WSB-TV newsfilm clip of civil rights workers gathered inside of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, 1961 May 21

In this silent black-and-white clip approximately one minute long, civil rights workers including Ralph David Abernathy and possibly John Lewis are gathered inside of Montgomery, Alabama's First Baptist Church, while state and local law officials in Montgomery, Alabama mobilize outside of the church to address activity and crowds outside. Events probably took place on and around the Montgomery Freedom Rides on May 21, 1961.

The clip begins with two daytime shots of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama; the first shot is followed by a close-up of the church facade; the church door is open, and people are gathered upon the steps outside. This is followed by a shot of a large crowd of predominantly African American women assembled together inside of a church; some of the women are waving paper fans to cool down. Next, in another shot taken inside the church, Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy (pastor of the First Baptist Church from 1951 to 1961) claps his hands together at the pulpit, while a procession of young African American men walk past the pulpit, and down several steps into the church congregation; he is joined in applause by others in the church. A glimpse of a young civil rights worker, possibly John Lewis, can be seen in the foreground at about sixteen and a half seconds into the clip; he has a bandaged head. A white cameraman takes still photographs of the young men as they make their way into the audience. The clip jumps to a shot of the predominantly African American church audience gathered together; members of the crowd stand clapping their hands together while one woman in the audience waves her hands in the air. The clip then jumps back to the procession of young men walking from behind the pulpit led by Reverend Abernathy cheering from the pulpit and clapping his hands in the air, again, joined by the rest of the crowd in the church. In the foreground of the shot, another white cameraman takes still photographs of the young men walking into the audience.

Next, in a nighttime shot taken outdoors, a group of four Alabama state troopers are gathered together in discussion around the open door of a police vehicle. The camera pans around the group and focuses on a rifle harness worn on the back by of one of the state troopers. One trooper holds his right hand in the air. This is followed by another nighttime shot, this time of a troop of national guardsmen wearing helmets, holding bayonets upright, and marching in formation along a paved road; they turn and march together down a sidewalk while a cameraman holding a floodlight moves behind them. The clip jumps briefly to a crowd of white men in plain clothes gathered together outside at night. One man, in a suit, is holding a cigarette in his right hand as he gestures and speaks; several other white men in the group appear to be holding batons.

This is followed by a shot of a group of Montgomery city police officers having a discussion; one of the policemen is seated on a motorcycle. This is followed by footage of automobiles traveling at night on a busy street while clouds of vapor or smoke rise from the ground. The clip breaks to a group of national guardsmen emerging from the rear of a large covered truck. This is followed by a shot of a cluster of fire hoses attached to a fire hydrant adjacent to a signpost that reads "Columbus St." (the location of the First Baptist Church is at the corner of Columbus and North Ripley Streets in Montgomery Alabama). The camera follows the path of the fire hoses back to a Montgomery city firetruck, where several firemen are also standing; the stained glass windows of the First Baptist church can be seen in the background behind the firetruck. Next, a group of firemen and state troopers are seen from the back, standing together by a street sign that reads "Closed"; the clip ends with a shot of the camera turning back to a group of helmeted national guardsmen walking down the street at night while a still photographer follows alongside.

On May 4, 1961, two groups of volunteers known as "Freedom Riders" trained in nonviolence planned to travel from Washington D.C. to New Orleans. Sponsored by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); these volunteers traveled in groups throughout the South to challenge laws prohibiting integrated bus travel. On May 10 both buses of Freedom Riders were ambushed by violent mobs in Anniston, Alabama, and one bus was ambushed again in Birmingham. Alabama state troopers, sent after negotiations between state leaders and officials at the Department of Justice, and student reinforcements from Nashville protected the Freedom Riders on their journey from Birmingham to Montgomery on May 20. Alabama state troopers, sent after negotiations between state leaders and officials at the Department of Justice, and student reinforcements from Nashville protected the Freedom Riders on their journey from Birmingham to Montgomery on May 20. However, local police who were supposed to protect the riders in Montgomery were not at the bus station when the travelers arrived, and rioting white crowds beat the riders, newsmen, and federal officials at the scene. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. flew to Montgomery on May 21 for a mass meeting held in Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy's First Baptist Church. On May 21, Freedom Riders were joined by other Montgomery civil rights workers and supporters who met at the church; they were surrounded that evening by rioting white segregationists who burned automobiles parked outside of the church and threatened to set the church ablaze with the civil rights workers inside. After local law enforcement failed to restore order, King negotiated federal protection with U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy; Kennedy contacted Alabama governor John Patterson, who ultimately ordered the Alabama National Guard to disperse the mob. The congregation was kept in the church until four-thirty the next morning when Alabama National Guard trucks finally transported African Americans home. Further negotiations between state and federal officials brought National Guard troops to Montgomery to protect the Freedom Riders in their journey. The group was protected until their arrival in Jackson, Mississippi, where they were beaten, arrested, and sent to Parchman Penitentiary; others who later arrived in Jackson to continue the ride were also arrested. Although the Freedom Riders never made it to New Orleans, the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ruled segregation in travel between states illegal as well as in facilities serving those travelers; the ruling went into effect November 1, 1961.

Title supplied by cataloger.