In this mostly silent WSB newsfilm clip from July 1962, demonstrators leave Shiloh Baptist Church, march through Albany's Harlem neighborhood, and are arrested when they reach downtown; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. William G. Anderson, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and Albany police chief Laurie Pritchett speak at mass meetings at Mt. Zion and Shiloh Baptist Churches; and King and Abernathy speak at a press conference after their July 12 release from jail.

The clip is divided into two segments. The first segment, which lasts about nine minutes, begins with silent images of mass meetings at Shiloh Baptist Church led by Wyatt Walker, then the executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), interspersed with footage of a march through Harlem led by Albany minister Reverend Robert Alford and SCLC minister Reverend C. K. Steele of Florida. Some of the demonstrators wear black armbands to protest King's and Abernathy's July 10th conviction for "parading without a permit." The protesters are flanked by Albany police as they march through downtown and are eventually arrested. They are led into Freedom Alley, where they sing while they wait.

The series of images from the march is followed by silent footage of King speaking at a mass meeting at Shiloh Baptist Church. During the meeting, the Freedom Singers sing. King's remarks are followed by speeches by Dr. William G. Anderson and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. Slater King and an unidentified African American man briefly converse with police chief Laurie Pritchett before he addresses the congregation about the rock-throwing incident the previous evening, July 10. Pritchett's remarks are followed by an additional silent segment of King speaking. Among the men seated or standing on the dais are Charles Jones and Dr. William Anderson.

Next, at a July 12 press conference in Shiloh Baptist Church, King and Abernathy pledge to stay in Albany until charges are dropped against all who were arrested in December for civil rights protests. King expresses his frustration at his early release from jail. He states that he does not "appreciate the subtle and conniving tactics used to get us [King and Abernathy] out of jail." On July 10, Albany Judge A. N. Durden had ordered King and Abernathy to spend forty-five days in prison or pay a $178 fine for parading without a permit on December 16, 1961; both chose to go to jail rather than pay the fine. King and Abernathy were released from prison July 12 when their fine was reportedly paid by an unidentified stranger. Wyatt Walker is seen sitting behind the two men. More scenes of the march in Albany and of Freedom Alley follow.

The second segment of the clip, which is about eight minutes long, returns to the press conference at Shiloh Baptist Church where King and Abernathy are again seen expressing their frustration at their early release from prison. There are also more scenes from the mass meeting where Slater King and Albany police chief Laurie Pritchett speak to the audience.

Optical sound.

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 9 min.): black-and-white, sound ; 16 mm.

1 clip (about 8 min.): black-and-white, sound ; 16 mm.

Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of a civil rights march and resulting arrest; civil rights preachers and local officials speaking at mass meetings; groups of Albany city officials as well as civil rights leaders entering the federal courthouse; and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy at a press conference in Albany, Georgia, 1962 July, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1046, 16:57/25:57, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga, as presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.

Forms part of: Civil Rights Digital Library.