- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A
- Summary:
- Part one. Former White House executive and civil rights attorney Frederic Morrow contends that World War II triggered increased interest in civil rights among African Americans because they were defending a way of life that they could not enjoy. Mr. Morrow recalls his 1957 trip to Africa with Vice President Richard Nixon; he remembers African nations appointing white ambassadors to the United States because African Americans were discriminated against in the US State Department. Mr. Morrow says that President Eisenhower was a decent man, but his philosophy on race was incorrect. Mr. Morrow reviews his childhood in New Jersey, what it was like in the military during World War II, and his position as the first African American in history to be on the President's staff at the White House. Part two. Mr. Morrow tells how he became the first African American executive in the White House in the 1950s. He had to struggle and jump through many hoops to get a position there. Many top White House staffers said they would walk out if Mr. Morrow served with them. Part three. Mr. Morrow says that the civil rights struggle continues, especially on the economic side and with education. He declares, "We don't need new laws, we don't need new principles, we just have to live by them and do our duty.” Part four. Mr. Morrow recalls knowing Charles Hamilton Houston during the 1930s when he worked with NAACP. He believes that Houston was the foundation of the civil rights struggle. Mr. Morrow recounts his work as an NAACP field reporter. Part five. Mr. Morrow wrote a book called '40 Years a Guinea Pig'. He recalls civil rights supporters being critical of him because they thought he wasn't loudly advocating for civil rights while he worked at the White House. He acknowledges that he was asked to be the head of the Bank of America because their branches were being burned, and they needed an African American face to smooth things over. Mr. Morrow talks about his childhood and his grandfather, who was a slave. Part six. Mr. Morrow tells the remarkable story of how he got into Bowdoin College. He offers a message to young people.
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- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A
- Summary:
- Part one. Pictures inside and outside the Supreme Life Insurance Company in Chicago. At 11:26, Elwood interviews civil rights attorney Earl Dickerson in Dickerson's home in Chicago. Part two. Mr. Dickerson discusses his involvement with the National Lawyers Guild, the Smith Act and the Communist 11, and the Fair Employment Practices Committee. Part three. Mr. Dickerson recounts his association with the civil rights commission under President Truman. He also discusses being president of the National Bar Association. He talks about the Fair Employment Practices Committee during the early 1940s, his meetings with President Franklin Roosevelt concerning FEPC, not being invited back to serve on the FEPC, and his dealings in Birmingham as part of the FEPC. Part four. Mr. Dickerson talks more about the FEPC checking on Birmingham businesses. While president of the National Lawyers Guild during the 1950s, Mr. Dickerson had a run-in with Atty. Gen. Brownell. Mr. Dickerson also talks about knowing Charles Houston. Part five. Mr. Dickerson reminisces about Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, the March on Washington in 1963, entertaining Martin Luther King Jr. at his home when King came to Chicago, and his peacemaking lunch with Elijah Muhammed, Philip Randolph, and Malcolm X. Part six. Mr. Dickerson describes the use of covenants to restrict African Americans from moving into white neighborhoods. It was his part of the Hansberry v. Lee case to prove racially restrictive covenants were unconstitutional. He also talks about the Squib case, his ideological influences, and his favorite literature. Part seven. Mr. Dickerson recalls how he went from Mississippi to Chicago as a lawyer and his inspiration to cure the defects of society. At 10:15, photos from Dickerson's life with some commentary.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A
- Summary:
- Part one. Charles Houston's physician Dr. Edward Mazique discusses the state of medical care in 1985, the problems with malpractice insurance, and his involvement with medical political action committees in lobbying Congress. He also talks about his Mississippi accent, leaving Mississippi at 17, his time at Morehouse College, and being poor. Part two. Dr. Mazique recounts how he became a physician and tell stories about Morehouse College and his early economic troubles. He mentions Howard Thurman. Part three. Dr. Mazique talks about the survival skills of African Americans. He recalls being Charles Houston's physician and friend; and Houston was his lawyer. Part four. Dr. Mazique recounts how Houston inspired him into political action. Dr. Mazique recalls the state of health care for African Americans during civil rights era; he talks about what it was like for African American physicians. He mentions Paul Robeson and Jackie Robinson. Dr. Mazique was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and Houston got him excused from testifying. Part five. Mazique relates what motivated Houston and talks about Houston's death. Dr. Mazique discusses his relationship as godfather to Houston's son. Part six. Dr. Mazique talks about Houston and how people felt about him. He recalls Houston's work as a lawyer in areas other than separate but equal civil rights cases. Houston lived with Dr. Mazique in 1949 because of his health, and Dr. Mazique had him make an audiotape. Dr. Mazique recalls discussing the Scottsboro case and its international renown. Houston believed far-reaching publicity was important to the civil rights struggle.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A, Kulish, Mykola
- Summary:
- Florence Bryant advocates the teaching of African American history. She tells about her own life. At 7:49 interview with Mr. Williams begins. Mr. Williams discusses the historical importance of the Charlottesville street on which he stands during the interview. He offers his views on public housing and his promotion of scattered housing for low income families.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A
- Summary:
- Part one. Civil rights activist Palmer Weber asserts that there were three prongs to the attack on systemic segregation in the South: jobs, education, and suffrage. He speaks of his association with A. Philip Randolph and how Randolph set about conquering segregation in labor. He credits Charles Houston with the strategy of attacking segregation in education, via court cases. Weber talks about his election to the national board of the NAACP. He mentions the work of Mary McCleod Bethune, Ralph Bunche, and Mordecai Johnson. Part two. Mr. Weber discusses lawyer Oliver Hill, writer Nancy Cunard, Jack Graveley of the NAACP, Dr. J.M. Tinsley, and Professor Duncan Clark Hyde. Weber elaborates on his work for the Fair Employment Practices Commission. He credits World War II for advancing the NAACP's attack on the segregation system and swelling its membership. In terms of civil rights progress, the NAACP’s struggle to get the Armed Forces desegregated was as great as Charles Houston’s endeavors in education. He also says that Philip Randolph's accomplishments in labor are as important as Houston's for education; and Martin Luther King Jr. built on the work of all of these men, but transcended them by urging African American clergy to action. Weber also talks about Walter White and his rifts with Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Dubois. Part three. Mr. Weber discusses Walter White and his impact on the civil rights struggle, especially White’s study of lynchings in the South. Other people discussed are Mary McCleod Bethune, Ralph Bunche, Lucy Randolph Mason, Eleanor Roosevelt, Tom Clark, Thurgood Marshall, and Earl Warren.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A, Kulish, Mykola
- Summary:
- Part one. Drewary Brown talks about social and economic life in Charlottesville during the civil rights era and in 1987. Mr. Brown walks down the Mall in Charlottesville. At 12:37, interview with Florence Bryant in front of Jefferson School in Charlottesville. Ms. Bryant discusses the work of the NAACP on behalf of teachers. She mentions J. Rupert Picott, Aline Black, and Melvin Austin as instrumental in helping African American teachers get equal pay in Virginia in 1940. See also reports her involvement in desegregating schools in Charlottesville. She regards Charlottesville as a leader in desegregation. Part two. Ms. Bryant advocates the teaching of African American history. She tells about her own life. At 7:49 interview with Mr. Williams begins. Mr. Williams discusses the historical importance of the Charlottesville street on which he stands during the interview. He offers his views on public housing and his promotion of scattered housing for low income families.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A, Kulish, Mykola
- Summary:
- Part one. Footage of Charlottesville house at 407 Ridge Street. At 1:00, interview with Frances Brand in her art gallery in Charlottesville. She describes her series of paintings, called "Firsts," as a tribute to important individuals within the Charlottesville community, especially people she considered exemplars of civil rights advocacy. She remembers her subjects and their achievements. At 13:30, discussion with three Charlottesville city school board members. One, Henry Mitchell, was a part of the NAACP's 1956 lawsuit to desegregate Charlottesville schools. He describes the aftermath of the desegregation ruling and the commonwealth's policy of Massive Resistance. Part two. Three members of the Charlottesville city school board, including Grace Tinsley, Henry Mitchell, and Clifford Bennett, discuss present day (1987) problems in Charlottesville city schools, especially concerning African American student self-image. At 15:10, footage of paintings of Charlottesville notables by Frances Brand. Part three. Grace Tinsley, Henry Mitchell, and Clifford Bennett recall the history of the Charlottesville city school board and the changes in race relations over the years.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A, Kulish, Mykola
- Summary:
- Part one. Footage of exteriors of houses (and William Elwood) until 8:55. Then civil rights attorney Fred Gray discusses Alabama lawyers, Arthur Shores, and becaming a lawyer in order to try civil rights cases. Gray had to go to law school outside of Alabama as African American schools in Alabama didn't offer what he wanted. He taught himself Alabama state law while in Ohio. Gray describes developing strategies for his civil rights cases. He also talks about the Montgomery bus boycott. Part two. Mr. Gray recalls his 1954 defense of an African American juvenile arrested on Montgomery bus (before the Rosa Parks arrest). Gray talked to Rosa the day before she was arrested and represented her in court. Mr. Gray remarks that Montgomery bus cases like Browder v. Gayle were the first major application of Brown's meaning. Gray describes the difficulty of registering African American voters because registrars would go missing, even after the courts ordered them to register African Americans. To avoid the impact of African American voters, Alabama redrew Tuskegee boundaries to include only white people. Mr. Gray explains Tuskegee gerrymandering and Gomillion v. Lightfoot. Part three. Mr. Gray goes over details of Gomillion v. Lightfoot, recalls how Tuskegee Institute was no longer within the city of Tuskegee because of the new boundaries. Mr. Gray discusses Lee v. Macon County Board of Education, a school discrimination case that managed to include all public schooling in Alabama. Gray explains how litigating the rights of students in order to end segregation also meant dealing with the rights of teachers. Although the Alabama African American teachers associations weren't part of the original suit, they joined the case. Part four. Mr. Gray acknowledges the Bicentennial of the Constitution in 1987, and he discusses how the Constitution was not written to include African Americans. It is the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and various civil rights acts that make the Constitution a living document for African Americans. Gray talks about the Tuskegee Civic Association and gives a lot of credit to local banker Allan Parker. Mr. Gray also covers rehearsing the Gomillion case and the immediate result of Gomillion.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A, Kulish, Mykola
- Summary:
- Part one. Civil rights activist Gardner Bishop talks about meeting with Charles Hamilton Houston to get money for a lawyer to represent the Consolidated Parents Group. Houston sent a letter on the group's behalf to newspapers, then offered to take the case himself for free. Mr. Bishop talks about the case, how Houston became ill and asked James Nabrit to take over for him. Houston asked Mr. Bishop to visit him in the hospital just before he died. Mr. Bishop talks about hosting Consolidated Parents Group meetings in his basement. Part two. Mr. Bishop recalls meeting James Nabrit, who changed case to include enrolling black students in an all-white school. Mr. Bishop speaks of his amazement at the wonderful condition and facilities of the school in the white neighborhood. He also visited a school in a black neighborhood, and it was crowded and dilapidated. Mr. Bishop remembers visiting the Supreme Court to hear the Consolidated Parents Group case. He was one of the pallbearers for Houston.
- Date:
- 2006
- Main contributors:
- Elwood, William A
- Summary:
- Part one. Civil rights activist Gardner Bishop talks about his involvement with the Consolidated Parents Group. He relates that the group first met to discuss the atrocious school facilities in African American neighborhoods. At his suggestion, the group embarked on a school strike to embarrass the white school board. Mr. Bishop relates the details of the school strike saga. Part two. Mr. Bishop introduced himself to Charles Houston in order to enlist his help. Houston became the group's lawyer, ended the strike, and led the group into legal action. As the Consolidated Parents Group became organized, they needed publicity for their legal cases, and so provoked arrests by swimming in a public pool. Mr. Bishop recounts Houston's unexpected illness. Part three. Mr. Bishop tells the story of being arrested for playing with his daughter in a white playground. He describes his philosophy of life. Part four. Mr. Bishop discusses his philosophy of life. He recalls Houston asking him how "common" African Americans felt about various issues. Bishop mentions Dorothy Porter and Herbert Reid. Part five. Mr. Bishop talks about James Nabrit helming the Consolidated Parents Group case after Houston's death. Mr. Bishop recalls provoking the case by escorting an African American student to a white junior high school. He also recounts the story of advising the US Secretary of the Interior about the swimming pool case. At 19:00, we see William Elwood at the Rotunda talking to the camera, not filmed in December.
