In this WSB newsfilm clip from Atlanta, Georgia, dated April 6, 1969, civil rights and anti-war demonstrators protest the Vietnam War with a march and rally on the Sunday following the one-year anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.

The clip opens with Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy marching in the street amidst a crowd of African American and white demonstrators; this shot is silent. Next, demonstrators march down the street, this time with the Georgia state capitol building in the background. A row of demonstrators march down the street with their arms linked together; behind them, protesters carry both homemade and printed signs that read "War profit is blood money," "Honor Dr. King end racism," "Support your boys in Vietnam bring them home now," and "Dr. King died April 4, 1968 for all mankind." This is followed by another shot of Abernathy's place in the procession; next, participants in the march move past the state capitol. A demonstrator carrying a bullhorn leads the crowd in singing "We Shall Overcome." Next, at another location on the march route, a crowd shouts chants of "Peace now;" this is followed by a group of young men carrying a large banner along the route that reads "Southwide mobilization," presumably representing the organization Southwide Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam. Next, African American and white demonstrators are gathered together at an outdoor rally. Members of the audience raise their right fists in the air; a voice emanating from a loudspeaker says "We are not divided." The last shot in the clip shows demonstrators at the rally breaking into applause; the camera pans back and forth across the audience.

On Easter Sunday, April 6, 1969, a march dedicated to King was held in Atlanta to commemorate the one-year anniversary of his assassination. The march began at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue, paused at the state Capitol to pick up vigil-keepers, proceeded through the Five Points business district, and ended at Hurt Park, where Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy and others addressed approximately four thousand participants at a rally. Some of the other speakers at the rally included Dave Dellinger, chairman of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam; Luis Melendez, an organizer for California grape pickers, and Jeannette Rankin, former Georgia congresswoman and anti-war activist.

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.): color, sound ; 16 mm.

Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of a peace and civil rights rally, Atlanta, Georgia, 1968 April 6, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1537, 15:33/16:38, 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.