Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Compilation Tape of speeches made by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT - The Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955. Also contains much great footage of the civil rights movement.
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
EST shot Dexter Avenue Baptist Church; MSs African-Americans sitting in pews; MS of a young Rev. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. speaking from pulpit. "One day after finishing school I was called to a little church down in Montgomery, Alabama. I started preaching there and things were going well in that church. It was a marvelous experience." (Panning TLS of lone rider on city bus; MS African-American woman riding bus (this is NOT Rosa Parks). TLSs city bus on route. MSs of African-Americans walking to work or school, using carpools, taking taxi cab operated by black drivers. INT shot empty city bus.) "One day, a year later, a lady by the name of Rosa Parks, decided that she wasn t going to take it. She stayed on the bus seat, you may not remember it, because its way back, now, several years, but it was the beginning of a movement."
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK: "We, the disinherited of this land. We who have been oppressed so long. A tide is running through the long night of captivity, and now we are reaching out for the deepest of freedom and justice and equality." Various shots of Jim Crow laws in effect: sign for waiting room for whites only, a white police officer standing outside the waiting room, talking to a white man; CU of "white" name plate on wall, quick panning to "colored" name plate; MCU of black boy drinking from "colored" water fountain; swinging door with "colored entrance" sign on door. MS young African-American man sitting at crowded lunch counter (though he's surrounded by Caucasians, it seems he's been served; sit-in protest). MSs of MLK, Jr. during a march in Montgomery, Alabama; MS Mr. King and another man kneeling before a police motorcycle before being arrested. MLK: "The only weapon that we have in our hands this evening is the weapon of protest. That s all. Suddenly, faces the glory of America with all of its faults, and we are not wrong. We are not wrong in what we are doing. If we are wrong the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong. God Almighty is wrong." MS sign: "Police Headquarters"; MSs of MLK being booked & fingerprinted, getting mug shot taken (this was taken in February 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama, during the Bus Boycott). Shot of police station, white man trying to block camera with his hand as people, mostly African-American, exit station house and cross street. TLS/MSs hostile Caucasian crowd, white police officers subduing young white man; MS of a young Caucasian priest wiping bloody nose. TLSs of near-empty city buses driving through Montgomery; traveling shot of two African-American women walking on sidewalk.
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
MCU of Rev. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. sermonizing, saying that eventually segregation in public transportation end. MSs of MLK under arrest after civil rights protest, being peacefully led towards paddy wagon by white police officers. "Eventually, segregation in public transportation will pass away, eventually. And I think that we should start now preparing for the inevitable. And let us when that moment comes, go into the situation that we confront with, a great deal of dignity, sanity and reasonableness."
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
MS of MLK wearing fedora and snazzy business suit, surrounded by supporters on sidewalk; Rev. King says the Montgomery bus boycott is right and Constitutional; he advocates non-violence and passive resistance. "We still feel that we are right. And that we stand within our constitutional rights in the protest. We still advocate nonviolent, passive resistance, and still determined to use the weapon of love."
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
DO NOT USE Still Photo
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
MS of MLK at pulpit, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court's Nov. 13, 1956 ruling that declared segregation on buses as unconstitutional. "The decision rendered by the Supreme Court yesterday was a victory. It wasn t a victory for colored folk. No don t make that victory that small. It wasn t a victory for 55 Negros in Montgomery. It wasn t merely a victory for nearly 60 million negroes of America. That was a victory for justice and goodwill." MLK then declares the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. "Now what would be our mode of action in the light of this decision? I been thinking through this question very seriously. The Executive Board of the Montgomery Improvement Association recommends that the eleven month old protest against the city busses will be called off, and that the Negro citizens of Montgomery Alabama will return to the buses on a nonsegregated basis. (Applause and a MS of the audience) Are you ready for the question? (Audience responds with a yes) All in favor let it be known by standing on your feet. (Audience stands up) It seems it is carried unanimous."