WALB (Television station : Albany, Ga.)

Description

In this WALB newsfilm clip from the summer of 1962, Dr. William G. Anderson, president of the Albany Movement, speaks at a mass meeting held at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia and responds to a rebuff from the Albany board of commissioners by asserting that the Albany Movement will try again to take their grievances to the council by declaring "sooner or later, I do believe we will be heard, and we will be given some just consideration." In order to increase pressure on the commission, who continued to refuse requests from the African American community for discussions, Anderson encourages the audience to keep praying, singing, meeting, picketing, sitting-in, waiting-in, praying-in, and kneeling-in. He says that, if necessary, the movement will lead marches again "to see to it that our civil rights come where--here and when--now." In response, the crowd repeats "here" and "now." The clip ends with the audience singing a variation of a local freedom song, "Ain't Gonna Let the City Commission Turn Me 'Round." Previous attempts on the part of Albany's African American community to work with the city commission had failed even before the organization of the Albany Movement in November 1961. After several weeks of marches and demonstrations, the commission eventually met with movement leaders in December, but later refused to acknowledge that any compromises or agreements had been reached. The commission reasserted its refusal to meet or work with local civil rights leaders during a resurgence of civil rights activity in the...

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia