In this WSB newsfilm clip from August 2, 1965, African Americans protest racial discrimination by picketing local stores in Americus, Georgia. African American boys appear to be waiting for a bus which pulls up to the roadside; a racially mixed group exits the chartered bus. Picketers in front of a Kwik-Chek in Americus carry signs with slogans that include, "Do not buy segregation," and "Will you help us stop this war? Don't buy anything downtown." Police watch the picketers as they walk, standing between the store and the demonstrators. The group is led by a man in a clerical collar, and includes two young children who march with the protesters and carry their own signs. An interracial group of picketers also protest in front of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. A group of African Americans stand in a circle and sing, "Wade in the Water" in front of the Sumter County Courthouse. On August 2, 1965, twenty-three demonstrators were arrested for picketing stores in Americus and charged with trespassing for declining to remain in "picket-approved" areas. The Americus Times-Recorder reports that demonstrators were arrested in front of the Kwik-Chek store at 10 am and at 1 pm, with another group expected to arrive later that same afternoon. Civil rights demonstrations occurred sporadically in Sumter County between 1963 and 1965. After the July 20, 1965 arrest of four African American women for standing in a "white" line during an election, the Sumter County Movement, assisted by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), increased the frequency of protests.

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

Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of African Americans picketing against racial discrimination in Americus, Georgia, 1965 August 2, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1305, 51:10/52:46, 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.