In this WSB newsfilm clip from Atlanta, Georgia in June 1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to reporters at a Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) press conference with Hosea Williams and Bayard Rustin about work in Chicago and current political parties. The clip's audio is inconsistent; comments may not be completely recorded.

The clip begins with Dr. King, Hosea Williams, and Bayard Rustin sitting at a table with microphones in front of them and a sign for the Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) project, led by Hosea Williams with the assistance of Bayard Rustin, behind them. King praises president Lyndon B. Johnson for his "creative leadership in the area of civil rights." He next asserts the importance of ending "de facto segregation" in cities like Chicago, where SCLC plans to "bring these issues out into the open" and "to place it before the conscence of the community so that a change can take place." When asked if he has been invited to Chicago, King replies that leaders invited him to the city and that while he has been unable to go, he hopes to travel there soon.

After a silent portion of the clip, another reporter asks King if he supports demonstrations in Chicago seeking the removal of school superintendent Dr. Benjamin Willis. King indicates he "strongly supports" the program and feels that Dr. Willis does not understand the problem of de facto segregation in Chicago schools. Speaking more about the possibility of visiting Chicago, King clarifies that he is working with local leadership "to determine the most decisive moment." Asked further about the removal of superintendent Willis, King emphasizes the importance of finding the right replacement. Next King presents his opinion relative to endorsing candidates and pledges to continue to follow a nonpartisan role in such matters. King recognizes that "someone must stand in the position of being the conscience of both political parties and neither the master nor the servant of either." In the case of the 1964 presidential election, King stresses that he felt he had to take a stand against "Goldwater-ism" and that faced with the same choice in the future he would do so again. The clip ends with a man off-screen informing the reporters that copies and refreshments are available for them.

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

Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking about the work of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Chicago as well as current political parties, Atlanta, Georgia, 1965 June, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1294, 14:33/21:33, 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.