In this WSB newsfilm clip from August 7, 19710 students demonstrate against the Vietnam War at a rally held at Hurt Park in Atlanta, Georgia where civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer speaks against the war with the words.

The clip begins showing the back of a demonstrator. The demonstrator's tee-shirt shows a red clenched fist, on it. Other people sit on the grass in the park and listen to a woman speaking. The woman's comments are not completely recorded. An African American man wears an army cap. African American civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer speaks to the demonstrators. She asserts that while others have tried to intimidate her through beatings and the bombing of her house in January 28, 1971, she will not stop her work. After a break in the clip, Hamer continues speaking to the audience. She condemns the Vietnam War and the idea that all those being killed are Communists. She declares that if the people in Southeast Asia want a communist government, the United States has no right to interfere. The audience applauds this comment. Hamer stresses that the top priority of the United States should be "to heal some of the wounds that are so very deep." She announces that she will continue to fight for peace. At the end of Hamer's comments, the camera turns to the audience in the grass.

After Hamer's comments, the camera turns to a work of guerilla theater taking place among the demonstrators in the park. Men dressed in military gear crouch behind bushes and carry guns. As a man speaks over a loudspeaker, the men move down the sidewalk and run through the crowd. The soldiers grab people from the crowd and push them to the ground or drag them away. People in the crowd scream, "Leave us alone." A child covers his ears with his hands and cries. Some protesters are covered in fake blood and pretend to be dead. The clip ends with men speaking between breaks in the clip. The comments are not completely recorded.

On Saturday, August 7, 1971, the Georgia State University anti-war group held a guerrilla theater production during the People's Fair at Hurt Park. The demonstration also included remarks by civil rights leader and Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party co-founder Fannie Lou Hamer.

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 3 min.): color, sound ; 16 mm.

Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of students demonstrating against the Vietnam War and an appearance by Fannie Lou Hamer at the demonstration, Hurt Park, Atlanta, Georgia, 1971 August 7, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1752, 51:07/53:40, 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.