Video: 'Eyes on the Prize (VI) — Bridge to Freedom, 1965 [with English subtitles]' (Mar. 25, 1965, at 54:24)
(Sunday, March 25, 1965, evening; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)) — Viola Liuzzo, a white mother of five from Detroit who had come to Alabama to support voting rights for blacks, was shot and killed by Ku Klux Klan members tonight as she drove a black volunteer who took part in the Selma to Montgomery march that ended today to the airport.
Video: 'Eyes on the Prize (VI) — Bridge to Freedom, 1965 [with English subtitles]' (Mar. 21, 1965, at 51:25)
(Sunday, March 25, 1965, shortly afternoon; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)) — Martin Luther King, Jr. and 25,000 civil rights activists successfully ended a 5-day march to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks from Selma, Alabama, to the capitol in Montgomery today, declaring: Continue reading King leads 25,000 civil rights activists to Alabama state capitol 50 years ago this afternoon (Mar 25 1965)
Video: 'Eyes on the Prize (VI) — Bridge to Freedom, 1965 [with English subtitles]' (Mar. 21, 1965, at 45:24)
(Sunday, March 21, 1965, during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)) — Protected by federal and federalized troops, civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their successful march out of Selma today. Continue reading Freedom march begins at Selma, troops on guard 50 years ago today (Mar 21 1965)
Video: 'Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise [on the Voting Rights Act], 3/15/65. MP506.'
(Monday, March 15, 1965, 9:02 p.m. EST; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)) — U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson took the rallying cry of African-Americans into millions of American homes tonight by pledging that “we shall overcome” what he called “a crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.” Continue reading Johnson urges Congress to insure African-American voting rights 50 years ago this hour (Mar 15 1965)
Video: 'President Johnson's Meeting with Governor George Wallace, 3/13/65. MP538.'
(Saturday, March 13, 1965, during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)) — U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson told Gov. George C. Wallace Alabama today that police brutality in Selma, Alabama, “just must not be repeated” and that federal force would be used if necessary to protect African-Americans there. Continue reading Johnson pledges vote for all, calls Selma ‘American tragedy’ 50 years ago today (Mar 13 1965)
Video: 'Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech'
(Thursday, December 10, 1964) — The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today on behalf of the civil rights movement and “all men who love peace and brotherhood.”
The Baptist minister, in a ceremony at Oslo University, said the award came “at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice.”
(Wednesday, November 18, 1964; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–68)) — FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover today described civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. as “the most notorious liar in the country” for allegedly accusing FBI agents in Georgia of failing to act on complaints filed by blacks.
King, who denied making such a claim, replied, “I cannot conceive of Mr. Hoover making a statement like this without being under extreme pressure.”
Video: 'Benjamin Davis'
(Wednesday, October 27, 1954) — U.S. Air Force Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was promoted to brigadier general by President Dwight Eisenhower today, the first black officer to achieve that rank in the USAF.
Video: 'Marian Anderson canta Un ballo in Maschera'
(Thursday, October 7, 1954) — Marian Anderson today became the first black singer hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York. Anderson made her Met debut in January 1955 playing the role of Ulrica in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.”
Video: 'The True Story of Mississippi Burning' (Aug. 4, 1964, at 32:29)
(Tuesday, August 4, 1964, just after 3:00 p.m. local time; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–68)) — Bodies believed to be those of three civil rights workers (Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney) missing since June 21, 1964, were found buried in an earthen dam early tonight near Philadelphia, Mississippi. Continue reading FBI finds three bodies of missing civil rights workers 50 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1964)
