Chaos in Birmingham

In Birmingham, Alabama events were going out of control. Many violent acts and arrest of African Americans were taking place during the early 1960's. According to the book Mightier than the Sword, 3,000 black men, women, and children were arrested in one seething spring, many of them were injured by police brutality.  Martin Luther King Jr., and other civil rights leaders targeted the city for a series of nonviolent protest to overturn the city's white power structure. Television broadcast the protests nation wide. Now the nation focused on Birmingham and watch the news every evening to see what was going on in the city. Now protesters came up with a way to win the nation's compassion. They allowed the young school kids to join the march in Birmingham. Many kids joined the march downtown in the city. Police commissioner Bill Conner was getting upset at all the African Americans protesting. According to the book Mightier than the Sword, Connor arrested 700 youngsters and he ordered his officers to become more physical. Cops hosing the African American people and Conner was even training his dogs to attack any dangerous criminals. Television captured these cruel and harsh actions and the nation seen all of the police brutality down in Birmingham. 

University of Georgia admits two African American Students

According to Mighier than the Sword, a federal court ruled that the University of Georgia had to admit African American students. This was the first time in the school's history that they admitted black students. The two students were Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter. Hunter will later make he rmark on journalism as Public Broadcasting Service correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault. The focus was on Hunter because she was a female and she had to stay on the college campus with the white students. Holmes on the other hand, stayed off the campus. The young eighteen year old Hunter was on television every night. Viewers seen footage of her looking towards the ground too afraid to look up and frightend by the angry crowd. According to Mightier than the Sword, one piece showed how the whie students taunted her. The film also showed how a white female student tossed a quarter at Hunter saying to her "here, nigger. Here's a quarter. Go change my sheets. Things only got worse for Hunter. In the book Mightier than the Sword, cameras focused on the hundreds of students who gathered outside of Hunter's dormitory, holding a banner scrawled with angry words, "Nigger go home!" More footage showed how the police broke up the crowd by using tear gas to secure Hunter from danger.

Brown vs the Board of Education of Topeka

This Supreme Court case took place in 1954 during the Civil Rights Movement. This court case was recognized nation wide. Televisions broadcasting about the court case and caught footage of the young Elizabeth Eckford walking into school. many people were rude and obnoxious to the little girl screaming racial slurs and wanting her to be lynched. President Eisenhower had the National Guardsmen to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school. According to Mightier than the Sword, the next morning cameras were out front of the school and there were angry segregationist in front of the schools chanting: "Two-four-six-eight! We don't wanna integrate." The soldiers had to gather around the African American students to protect them all from danger. Each morning there was coverage of the students throughout the school year. Each morning nation wide they would see soldiers escorting the African American students into the school and protecting them.

Chaptet 11: Pushing the Civil Rights Movement onto the national agenda

This chapter is focusing on the the Civil Rights Movement and how it became a national issue. During the movement The Supreme Court case Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka case was known about nation wide. This historic court case was televised on national television. The Civil Rights Movement also made headlines making it a good news story for television. Many issues revolving around the movement were televised and many people seen the news nation wide. According to Mightier than the Sword, segregationists realized that television was disrupting the system, and they began to view all reporters as enemies. When we speak about how Dan Rather that worked for CBS was searching for a motel to stay in when he was covering a story in Mississippi. He seen a sign that read in the window: "No dogs, niggers, or reporters allowed." This shows how the segregationist did not want nothing to do with any reporters and their stories covering the Civil Rights Movement.

3rd Blog: Introduction

Moving on to more recent issues in history, I will focus on chapter 11 in the book. This chapter focuses on the civil rights movement and segregation around the 1950s and 1960s. I will also discuss how the media showed many issues and problems on live television during the civil rights movement. Many highlights in history occured during the civil rights movement that will shape the history of the world.