Segregation in the South - A Documentary of the Absurd - Blerd Planet
This film, “Segregation and the South” is a film produced in 1957 that was both written and directed by Civil Rights activist and pacifist James Peck and narrated by prominent voice actor Paul Frees, with pioneer television journalist George Martin Jr. serving as executive producer.
In the documentary several race issues in the South are covered and the overall sentiment of race is vcsince the 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case. The film examined the slow progress of integration at elementary and secondary schools and colleges, as well as the white backlash to the decision.
One of the highlights of this documentary is that it also documented the Montgomery bus boycott. with some of it’s original material filmed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by James Peck himself. The documentary was broadcast on a Sunday evening, June 16th, 1957 to the majority of the country, except in the deep South.
The film featured several civil rights activists such as:
Ralph Abernathy
Ralph Bunche
Thurgood Marshall
Roy Wilkins
A Philip Randolph
Martin Luther King
One of the highlights of the film is the story of Mississippi NAACP leader Gus Courts who spoke of the levels of voter intimidation that the black voter in the State of Mississippi experienced in the mid-twentieth century. Another highlight (or low light) of the film, is the appearance of a running participant the Ku Klux Klan which was founded on Christmas Eve, 1865 in Pulaski, TN. What is so very signifigant about the KKK was when three women members, one clutching an infant to her chest, are asked why they joined the Klan, they respond because the KKK stands for White Supremacy.
The film was part of the Fund for the Republic’s Newsfilm Project, but it was also its swansong. Before the documentary film, “Segregation and the South” was aired, the Fund for the Republic’s board had voted to discontinue the program. During the film project’s 22-month existence, its three full-time employees, including George M. Martin, Jr., who served as its director, created dozens of news clips that it supplied to television stations around the country to further the Fund for the Republic’s agenda of promoting civil rights and democracy.
The film does a wonderful job of showing an equal representation of both segregationists and integrationists in the South. The content of the movie can be summed up in one word. RAW. Be warned. But first, be a Blerd.
Let’s revisit some of the absurd laws of Segregation in the South
Blacks were not allowed to use the same hearse as whites
Separate waiting rooms for each race to be provided at railroad depots along with separate ticket windows. Also called for a separation of the races on streetcars.
Unlawful for white teachers to teach Negroes in Negro schools, and for Negro teachers to teach in white schools.
A Criminal offense for teachers of one race to instruct pupils of the other in public schools.
Negroes or mulattoes who intruded into any railroad car reserved for white persons would be found guilty of a misdemeanor.
The doctrine was confirmed in the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation. Though segregation laws existed before that case, the decision emboldened segregation states during the Jim Crow era, which had commenced in 1876 and supplanted the Black Codes, which restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans during the Reconstruction Era.
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In the documentary several race issues in the South are covered and the overall sentiment of race is vcsince the 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case. The film examined the slow progress of integration at elementary and secondary schools and colleges, as well as the white backlash to the decision.
One of the highlights of this documentary is that it also documented the Montgomery bus boycott. with some of it’s original material filmed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by James Peck himself. The documentary was broadcast on a Sunday evening, June 16th, 1957 to the majority of the country, except in the deep South.
The film featured several civil rights activists such as:
Ralph Abernathy
Ralph Bunche
Thurgood Marshall
Roy Wilkins
A Philip Randolph
Martin Luther King
One of the highlights of the film is the story of Mississippi NAACP leader Gus Courts who spoke of the levels of voter intimidation that the black voter in the State of Mississippi experienced in the mid-twentieth century. Another highlight (or low light) of the film, is the appearance of a running participant the Ku Klux Klan which was founded on Christmas Eve, 1865 in Pulaski, TN. What is so very signifigant about the KKK was when three women members, one clutching an infant to her chest, are asked why they joined the Klan, they respond because the KKK stands for White Supremacy.
The film was part of the Fund for the Republic’s Newsfilm Project, but it was also its swansong. Before the documentary film, “Segregation and the South” was aired, the Fund for the Republic’s board had voted to discontinue the program. During the film project’s 22-month existence, its three full-time employees, including George M. Martin, Jr., who served as its director, created dozens of news clips that it supplied to television stations around the country to further the Fund for the Republic’s agenda of promoting civil rights and democracy.
The film does a wonderful job of showing an equal representation of both segregationists and integrationists in the South. The content of the movie can be summed up in one word. RAW. Be warned. But first, be a Blerd.
Let’s revisit some of the absurd laws of Segregation in the South
Blacks were not allowed to use the same hearse as whites
Separate waiting rooms for each race to be provided at railroad depots along with separate ticket windows. Also called for a separation of the races on streetcars.
Unlawful for white teachers to teach Negroes in Negro schools, and for Negro teachers to teach in white schools.
A Criminal offense for teachers of one race to instruct pupils of the other in public schools.
Negroes or mulattoes who intruded into any railroad car reserved for white persons would be found guilty of a misdemeanor.
The doctrine was confirmed in the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation. Though segregation laws existed before that case, the decision emboldened segregation states during the Jim Crow era, which had commenced in 1876 and supplanted the Black Codes, which restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans during the Reconstruction Era.
FAIR USE COPYRIGHT NOTICE
The Copyright Laws of the United States recognizes a “fair use” of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states:
“Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.”
This video and our YouTube channel in general may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above.
If you have any specific concerns about this video or our position on the fair use defense, please contact us at 317-643-0392 or at info@blerdplanet.com so we can discuss amicably. Thank you.
- Blerd Planet
SUBSCRIBE TO BLERD PLANET HERE:
http://bit.ly/Subscribe2BLERD
Published 3 years ago
TagsJim Crow Plessy v. Ferguson Segregation Brown v. Board of Education Separate But Equal Blerd Planet
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