there are many good things in the speech which I think we need to consider very seriously." The reporter asks Mays if there were any parts of the speech that he considered "objectionable;" he responds that there were not. Next, an unidentified African American man calls the speech "an insult to all blacks who think," and criticizes Massell's departure from the podium without taking questions from the audience as "cowardice;" he suggests "frankly, if he's a statesman, he should have been talking to the Chamber of Commerce, or to the Kiwanis Club, or to the Lion's Club. This is the wrong group." He concludes "We are not responsible for white folks running from the city of Atlanta."On October 6, 1971, Atlanta mayor Sam Massell addressed the Hungry Club, a...

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia