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WALB newsfilm clip of police chief Laurie Pritchett speaking about the arrest of kneel-in participants earlier in the day in Albany, Georgia, 1962 July 27

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@ Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

WALB (Television station : Albany, Ga.)

Description

In this WALB newsfilm clip from July 27, 1962, Albany, Georgia, police chief Laurie Pritchett speaks to reporters in a press conference held in his office about the arrest of city hall kneel-in participants earlier that day. Chief Pritchett recounts that demonstrators announced that they came to city hall to speak with city commissioners; since the commission was not scheduled to meet again until August 7, Pritchett agreed to speak to the group on the commission's behalf. Pritchett reports that the kneel-in participants refused his offer for discussion; they also declined to leave the sidewalk and began to pray, creating a "general disturbance" in the Albany uptown area. Police arrested the demonstrators after asking them to either come inside or leave the property four times. Pritchett asserts that he knew the time the group was scheduled to arrive, and views the demonstration as a "prearranged affair." Near the end of the clip, Albany mayor Asa D. Kelley is seen among the reporters. The kneel-in was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) as well as Dr. William G. Anderson and Slater King, president and vice president of the Albany Movement. Rev. Abernathy prayed for the city and its leaders, as well as the civil rights movement and its leaders before the police arrested the group. A second kneel-in at city hall, led by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) member Charles Jones, took place later that day and led...
Type:
Video
Contributors:
Pritchett, Laurie, 1926-2000
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Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia