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

Description

In this WSB newsfilm clip from May 21, 1961, Montgomery, Alabama police commissioner L. B. Sullivan speaks about the Freedom Rides and the race riots in the city during an interview with a reporter.The clip begins by focusing on a sign for the Greyound bus station in Montgomery. African American and white people walk down the sidewalk under the sign. White policemen and another white man stand together on the edge of the bus parking lot. The camera moves to show a Greyhound bus parked in the parking lot. Next the camera focuses on the sign over the door to the Montgomery Police headquarters.Following these images an off-screen reporter interviews Montgomery police commissioner L. B. Sullivan. The reporter's first question is incompletely recorded. Sullivan responds to the question of the possibility of further trouble by expressing hope that there will not be more trouble. Sullivan reminds the reporter that Montgomery did not invite the Freedom Riders to come to the city. He feels that race relations in the community have improved recently and worries about the negative effects of the presence of the Freedom Riders. The reporter asks Sullivan why there is such a negative response to the Freedom Rides. Sullivan explains that it is "against the law of human nature" for people to respond well when things are forced upon them. He praises Montgomery citizens as "the finest people in the world" and declares that racial problems could be solved locally. Sullivan answers the reporter's question about plans in...

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia