Grassroots Voter 1960; 6; Civil Rights
- Series
- Grassroots Voter 1960
- Episode Number
- 6
- Episode
- Civil Rights
- Producing Organization
- University of Michigan
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-9w08w38z2k
- NOLA Code
- GRVO
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- Description
- Episode Description
- The issue of civil rights -- the rights which a citizen enjoys because of, and despite, the existence of a government -- has preoccupied Americans since the days of the Constitutional Convention in 1789, indeed since the Declaration of Independence stated it authors' belief that "all men ... are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ... and that to secure these rights, Governments are established among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." The only alteration in this idea, in the civil rights issue, has come with the widening scope of its meaning, as more and more diverse groups within the nation have risen to claim their share of these rights. At this moment in America's history, at issue is the Negro's right to the same privileges and responsibilities as are enjoyed by his fellow citizens. From Chicago, NET reporter Maurice Donohue discusses civil rights and ways to secure them with Kenneth Vallis, a Negro whose occupation, after his graduation from college, has been to find jobs for other Negroes in the Chicago area. Mr. Vallis states his belief that job-finding for Negroes has become more difficult in the past five years, and explains why this is so. He describes Negro ghettos and the public services available -- or not available -- to the inhabitants of them. Despite the enormous influx of Negroes from the South, the Negro population is poorly represented politically. He explains why these factors, and others, make the civil rights issue an urgent one in his consideration of the Presidential campaign. Richard Lockhart, an organization specialist who lives in an integrated neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, explains why he is willing to send his daughter to an integrated school and how he reacts to the neighborhood he lives in. He describes his reasons for believing that the civil rights issue is one to be fought in each man's neighborhood, and that it is a matter for each citizen to think about and vote on. "I would be for legislation which would give every single American citizen of legal age the right to vote," he states. Marshall Auerbach, an attorney who practices in Evanston, Illinois, a largely white community, describes the pressures which can be put on home owners in a restricted neighborhood. He discusses the issues which influence Negro voters in the North and South, the effect of American civil rights disputes on foreign nations, and his reason for believing that the civil rights issue is an important one this year. Negro folksinger, Etta Jenkins talks about her reactions to the difficulties faced by Negroes in Chicago - their efforts to be served in restaurants and to find decent housing - and factors which will influence her vote in November. From Chicago the program moves to Atlanta, Georgia and NET moderator Ray Moore talks about civil rights with Dr. Rufus Clement, president of Atlanta University and the only Negro member of the Atlanta Board of Education; Jesse Hill, chairman of the Atlanta Citizen's Voter Registration Committee, now trying to register more Negro voters, and Eugene Patterson, editor of the Atlanta Constitution. The discussion begins with a definition of the issues which will affect the voting in November. Dr. Clement states his belief that foreign policy, domestic economy, and civil rights are the major issues. He defines the economic discrimination facing the Negro in the South and explains the problem facing Negro college graduates who cannot find appropriate work. Mr. Hill talks of his success in registering Negro voters and analyzes the voting power of the Negroes as a group in Atlanta. Mr. Patterson turns to a discussion of the literacy qualification for voters, school integration, and the growth of the Republican party in the hitherto solidly Democratic South. The program ends with some mention of the problem of "token integration" and the effect of civil rights agitation on formerly conservative Southern voters. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- Grassroots Voter 1960 puts before the American people a series of seven one-hour episodes designed to encourage the voter to clarify his thinking so that he can vote intelligently on the seven most important issues of the campaign. Each episode defines the issue and then switches to groups discussing the problem in two cities particularly concerned with that issue. The moderators and guests are not personalities. The issue under discussion is each episodes hero. Through the unfolding of the relationship between the issue and each of the persons on the panel chosen to represent various viewpoints, the viewer becomes involved. Because there is no political axe being ground painfully before the viewers eyes, because there is no authority analyzing and spooning his interpretation to the viewer, the result is a series in which the viewer is stimulated to agree or disagree with the ideas put before him. Each half-hour segment is joined into a one-hour episode. Each one-hour episode is coordinated with introductory, joining and concluding remarks by the host for NET, TFX Higgins. TFX (Ted) Higgins is a member of the Pittsburgh Foreign Policy Association and the moderator of a Pittsburgh telecast Focus on World Affairs. The series is sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association. The 7 episodes that comprise this series were originally recorded on videotape. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1960-00-00
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Talk Show
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:59:58
- Credits
-
-
Host: Higgins, TFX
Moderator: Donohue, Maurice
Moderator: Moore, Ray
Panelist: Patterson, Eugene
Panelist: Hill, Jesse
Panelist: Clement, Rufus
Panelist: Lockhart, Richard
Panelist: Vallis, Kenneth
Panelist: Jenkins, Etta
Panelist: Auerback, Marshall
Producing Organization: University of Michigan
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2001318-4 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 1 inch videotape: SMPTE Type C
Generation: Master
Color: B&W
Duration: 0:59:08
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2001318-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 2 inch videotape
Generation: Master
Color: B&W
Duration: 0:59:08
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2001318-5 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: U-matic
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
Duration: 0:59:08
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2001318-3 (MAVIS Item ID)
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: Color
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2001318-2 (MAVIS Item ID)
Generation: Master
Color: Color
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Grassroots Voter 1960; 6; Civil Rights,” 1960-00-00, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed November 21, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-9w08w38z2k.
- MLA: “Grassroots Voter 1960; 6; Civil Rights.” 1960-00-00. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. November 21, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-9w08w38z2k>.
- APA: Grassroots Voter 1960; 6; Civil Rights. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-9w08w38z2k