In this WSB newsfilm clip from May 16, 1963, Malcolm X warns against expecting civil rights leaders to prevent violence and condemns President John F. Kennedy for not protecting African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. Malcolm X responds to warnings made by New York congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. about potential race riots in Washington D.C. He commends Powell for "being bold enough to repeat what the honorable Elijah Muhammad [head of the Nation of Islam] has been saying for thirty-three years," but explains that the possibility of race riots existed before it was recognized by Powell. Malcolm X criticizes those who expect civil rights leaders to prevent race riots. He attacks President John F. Kennedy for sending federal troops into Birmingham after rioting on May 11 and 12, but failing to consider it a necessary option when it was time to protect African Americans, including children, who were bitten by police dogs and sprayed with fire hoses. X intimates that only after African Americans demonstrated "that they were just as capable of defending themselves in Birmingham as they have been capable in the past of defending America on the battlefields of Korea and Germany and those other places" did Kennedy send troops; opining that the troops were not sent to Birmingham to protect African Americans. Civil rights demonstrations led by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began in April, 1963 and continued until an accord was reached between black and white negotiators on May 10. Birmingham police used dogs and fire hoses to break up several large demonstrations in May, drawing criticism for the use of force. In response to the riots, President Kennedy nationalized the Alabama National Guard and sent other troops to Birmingham; rioting ultimately ceased, and troops did not have to be called into Birmingham.

Title supplied by cataloger.

The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for digital conversion and description of the WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection.

1 clip (about 1 min.): black-and-white, sound ; 16 mm.

Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of Malcolm X condemning the federal government for not protecting African commenting on violence in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 May 16, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0806, 23:41/25:09, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Award Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga, as presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.

Forms part of: Civil Rights Digital Library.