1. I accept this honor
for our lost ones,
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2. whose deaths pave our path.
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3. And for the 20 million
Negro men and women
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4. motivated by dignity
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5. and a disdain for hopelessness.
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6. This isn't right.
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7. Corrie.
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8. This ain't right.
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9. What's that?
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10. This necktie. It's not right.
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11. Well, it's not a necktie, dear.
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12. It's an ascot.
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13. Yes, but generally the same principles
should apply, shouldn't they?
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14. It's not right.
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15. It's not right, or you don't like it?
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16. I don't like how this looks.
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17. Looks distinguished and debonair to me.
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18. You know what I mean.
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19. Like we're living high on the hog.
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20. Dressed like this
while folks back home are...
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21. It's not right.
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22. Wait till the brothers
back home see me like this.
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23. They'll have a good laugh.
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24. Let them laugh.
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25. It's not a crime to be away
for a few days, Martin.
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26. It's nice being away, huh?
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27. Yeah. It really is.
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28. Look here.
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29. I'm gonna be a pastor somewhere small.
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30. College town.
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31. Lead a little church. Teach a class.
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32. Maybe the occasional
speaking engagement.
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33. And I'll pay all the bills for us,
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34. especially the mortgage
for our very own house.
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35. Perfect.
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36. You look handsome.
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37. Through it all,
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38. Martin Luther King
has spoken of his dream.
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39. One which we
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40. and many other people
around the world share.
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41. To this undeterred hero for justice,
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42. the Nobel Committee of Oslo, Norway,
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43. awards our 1964 Peace Prize.
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44. I accept this honor
for our lost ones,
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45. whose deaths pave our path.
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46. I accept this honor for
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47. the more than 20 million
American Negroes
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48. who are motivated by dignity.
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49. Together we believe that
what the illusion
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50. of supremacy has destroyed,
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51. the truth of equality can nourish.
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52. I promise you.
It ain't nothing to be scared of.
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53. It's quick. And the pastor
is right there next to you.
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54. Yeah, but the biggest thing
is getting your hair wet up.
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55. I got my hair pressed that same morning
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56. and it was wasted
as soon as I hit the water.
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57. I should have worn
a swim cap like Mama said.
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58. See, I asked my mama
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59. could she make my hair like
Coretta Scott King had hers
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60. at the Washington March.
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61. But she said that was too grown.
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62. Oh, I love her hair.
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63. I heard she don't even put rollers in it.
It's just like that.
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64. But I studied it. I know how she do it.
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65. See, she parts in the middle and then...
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66. Annie Lee Cooper!
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67. Get on up now. I ain't got all day.
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68. You work for Mr. Dunn
down at the rest home, ain't that right?
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69. Yes.
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70. Wonder what old Dunn'll say
when I tell him
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71. one of his gals is down here
stirring a fuss.
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72. I ain't stirring no fuss.
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73. I'm just here trying to register to vote.
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74. It's all right this time.
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75. It's right when I say it's right.
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76. Recite the Constitution's preamble.
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77. Know what a preamble is?
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78. "We the people of the United States,
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79. "in order to form a more perfect union,
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80. "establish justice,
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81. "ensure domestic tranquility,
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82. "provide for the common defense,
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83. "promote the general welfare..."
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84. How many county judges in Alabama?
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85. Sixty-seven.
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86. Name them.
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87. Aren't we done?
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88. Are we not done with this?
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89. Will this ever end?
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90. I don't know, Mr. President.
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91. A comprehensive plan
is already in place.
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92. The act was only passed six months ago.
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93. So hammer home that impatience
only hurts the overall cause.
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94. We're... We're getting there.
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95. Just... Just keep reiterating the plan.
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96. No, he doesn't want reiteration.
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97. He wants something so he can say,
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98. "Look, I told you I had a dream
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99. "and it's all coming goddamn true,
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100. "whether you like it or not!"
That's what he wants.
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101. What he needs to do
is get on board with what we're doing
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102. instead of the other way around.
For once!
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103. Mr. President, Dr. King.
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104. Mr. President.
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105. Dr. King.
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106. Well, I'll tell you.
I'm a tall son-of-a-bitch,
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107. but this close to the new Nobel laureate
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108. and with all those other trinkets
you've been collecting lately,
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109. I feel tits-high to a puppy dog.
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110. Well, thank you, Mr. President.
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111. Mr. White.
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112. - Dr. King.
- All right.
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113. I'll tell you, ending segregation,
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114. proudest moment of my life
when I signed that '64 Act.
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115. Proudest moment of my life, I tell you.
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116. Now civil rights is a priority
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117. - of this administration as you know.
- Thank you.
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118. We're gonna face the challenge,
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119. or this country is
storing up a heap of trouble for itself.
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120. Now, seeing as I can't convince you to
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121. work with my administration
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122. in an official capacity
inside the White House,
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123. I feel damn fortunate
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124. to have someone
as statesmanlike as you
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125. leading the movement.
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126. And I want you to go on leading it.
No one else.
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127. Not one of these
militant Malcolm X types.
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128. So... I wanna help. Tell me how.
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129. Well, Mr. President,
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130. I'm here to speak
specifically about the denial
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131. of a basic American right
for the Negro citizen.
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132. The right to vote.
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133. Well, uh... Technically...
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134. Technically, we already have it.
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135. Yes, Mr. President.
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136. But, we both know in the South
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137. black voters are kept off the rolls
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138. and out of the voting booths
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139. by systematic intimidation
and fear, Mr. President.
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140. Now,
you asked how you can help.
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141. We want Federal legislation
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142. granting Negroes the right
to vote unencumbered.
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143. And we want Federal
protocol eliminating
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144. the decades-long dismissal
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145. and illegal denial of
blacks seeking to vote.
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146. And we want
robust enforcement of that protocol.
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147. Well, um...
That's fine.
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148. But... Most of the South
is still not desegregating.
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149. Let's not start another battle
when we haven't even won the first.
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150. And you know what
the next battle should be?
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151. The eradication of poverty.
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152. I'm calling it "The War on Poverty."
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153. It's a matter of political priorities.
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154. Poverty is going to be my focus at home
and I want you to help me with this.
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155. We can make big changes
in these things
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156. for people of all colors.
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157. And I know that matters to you,
doesn't it?
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158. This voting thing
is just gonna have to wait.
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159. It...
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160. It can't wait, Mr. President.
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161. Well, why not?
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162. Because there have been thousands
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163. of racially motivated murders
in the South,
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164. including those four girls.
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165. Well, I know that...
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166. And you know the astounding fact
that not one of these criminals
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167. who murder us when and why they want
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168. has ever been convicted.
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169. Yeah, I know we have a lot
of work to do down there.
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170. Not one conviction
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171. because they are protected
by white officials
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172. chosen by an all-white electorate.
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173. And on the rare occasions
that they face trial,
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174. they are freed by all-white juries.
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175. All-white because
you can't serve on a jury
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176. unless you are registered to vote.
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177. Well, Dr. King, you've certainly given me
something to think about.
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178. But this administration is going
to set this aside for a while.
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179. Just for a while, you understand.
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180. Yes, Mr. President, I... I understand.
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181. Selma it is.
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182. Big speech lined up
for these folks tonight, Doc?
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183. We need to see
what's what first, Big Fellow.
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184. We're just here to test the waters.
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185. Oh, my Lord.
What you got us into, woman?
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186. We've got 128 miles
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187. to come to our senses, gentlemen.
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188. Hush.
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189. This here is the place we need to be.
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190. This right here is the next great battle.
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191. I can only imagine.
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192. Hmm.
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193. Decent-looking place to die though.
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194. Ms. Nash.
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195. Mr. Bevel.
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196. Doc? This here is it. Selma's the place.
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197. A lot of groundwork
has already been laid
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198. by the people here.
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199. And they ready.
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200. Sister Boynton.
Mr. Orange.
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201. Good afternoon.
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202. Dr. King?
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203. May I introduce myself?
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204. Yeah, of course.
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205. Hey!
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206. It's okay. It's okay. I'm okay.
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207. This way, Dr. King.
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208. That white boy can hit.
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209. This place is perfect.
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210. What's the FBI's current information
on Martin Luther King?
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211. I heard he was assaulted in Selma.
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212. My information can be
summed up in a few words.
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213. King is a political and moral degenerate.
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214. Well, you say that, J. Edgar.
I have to take it seriously.
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215. But if he's a degenerate,
what I do know is,
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216. he's a non-violent degenerate.
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217. And I want him to go on leading
the civil rights movement,
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218. not one of these bloodthirsty militants.
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219. What I need to know right now is
what's he about to do next?
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220. Mr. President,
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221. you know we can shut men
with power down
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222. permanently and unequivocally.
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223. I'm very aware of that, Mr. Director.
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224. Well, if you prefer a different approach,
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225. we can go with the wife.
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226. We know there's tension
in the home already.
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227. We can weaken the dynamic.
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228. Dismantle the family.
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229. Hello.
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230. You ain't got long.
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231. When the hearts of those Pickaninnies
of yours stop beating...
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232. Same thing?
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233. When are
you all heading out?
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234. We're heading back
to Selma at 5:00 a.m.
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235. It turned out to be
an ideal staging ground.
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236. There's a full couple of weeks planned.
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237. Quite a bit to be done.
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238. I see.
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239. That highway is nice now.
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240. Get you there in a couple of hours.
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241. Good people in those parts though.
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242. Well...
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243. I'm worried about the ones
who ain't so good.
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244. This local Sheriff Jim Clark
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245. is supposed to be bad business.
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246. Won't go down without a fight, they say.
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247. And since we don't fight...
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248. Well...
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249. As good a place to die as any, I guess.
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250. I wish you wouldn't talk like that.
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251. It just takes the edge off.
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252. You and your friends can joke about that.
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253. I don't joke about that.
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254. You're right. I'm sorry.
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255. I'll, uh, put these things
away in your bag now.
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256. I didn't realize you were leaving so early.
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257. Hello?
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258. Halie?
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259. Martin.
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260. I need to hear the Lord's voice.
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261. Oh.
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262. Surely, Martin. Surely.
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263. Precious Lord
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264. Take my hand
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265. Lead me home
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266. Let me stand
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267. I am tired
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268. I am weak
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269. I am worn
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270. Through the storm
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271. Through the night
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272. Lord, lead me on
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273. To the light
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274. Hey!
- Hey!
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275. - Sully.
- Look at you.
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276. - Morning, Doctor.
- Good morning, Doctor.
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277. Drive all right?
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278. Good and long.
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279. Good news is Richie Jean is in there.
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280. Oh, she's ready for you.
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281. Negro, that's all you had to say.
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282. Uncle Marty!
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283. There she is! There's our girl!
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284. Hey, Richie Jean!
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285. Oh!
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286. Looking like her mom.
- You go play.
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287. - Hey!
- Hey, Ralphy.
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288. How you doing?
Hey!
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289. - Good to see you, sweetheart.
- Hey, come over here.
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290. Oh, Lord,
it's good to see this!
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291. Okay, now, I've got the grits on the stove.
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292. Uh, how many we expecting today?
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293. Well, now, Sister Jackson.
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294. You know about our group,
the SCLC, right?
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295. The Southern Christian
Leadership Conference?
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296. A few of our top SCLC leaders
are with us this time
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297. since we're going to
be here a little longer than expected.
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298. Now, this here's Reverend C.T. Vivian.
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299. He coordinates all the SCLC branches.
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300. Welcome. Nice to meet you.
Welcome, welcome.
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301. This is Reverend James Bevel.
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302. - How you doing, ma'am?
- I'm well. Thank you.
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303. This here is James Orange.
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304. Oh, this is a big one.
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305. I don't know if I've got
enough to feed you.
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306. Well, let's find out. How about that?
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307. Hey!
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308. Now, you got two of them named James.
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309. Oh, you can call me Jim, Sister.
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310. And Orange is fine with me, ma'am.
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311. Or Big Fellow!
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312. All right. Well, this is fine with me.
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313. Mrs. Jackson. Hosea Williams.
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314. Or Castro!
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315. Oh, yeah, that's a long story.
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316. Uh, those grits, they need
some stirring. Mind?
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317. You put
your foot in it now.
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318. Ain't you supposed to be on a diet?
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319. Somebody call Juanita.
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320. - There's a phone!
- Hey, get off that phone.
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321. Juanita?
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322. Don't do it, Doc.
Don't do it...
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323. Turning in, Doc. You okay?
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324. Yes, sir. Good night to you.
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325. Uh...
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326. I wanted to tell you that
the students are in town.
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327. Local students?
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328. Oh, no.
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329. The Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee.
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330. - Oh. Okay. Our young friends at SNCC.
- Mmm-hmm.
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331. Good to know.
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332. You the one told them to organize.
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333. Took it to heart.
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334. Don't be surprised
if they don't give us grief tomorrow.
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335. Town folk may be happy
to see us. But SNCC?
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336. They feel we're in their territory.
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337. - They're young and full of spirit.
- Mmm.
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338. Not a bad thing.
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339. It'll sort out.
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340. Good night.
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341. Good night.
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342. "Boycotting the buses in Montgomery.
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343. - "Segregation in Birmingham."
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344. Boycotting the buses in Montgomery.
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345. Segregation in Birmingham.
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346. Now? Voting in Selma.
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347. One struggle ends just to go
right to the next and the next.
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348. If you think of it that way,
it's a hard road.
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349. But I don't think of it that way.
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350. I think of these efforts as one effort.
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351. And that one effort is for our life.
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352. Our life as a community.
Our life as a nation.
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353. For our lives.
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354. We can do this.
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355. We must do this!
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356. We see children
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357. become victims of one
of the most vicious crimes
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358. ever perpetrated against humanity
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359. within the walls of their own church!
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360. They are sainted now.
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361. They are the sainted ones
in this quest for freedom.
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362. And they speak to us still.
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363. They say to us,
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364. to all of us, all colors and creeds,
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365. that we must do this.
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366. They say to us that it is unacceptable
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367. for more than 50% of Selma to be Negro
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368. and yet less than 2% of Negroes here
being able to vote
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369. and determine their own destiny
as human beings.
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370. They say to us that
the local white leadership
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371. use their power
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372. to keep us away from the ballot box
and keep us voiceless.
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373. As long as I am unable to exercise
my constitutional right to vote,
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374. I do not have command of my own life.
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375. I cannot determine my own destiny
for it is determined for me
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376. by people who would rather
see me suffer than succeed.
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377. Those that have gone before us say,
"No more!"
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378. No more! No more!
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379. No more!
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380. That means protest, that means march,
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381. that means disturb the peace,
that means jail,
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382. that means risk! And that is hard!
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383. We will not wait any longer.
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384. Give us the vote!
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385. That's right! No more!
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386. We're not asking. We're demanding.
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387. Give us the vote!
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388. Give us the vote!
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389. Dr. King.
Roy Reed of The New York Times.
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390. Yes. Hello to you. How are you?
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391. I'm well, sir. Thank you for asking.
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392. Dr. King, are you truly non-violent
if you are provoking violence, sir?
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393. We are here, using
our very bodies in protest
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394. - to say to those who deny us...
- Dr. King. Dr. King.
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395. Pleasure, sir.
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396. that we will no longer let them use
their billy clubs
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397. in dark corners and halls of power.
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398. We make them do it
in the glaring light of day, Mr. Reed.
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399. Is SNCC standing with us
on this or not, gentlemen?
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400. You want us to bring our people in,
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401. but you're not giving anything in return.
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402. Now we are asking for
some kind of commitment here.
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403. Respectfully speaking, of course,
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404. we've been handling
the voter registration
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405. in this town now for two years.
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406. Well, you haven't gotten
very far, have you?
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407. Well, maybe not, Reverend.
But we're still here.
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408. Meaning what?
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409. This time next month,
you won't be!
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410. That's insanity!
- Just like you left Albany.
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411. Those people are pathetic
down there now.
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412. Like they daddy left home!
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413. What we're trying to explain
is that in Albany you all...
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414. You know what I think?
Maybe we should just leave Selma...
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415. Now!
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416. Leave it to these two.
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417. Come back in another two years
and see how much further you got!
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418. - Sounds just fine to me.
That's enough.
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419. Enough of this now.
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420. I haven't the time for this.
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421. None of us got the time for this.
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422. John.
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423. James.
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424. The way our organization works
is straightforward.
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425. We negotiate. We demonstrate.
We resist.
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426. And on our best days, our adversary
helps the matter by making a mistake.
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427. Now, we were in Albany for nine months
and we made a lot of mistakes.
Copy !req
428. But their sheriff, Laurie Pritchett,
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429. he never made a mistake.
Copy !req
430. Kept his cool,
kept arresting us in a humane way,
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431. carried people to
the jail-wagons on stretchers.
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432. Day in, day out.
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433. - There was no drama.
- You mean there was no cameras.
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434. Exactly.
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435. Now I know, we all understand,
that you young people
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436. believe in working in
the community long-term.
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437. Doing the good work
to raise black consciousness.
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438. It's good grassroots work.
Copy !req
439. I can't tell you how much we admire that.
Copy !req
440. But what we do
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441. is negotiate,
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442. demonstrate,
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443. resist.
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444. And a big part of that
Copy !req
445. is raising white consciousness.
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446. And in particular the consciousness
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447. of whichever white man happens
to be sitting in the Oval Office.
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448. Right now, Johnson has other fish to fry
and he'll ignore us if he can.
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449. The only way to stop him doing that
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450. is by being on the front page
of the national press every morning
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451. and by being on the TV news every night.
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452. And that requires
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453. drama.
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454. Now...
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455. John.
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456. James.
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457. Answer me one question.
Copy !req
458. I've been told the sheriff in this town
isn't like Laurie Pritchett in Albany.
Copy !req
459. He's a big ignorant bully
like Bull Connor in Birmingham.
Copy !req
460. Well, you tell me. You know Selma.
Copy !req
461. You know Sheriff Jim Clark.
Copy !req
462. Is he Laurie Pritchett?
Copy !req
463. Or is he Bull Connor?
Copy !req
464. He's Bull Connor.
Copy !req
465. Bingo!
- Good.
Copy !req
466. That's good.
Copy !req
467. But it gets better.
Copy !req
468. See, Clark doesn't control the streets
like Connor did in Birmingham.
Copy !req
469. Clark's the County Sheriff,
Copy !req
470. and all he controls in Selma
is the County Courthouse.
Copy !req
471. So relatively speaking,
Copy !req
472. we have clear avenues of approach
Copy !req
473. to a defined battle zone.
Copy !req
474. In the courthouse sits
the heart of the matter,
Copy !req
475. the voter registration office.
Copy !req
476. Now this is an exceptional circumstance.
Copy !req
477. See, in Albany, there were
no clearly defined battle zones.
Copy !req
478. The issue was segregation,
Copy !req
479. and segregation was everywhere.
Copy !req
480. In Selma, we can concentrate
our actions on one building.
Copy !req
481. A citadel, defended by fanatics.
Copy !req
482. The Selma Courthouse.
Copy !req
483. A perfect stage.
Copy !req
484. Y'all deliberately
causing an obstruction!
Copy !req
485. You don't disperse,
you're gonna be arrested.
Copy !req
486. I promise you!
Copy !req
487. Sheriff Clark,
Copy !req
488. we're trying to gain access
to the registration office.
Copy !req
489. Which is our legal right.
Copy !req
490. There's too many of you.
Copy !req
491. And you know damn well there is!
Copy !req
492. Now, y'all just gonna have
to wait at the rear!
Copy !req
493. No, Sheriff Clark.
Copy !req
494. We're going in the front
Copy !req
495. and we're gonna wait right here.
Copy !req
496. Segregation is now illegal
in this country, sir.
Copy !req
497. Get out, nigger.
Copy !req
498. Come on.
I'm trying.
Copy !req
499. Kneel down, Daddy.
Copy !req
500. Come on.
Copy !req
501. Keep this sidewalk clear. Clear a path!
Copy !req
502. Get out of the way! Get out of the way!
Copy !req
503. Get the hell out of the way!
Copy !req
504. Keep the sidewalk clear!
Copy !req
505. I said keep it clear!
Copy !req
506. Okay. We about to sit him down.
He can't sit.
Copy !req
507. Then he needs to learn.
Copy !req
508. - He gonna sit.
- Sit down, God damn it!
Copy !req
509. Hey, hey! Pa? Pa?
Copy !req
510. Daddy.
Copy !req
511. I just told you he can't sit.
Copy !req
512. Oh, what do we got here?
Copy !req
513. What's going on here, boy?
Copy !req
514. What we got here? What we got here?
Copy !req
515. - Jimmie! Sit down!
- No, Mama, I'm sick of this.
Copy !req
516. - Jimmie!
Don't do it.
Copy !req
517. Do you have a problem, boy?
Copy !req
518. I'm sick of this! I just told you...
Copy !req
519. What'd you think, boy?
What'd you think?
Copy !req
520. What the fuck are you thinking?
Copy !req
521. Get that nigger woman!
Copy !req
522. Kill that nigger bitch!
Copy !req
523. Get your hands off of me!
Copy !req
524. We will not tolerate
a bunch of nigra agitators
Copy !req
525. attempting to orchestrate
a disturbance in this state.
Copy !req
526. Not as long as I'm governor.
Copy !req
527. Now, I stand here today
Copy !req
528. in the cradle of the Confederacy
Copy !req
529. to remind its people
of our Founding Fathers' goals of duty.
Copy !req
530. Goals long since forgotten
by progressives and liberals
Copy !req
531. in favor of what they call
a changing world.
Copy !req
532. They seek to make us one mongrel unit.
Copy !req
533. Instead of allowing each race to flourish
from its separate racial station
Copy !req
534. as has been the standard
for generations now.
Copy !req
535. Good morning, Mr. President.
Copy !req
536. Their changing world
Copy !req
537. is sickening the balance
of the Southland.
Copy !req
538. Now...
Copy !req
539. I pledged to stand up
for Alabama when I campaigned
Copy !req
540. and the people elected me
on that pledge,
Copy !req
541. and that is exactly what I intend to do.
Copy !req
542. Johnson'll flinch.
Copy !req
543. I'm tired, Ralphy.
Copy !req
544. Tiring of this.
Copy !req
545. Eyes on the prize, Martin.
Copy !req
546. Yeah, but what is the prize, friend?
Copy !req
547. We fight to have a seat
at whatever table we want.
Copy !req
548. How does it help a black man
to be able to eat at a lunch counter
Copy !req
549. if he doesn't earn enough
to buy the burger?
Copy !req
550. Or worse yet, can't even...
Copy !req
551. Can't even read the menu
Copy !req
552. 'cause there was no Negro school
where he's from.
Copy !req
553. What is that?
Copy !req
554. That equality?
Copy !req
555. - Amen.
- And what about in our minds?
Copy !req
556. Equality in the black psyche.
Look at these men.
Copy !req
557. Beaten and broken down for generations.
Copy !req
558. Deciding to demand more?
Copy !req
559. What happens when a man stands up
and says enough is enough?
Copy !req
560. Look at Medgar.
Copy !req
561. Murdered the man in his own driveway.
Copy !req
562. Kids and wife right there
inside the house.
Copy !req
563. George and Herbert Lee, Lamar Smith.
Copy !req
564. A man stands up, only to be struck down.
Copy !req
565. And what happens to the people he led?
Copy !req
566. What are we doing, Ralphy?
Copy !req
567. We take it piece by piece.
Copy !req
568. Like we been doing.
Copy !req
569. We build the path as we can.
Copy !req
570. Rock by rock.
Copy !req
571. This cell is probably bugged.
Copy !req
572. It probably is.
Copy !req
573. Oh, Lord.
Copy !req
574. They're gonna ruin me
so they can ruin this movement.
Copy !req
575. They are.
Copy !req
576. "Look at the birds of the air,
Copy !req
577. "that they do not sow, nor reap,
Copy !req
578. "nor gather into barns,
Copy !req
579. "and yet your Heavenly Father
doth feed them.
Copy !req
580. "Are you not worth much more than they?
Copy !req
581. "And who of you by being worried
Copy !req
582. "can add a single hour to his life?"
Copy !req
583. Matthew 6, verse 27.
Copy !req
584. All right.
Copy !req
585. Yes, sir.
Copy !req
586. What? Where did you hear that?
Copy !req
587. I overheard them talking
about him coming in this evening.
Copy !req
588. Overheard us?
Copy !req
589. I'm learning about this just like you.
We didn't do this.
Copy !req
590. That Negro
can't be talking about that
Copy !req
591. "by any means necessary" madness
with these people.
Copy !req
592. They about to bust as it is.
Copy !req
593. He's on his way here, right?
Copy !req
594. So we gotta figure this out.
Right and fast.
Copy !req
595. Oh, he ain't on his way. He here.
Copy !req
596. Holy shit.
Copy !req
597. - Are you all right?
Copy !req
598. I wish I had more time to prepare is all.
Copy !req
599. I want to do this kind of thing
whenever possible.
Copy !req
600. But I don't get to do it enough
to feel entirely comfortable.
Copy !req
601. I prefer to be prepared.
Copy !req
602. Yes, I understand that.
Copy !req
603. I admire you. I do.
Copy !req
604. Sometimes I wish
I were more out there in the trenches.
Copy !req
605. You do more than you know, Mrs. King.
Copy !req
606. I'll tell you what I know to be true.
Copy !req
607. It helps me in times
when I'm feeling unsure.
Copy !req
608. If you'd like.
Copy !req
609. Oh, please do, Mrs. Boynton.
Copy !req
610. I know that we are descendants
of a mighty people,
Copy !req
611. who gave civilization to the world.
Copy !req
612. People who survived
the hulls of slave ships
Copy !req
613. across vast oceans.
Copy !req
614. People who innovate and create and love
Copy !req
615. despite pressures
and tortures unimaginable.
Copy !req
616. They are in our bloodstream.
Copy !req
617. Pumping our hearts every second.
Copy !req
618. They've prepared you.
Copy !req
619. You are already prepared.
Copy !req
620. Mrs. King, I mean no disrespect.
Copy !req
621. I come with great respect
for your husband.
Copy !req
622. I have no army behind me anymore.
Copy !req
623. I have myself and the truth.
Copy !req
624. That is all I stand on today.
Copy !req
625. You've said disrespectful things
in the past, Minister.
Copy !req
626. So you'll understand
why there is some alarm here tonight.
Copy !req
627. I do. I understand that.
Copy !req
628. Your husband and I, we do not see
exactly eye-to-eye
Copy !req
629. on how to achieve progress
for the black man.
Copy !req
630. And yes, I have been piercing
in my critiques of non-violence.
Copy !req
631. But because we don't agree, Mrs. King,
does not mean that I'm the enemy.
Copy !req
632. What do you intend to say
to these people then, sir?
Copy !req
633. A lot of work has been done here,
Copy !req
634. and I don't intend to
see it undone tonight.
Copy !req
635. Let's just say, my eyes see in a new way.
Copy !req
636. But your local sheriff here?
He doesn't know that.
Copy !req
637. So allow me to be the alternative
to your husband.
Copy !req
638. The alternative
that scares them so much
Copy !req
639. they turn to Dr. King in refuge.
Copy !req
640. Let my being here, Mrs. King,
represent the factions
Copy !req
641. that will come if they don't
give the good reverend
Copy !req
642. what he's asking for and soon.
Copy !req
643. Do you know what he has said
about us in the past, Coretta?
Copy !req
644. He called us "ignorant Negro preachers."
Copy !req
645. Called me a modern day Uncle Tom.
Copy !req
646. Said on national television
that the white man pays me
Copy !req
647. to keep Negroes defenseless.
Copy !req
648. The white man pays me!
Copy !req
649. How could you allow it?
Copy !req
650. It wasn't like that this time, Martin.
I'm telling you...
Copy !req
651. He spoke with some of
the words he's used before,
Copy !req
652. but it wasn't aimed at you.
Copy !req
653. It was...
Copy !req
654. It had more to do with helping us.
Copy !req
655. Not that you need his help.
Copy !req
656. I'm just telling you how it was.
Copy !req
657. This movement, our movement,
Copy !req
658. has been the one
that has moved the needle.
Copy !req
659. Our movement changes laws
Copy !req
660. and day-to-day life for our people.
Copy !req
661. But what has he changed?
Copy !req
662. Actually changed?
Copy !req
663. You don't sound like yourself.
You sound tired.
Copy !req
664. And you sound enamored.
Copy !req
665. I didn't mean that.
Copy !req
666. Corrie.
Copy !req
667. Coretta.
Copy !req
668. I didn't mean that.
Copy !req
669. I'm tired.
Copy !req
670. You're right.
Copy !req
671. Rest then.
Copy !req
672. Rest tonight, Martin.
Copy !req
673. This is not
what I want to hear.
Copy !req
674. How in Christ's sake does
Malcolm X slip into my state,
Copy !req
675. meet with the wife of the other one,
Copy !req
676. and give an actual speech
to these nigras
Copy !req
677. who are already riled up enough?
Copy !req
678. I mean, how does that happen,
Colonel Lingo?
Copy !req
679. Governor...
Copy !req
680. Is every spook militant in existence
gonna pay us a visit?
Copy !req
681. - Huh?
Copy !req
682. Do you know what this means?
Copy !req
683. Johnson is going to get jumpy.
Copy !req
684. King and X together is sending him
through the cotton-pickin' stratosphere.
Copy !req
685. And pictures of nigras
getting beat in the street
Copy !req
686. - doesn't help the matter.
- Governor...
Copy !req
687. Now I can't make a move
against that backwoods,
Copy !req
688. white trash Sheriff Clark
Copy !req
689. 'cause that'll be seen
as I'm helping King.
Copy !req
690. But somebody got to
get Jim Clark under control.
Copy !req
691. Election year is coming up
Copy !req
692. and this black voting business
won't abide.
Copy !req
693. I mean, what's not clear about that?
Copy !req
694. Look, George, I'm telling you,
Copy !req
695. if the Lord Jesus and Elvis Presley
Copy !req
696. come visiting and they said,
Copy !req
697. "Jim, now, we need you to
treat them niggers nice."
Copy !req
698. Jim Clark would beat the shit
out of the pair of them,
Copy !req
699. then throw them in jail.
Copy !req
700. Jesus H. Christ.
Copy !req
701. Jim's a good old boy,
he's a friend of mine.
Copy !req
702. Jim Clark just ain't that scary.
Copy !req
703. Now he's playing into their hands.
Copy !req
704. Now...
Copy !req
705. If you want fear,
Copy !req
706. you need dominance in Selma.
Copy !req
707. Hoover picked up some intel
about a night march.
Copy !req
708. Wasn't announced.
Copy !req
709. It's some locals outside of King's group.
Copy !req
710. Unofficial, they called it.
Copy !req
711. Supposed to happen tomorrow night
once King leaves jail.
Copy !req
712. Going to some bleeding heart
fundraiser in California.
Copy !req
713. So...
Copy !req
714. King's out of town.
Copy !req
715. Fewer cameras.
Copy !req
716. And at night.
Copy !req
717. Find a reason
to send us in there.
Copy !req
718. Let's scare some real sense
into them black bastards.
Copy !req
719. Y'all move back.
Copy !req
720. Move back now. Get back.
Copy !req
721. Go back to your homes now.
Copy !req
722. - Stop! Leave him be!
- Mama, come on!
Copy !req
723. Mama, come on!
Copy !req
724. We gotta keep moving. Come on.
Copy !req
725. This way, this way.
Copy !req
726. Leave him alone.
Copy !req
727. It's all right.
Copy !req
728. It's gonna be all right. Okay?
Copy !req
729. Act like you're...
Act like you're reading your menu. Okay?
Copy !req
730. It's okay.
Copy !req
731. Pops...
Copy !req
732. It's all right, Mama. It's gonna be cool.
Copy !req
733. It's okay, it's okay.
Copy !req
734. Hey! Hey...
Copy !req
735. No, get off of him! Just get off of him!
Copy !req
736. Get off of him! No!
Copy !req
737. No! Get off of him!
Copy !req
738. Stop it! No, no, no!
Copy !req
739. - Stop it!
Copy !req
740. Help me.
Copy !req
741. Help me.
Copy !req
742. Jimmie.
Copy !req
743. Jimmie. Jimmie. Jimmie.
Copy !req
744. Help me.
Copy !req
745. Sir?
Copy !req
746. Oh. Dr. King.
Copy !req
747. There are no words
to soothe you, Mr. Lee.
Copy !req
748. There are no words.
Copy !req
749. But I can tell you one thing for certain.
Copy !req
750. God was the first to cry.
Copy !req
751. Yes.
Copy !req
752. He was the first to cry for your boy.
Copy !req
753. Yes. I believe that.
Copy !req
754. Is your daughter...
Copy !req
755. Is Jimmie Lee's mother here, Mr. Lee?
Copy !req
756. No, she... She couldn't make it.
Copy !req
757. May I ask your age, sir?
Copy !req
758. Well, I... I got 82 years.
Copy !req
759. 1883.
Copy !req
760. Right.
Copy !req
761. Yeah. Jimmie...
Copy !req
762. He born in '38.
Copy !req
763. He a Army man.
Copy !req
764. I mean, he was... Was an Army man.
Copy !req
765. In the Army a spell.
Copy !req
766. He say, "Pa, you gonna vote
before you done."
Copy !req
767. Mmm-hmm. That's what he said.
Copy !req
768. He tell me.
Copy !req
769. - He was a good boy.
- Yes.
Copy !req
770. Always good.
Copy !req
771. Always good.
Copy !req
772. Jimmie gone.
Copy !req
773. I'm so sorry.
Copy !req
774. Yeah.
Copy !req
775. Who murdered
Jimmie Lee Jackson?
Copy !req
776. Who murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson?
Copy !req
777. We know a state trooper
Copy !req
778. acting under the orders
of George Wallace
Copy !req
779. pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.
Copy !req
780. But how many other fingers
were on that trigger?
Copy !req
781. Who murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson?
Copy !req
782. Every white lawman
who abuses the law to terrorize.
Copy !req
783. Every white politician
Copy !req
784. who feeds on prejudice and hatred.
Copy !req
785. Every white preacher
who preaches the Bible
Copy !req
786. and stays silent
before his white congregation.
Copy !req
787. Who murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson?
Copy !req
788. Every Negro man and woman
Copy !req
789. who stands by without joining this fight
Copy !req
790. as their brothers and sisters
are humiliated,
Copy !req
791. brutalized, and ripped from this earth!
Copy !req
792. When I heard
Copy !req
793. President Kennedy
had been shot and killed...
Copy !req
794. And when I heard just yesterday
Copy !req
795. that Malcolm X,
Copy !req
796. who stood in this very church
just three weeks ago,
Copy !req
797. had been shot and killed,
Copy !req
798. I turned to my wife Coretta
Copy !req
799. and said the same thing I often say
Copy !req
800. when one of our leaders is struck down,
Copy !req
801. "Our lives are not fully lived
Copy !req
802. "if we're not willing to die
for those we love
Copy !req
803. "and for what we believe."
Copy !req
804. But today, Jimmie,
Copy !req
805. we're doing the living
and you've done the dying, dear brother.
Copy !req
806. We will not let your sacrifice
pass in vain, dear brother.
Copy !req
807. We will not let it go!
Copy !req
808. We will finish what you were after!
Copy !req
809. We will get what you were denied!
Copy !req
810. We will vote and we will
put these men out of office!
Copy !req
811. We will take their power!
Copy !req
812. We will win
what you were slaughtered for!
Copy !req
813. Yeah!
Copy !req
814. We're going back to Washington.
Copy !req
815. We're going to demand
to see the President.
Copy !req
816. And I'm gonna tell him
Copy !req
817. that Jimmie was murdered
by an administration
Copy !req
818. that spends millions of dollars every day
Copy !req
819. to sacrifice life
in the name of liberty in Vietnam,
Copy !req
820. yet lacks the moral will
and the moral courage
Copy !req
821. to defend the lives
of its own people here in America!
Copy !req
822. We will not let it go!
Copy !req
823. And if he does not act,
we will act. We will act!
Copy !req
824. We will do it for all of our lost ones.
Copy !req
825. All of those, like Jimmie Lee Jackson,
Copy !req
826. who have gone too soon,
Copy !req
827. taken by hate!
Copy !req
828. Let me hear the top-tier issues
Copy !req
829. that have to be evident
in the overall legislation we demand.
Copy !req
830. Let's break it down.
Copy !req
831. But let's root this discussion
in what we know.
Copy !req
832. We know Johnson
can't see the full picture.
Copy !req
833. So, let's paint it for him.
Copy !req
834. What are the specific hardships
and humiliations
Copy !req
835. we can address
within the larger context of legislation?
Copy !req
836. Doc, we gotta start
with banning these laws that
Copy !req
837. if a Negro tries to register,
Copy !req
838. I mean, actually musters up
the courage to go in that courthouse,
Copy !req
839. that their name and address
is published in the paper.
Copy !req
840. It gives anybody who wants
to do them any harm
Copy !req
841. their exact location,
and we know how the Klan is.
Copy !req
842. I hear that. But the poll taxes
got to be our focus first.
Copy !req
843. 'Cause black people are poor!
Copy !req
844. - Black people are poor down here.
- Yep.
Copy !req
845. And they expected to pay for every year
they weren't legally registered
Copy !req
846. before they can register.
Copy !req
847. Now, what the hell is that?
Who got that kind of money?
Copy !req
848. Come on now! Listen now!
Copy !req
849. The big issue is voting vouchers.
Copy !req
850. Is that the number one issue?
Copy !req
851. Now hold on. Let me finish.
Copy !req
852. 'Cause everybody'll forget
about this part.
Copy !req
853. But if you're Negro,
the only way you can vote
Copy !req
854. is if an approved registered voter
vouches for you.
Copy !req
855. Right? So, let's say, you take
some place like Lowndes County,
Copy !req
856. where there are no Negroes
who are registered
Copy !req
857. and you've got to have someone
who is registered to vouch for you.
Copy !req
858. What are you supposed to do?
Copy !req
859. - Hmm?
- Mmm.
Copy !req
860. Nobody you know,
Copy !req
861. not a single black person
for 100 miles is registered.
Copy !req
862. So how do you get the voucher, right?
Copy !req
863. To get you into the courthouse door
Copy !req
864. to pay the poll tax
Copy !req
865. to get your name published
Copy !req
866. and get yourself dead.
Copy !req
867. That's true.
Copy !req
868. We need a new plan!
Copy !req
869. I can't take him back to Washington
Copy !req
870. and waltz into the White House
with a list of empty demands.
Copy !req
871. Tactics, my friends!
Copy !req
872. We must break down this institution
Copy !req
873. into the tangible tactics
that it takes to dismantle it.
Copy !req
874. What's your next move?
Copy !req
875. A march from Selma to Montgomery
to protest and amplify.
Copy !req
876. Well, I'll be damned.
Copy !req
877. This was always
part of the plan, wasn't it?
Copy !req
878. Provoke some tragedy
in little old Selma, then go big.
Copy !req
879. Get someone killed
and march on the State Capitol!
Copy !req
880. Selma to Montgomery's
gotta be 50 miles!
Copy !req
881. You march those people
into rural Alabama unprotected,
Copy !req
882. it's gonna be open season.
Copy !req
883. It's too damn far
and too damn dangerous!
Copy !req
884. Then propose new legislation, sir.
Copy !req
885. I can't do that this year.
I won't! I told you.
Copy !req
886. We need your involvement here,
Mr. President.
Copy !req
887. We deserve your help
as citizens of this country.
Copy !req
888. Citizens under attack.
Copy !req
889. Now, you listen to me. You listen to me.
Copy !req
890. You're an activist. I'm a politician.
Copy !req
891. You got one big issue.
I got a hundred and one.
Copy !req
892. Now, you demanding more
Copy !req
893. and putting me on the spot
with this visit, that's okay.
Copy !req
894. That's your job. That's what you do.
Copy !req
895. But I am sick and tired
Copy !req
896. of you demanding and telling me
Copy !req
897. what I can and what I can't do.
Copy !req
898. If you want my support
on this voting thing,
Copy !req
899. I need some quid pro quo from you.
Copy !req
900. What do you want, Mr. President?
Copy !req
901. We have a line on
some threats that are, uh,
Copy !req
902. particularly troubling.
Copy !req
903. Well, what's new?
Copy !req
904. No, no. This is serious.
Credible threats with detail.
Copy !req
905. This information,
coming from the FBI, I assume?
Copy !req
906. High-level?
Copy !req
907. The same high-level
that's been tracking us like animals?
Copy !req
908. Bugging our homes and our hotel rooms.
Copy !req
909. Digging for things
that simply are not there, Lee?
Copy !req
910. This all feels very convenient.
Copy !req
911. Okay.
Copy !req
912. This is coming from
Lowndes County, Alabama.
Copy !req
913. Between Selma and Montgomery.
Copy !req
914. I'm telling you, if he were my guy,
Copy !req
915. I'd keep him off the frontlines.
Copy !req
916. Just for a while.
Copy !req
917. Not gonna happen, Lee.
Copy !req
918. Meet me halfway on this, Martin.
Copy !req
919. I can't, Mr. President.
Copy !req
920. Can't or won't?
Copy !req
921. I came here hoping
to talk to you about people.
Copy !req
922. People are dying in the street for this.
Copy !req
923. It cannot wait, sir.
Copy !req
924. Mr. President, how did it go?
Copy !req
925. What can I do to help?
Copy !req
926. Get me J. Edgar Hoover.
Copy !req
927. King,
Copy !req
928. you know you are a complete fraud
Copy !req
929. and a liability to all nigras.
Copy !req
930. Like all frauds, your end is approaching.
Copy !req
931. You are done.
Copy !req
932. Your degrees and your fancy awards
will not save you.
Copy !req
933. The American public
will soon know you for what you are,
Copy !req
934. an evil, abnormal beast.
Copy !req
935. That wasn't me.
Copy !req
936. That isn't me, Corrie.
Copy !req
937. I know.
Copy !req
938. I know what you sound like.
Copy !req
939. I've gotten used to a lot.
Copy !req
940. All the hours wondering after your safety,
Copy !req
941. worried about how you are.
Copy !req
942. This house.
Copy !req
943. Renting here.
Copy !req
944. No foundation.
Copy !req
945. Without the things
the children should have,
Copy !req
946. all because of how it would look.
Copy !req
947. I have gotten used to it,
Copy !req
948. for better or worse.
Copy !req
949. But what I have never gotten used to
Copy !req
950. is the death.
Copy !req
951. The constant closeness of death.
Copy !req
952. It's become like a thick fog to me.
Copy !req
953. I can't see life sometimes
Copy !req
954. because of the fog of death
constantly hanging over.
Copy !req
955. People actually say
that they will stop the blood
Copy !req
956. running through the hearts
of our children.
Copy !req
957. That's what they said
on the other end of that phone line.
Copy !req
958. How they're going to kill my children.
Copy !req
959. And what they'll do to you
and how they'll do it.
Copy !req
960. How many years
have I had to listen to this?
Copy !req
961. The filth,
Copy !req
962. deranged and twisted
and just ignorant enough to be serious.
Copy !req
963. If I ask you something,
Copy !req
964. will you answer me with the truth?
Copy !req
965. Yes.
Copy !req
966. Good,
Copy !req
967. because I am not a fool.
Copy !req
968. Do you love me?
Copy !req
969. Yes, I love you, Coretta.
Copy !req
970. Do you love any of the others?
Copy !req
971. No.
Copy !req
972. I need to put the march back a day.
Copy !req
973. Why?
Copy !req
974. I have to be home right now.
Copy !req
975. Oh.
Copy !req
976. Yes. Okay. I understand.
Copy !req
977. But I have to tell you
the organization looks good.
Copy !req
978. Real good.
Copy !req
979. The mood is strong.
And the locals are prepared.
Copy !req
980. The SNCC kids are ready to go.
Copy !req
981. We can start it off from Selma,
Copy !req
982. and you can join in on the second day.
Copy !req
983. I just think it'd be a mistake
to hold people back
Copy !req
984. when their blood is up.
Copy !req
985. I hear you,
Copy !req
986. but we need to be out there full throttle.
Copy !req
987. This ain't a test run.
Copy !req
988. We need to get to Montgomery.
Copy !req
989. I warned Johnson that
we were going to the Capitol.
Copy !req
990. We need to do just that.
Copy !req
991. And I believe we will.
We'll get there.
Copy !req
992. And when we do the real deal, the finale,
Copy !req
993. when you make the big speech
at the end,
Copy !req
994. right on Wallace's doorstep.
Copy !req
995. I don't know, Andy.
Copy !req
996. It'll be just fine.
Copy !req
997. We'll get it started strong.
And you'll finish strong.
Copy !req
998. Mmm.
Copy !req
999. Okay. Uh... Let's proceed.
Copy !req
1000. But only one of us walks to start.
Copy !req
1001. I don't want to get back on Monday
and find all our leadership in jail.
Copy !req
1002. One of us walks.
Copy !req
1003. Understood.
Copy !req
1004. There will be no march
from Selma to Montgomery.
Copy !req
1005. It is not conducive to
traffic flow on Route 80.
Copy !req
1006. Or to public safety.
Copy !req
1007. Your lives could be in danger,
Copy !req
1008. but we're going to be strong
if we stick together.
Copy !req
1009. Don't fight back.
It's a non-violent movement.
Copy !req
1010. Non-violence is not passive.
It's actually very strong.
Copy !req
1011. We shouldn't do this, John.
Copy !req
1012. This is not us. This is not SNCC.
Copy !req
1013. It's some bullshit.
Copy !req
1014. It's gonna do more for King
and the SCLC than for Selma.
Copy !req
1015. This is Alabama.
Copy !req
1016. They can keep their asses
in Washington, D.C.
Copy !req
1017. You don't tell us how to live our lives.
Copy !req
1018. This is an example of what
you might deal with out there.
Copy !req
1019. What you might experience.
Here we go. Let's show them.
Copy !req
1020. We don't want your kind here.
Copy !req
1021. Go to the bottom of the river, black boy.
Copy !req
1022. We're going to put you down
in Alabama River!
Copy !req
1023. He's not even here.
Copy !req
1024. How's it gonna do more for him?
Copy !req
1025. Well, why ain't
he here, then, man?
Copy !req
1026. Are you listening to yourself?
Copy !req
1027. First, it's gonna do more for him.
Now, it's why he ain't here?
Copy !req
1028. Do you want him here,
or do you not want him here?
Copy !req
1029. Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass
about that man. That's your hero.
Copy !req
1030. Let's take these bastards
and stick them down into Alabama River
Copy !req
1031. and never see them again.
Copy !req
1032. James, you are so off-base with this.
Copy !req
1033. All this nonsense.
This ain't what SNCC is about.
Copy !req
1034. Don't make me out to be
the bad guy here, John.
Copy !req
1035. I'm not! You're the one playing me small.
Copy !req
1036. - Don't demonize me...
Copy !req
1037. You're mad because they called him in.
Copy !req
1038. We were here first.
And they called him in.
Copy !req
1039. I get it. I understand that.
Copy !req
1040. But if we are really
and truly for the people,
Copy !req
1041. and the people of Selma chose him,
Copy !req
1042. well, then the people have spoken.
Copy !req
1043. And if they want to march,
then I'm marching with them.
Copy !req
1044. Then, brother,
Copy !req
1045. you're marching as John Lewis.
Copy !req
1046. Not as part of SNCC.
Copy !req
1047. It's been voted on and decided.
Copy !req
1048. For this march, you're on your own
with De Lawd and his disciples.
Copy !req
1049. Short man wins.
Short man wins.
Copy !req
1050. Short man wins.
Copy !req
1051. All right.
Copy !req
1052. All right. Who got it?
Copy !req
1053. It's on you, Hosea.
Copy !req
1054. You ready, young blood?
You ready?
Copy !req
1055. - All right. Let's do this.
- All right.
Copy !req
1056. About 525 Negroes
had left Brown's Chapel
Copy !req
1057. and walked six blocks to cross
Pettus Bridge and the Alabama River.
Copy !req
1058. There were young and old,
Copy !req
1059. and they carried an assortment of packs,
bed rolls and lunch sacks.
Copy !req
1060. The troopers were waiting
300 yards beyond the end of the bridge.
Copy !req
1061. Behind the troopers
were dozens of possemen,
Copy !req
1062. 15 of them on horses,
Copy !req
1063. and perhaps 100 white spectators.
Copy !req
1064. Can you swim?
Copy !req
1065. Not many swimming pools for
black folk where I come from.
Copy !req
1066. Yeah.
Copy !req
1067. Andy, it's Bayard. Everybody there?
Copy !req
1068. Yes.
Copy !req
1069. Turn on CBS right now, Andy.
Copy !req
1070. Right now. You have a TV there?
Copy !req
1071. - Yes. Now?
- Right now!
Copy !req
1072. Turn on the television set.
Copy !req
1073. We interrupt
this program to bring you
Copy !req
1074. a special bulletin from CBS News.
Copy !req
1075. Give 'em two minutes. Stand right there.
Copy !req
1076. We're ready.
Copy !req
1077. This is an unlawful assembly.
Copy !req
1078. You have two minutes to disperse.
Copy !req
1079. Go home or go to your church.
Copy !req
1080. This march will not continue.
Copy !req
1081. Two minutes.
Copy !req
1082. May I have a word with the Major?
Copy !req
1083. There's no word to be had.
Copy !req
1084. Major Cloud, may we speak with you?
Copy !req
1085. Troopers, advance!
Copy !req
1086. Seventy million people are watching this.
Copy !req
1087. The first 10 or 20 Negroes
Copy !req
1088. were swept to the ground screaming,
Copy !req
1089. arms and legs flying,
Copy !req
1090. packs and bags went skittering
across the grassy divider.
Copy !req
1091. Those still on their feet retreated.
Copy !req
1092. A cheer went up
from the white spectators
Copy !req
1093. lining the south side of the highway.
Copy !req
1094. - Come on.
Copy !req
1095. You gotta come on.
Copy !req
1096. Please, don't...
Copy !req
1097. The troopers continued pushing,
Copy !req
1098. using both the force of their bodies
and the prodding of their nightsticks.
Copy !req
1099. Suddenly, there was
a sharp sound, like a gunshot,
Copy !req
1100. and a gray cloud spewed over
the troopers and the Negroes.
Copy !req
1101. But before the cloud hid it all,
Copy !req
1102. there were several seconds
of unobstructed view.
Copy !req
1103. Fifteen or 20 nightsticks
Copy !req
1104. could be seen through the gas,
Copy !req
1105. flailing at the heads of the marchers.
Copy !req
1106. Ahhh!
Copy !req
1107. The Negroes cried out
Copy !req
1108. as they crowded together for protection,
Copy !req
1109. and the whites on the sidelines
whooped and cheered.
Copy !req
1110. From the hospital
came reports of victims
Copy !req
1111. suffering fractures of ribs,
heads, arms and legs.
Copy !req
1112. And Negro leader John Lewis,
Copy !req
1113. despite injury from
a possible skull fracture,
Copy !req
1114. led the marchers back to the chapel
after the encounter with officers.
Copy !req
1115. Help!
Copy !req
1116. Help!
Copy !req
1117. He said, "I don't see
how President Johnson
Copy !req
1118. "can send troops to Vietnam
Copy !req
1119. "and can't send troops
to Selma, Alabama."
Copy !req
1120. To which the Negroes present
roared their approval.
Copy !req
1121. Gerry! Gerry, come with us!
Come with us!
Copy !req
1122. We need your gun, man!
Copy !req
1123. I can't walk!
Copy !req
1124. Come with us. We know you got
them guns in the shed, Gerry.
Copy !req
1125. Hey, hey, hey, what you need guns for?
Copy !req
1126. The Bible says,
"An eye for an eye," Reverend.
Copy !req
1127. - Yeah?
- I'm sick of this shit!
Copy !req
1128. How many guns
you think they got down there?
Copy !req
1129. That's an entire army down there.
Copy !req
1130. What you got? A couple of.32s? A.38?
Copy !req
1131. Maybe a couple
of old scatterguns? What?
Copy !req
1132. I got enough to kill a couple
of them crackers, that's what I got!
Copy !req
1133. And how many of us you think
they gonna kill in retaliation?
Copy !req
1134. With their 12-gauge pump-actions,
their Colt automatics,
Copy !req
1135. their Remingtons, their helicopters,
their tanks!
Copy !req
1136. We won't win that way,
and I ain't talking about the Bible.
Copy !req
1137. I ain't talking what's right by God.
Copy !req
1138. I am talking facts. Cold, hard facts!
Copy !req
1139. Now, you take two of them,
and they take 10 of us.
Copy !req
1140. No. We have to win another way.
Copy !req
1141. (ON TV) ... to our
regularly scheduled program.
Copy !req
1142. We're going back to the bridge.
Copy !req
1143. We're going to finish this,
we promise you that, Ms. Amelia.
Copy !req
1144. We go again.
Copy !req
1145. Dr. King!
Can we get a statement, sir?
Copy !req
1146. Dr. King! Morning, Doctor.
Copy !req
1147. Can we get a statement, please?
Copy !req
1148. Morning.
- Morning.
Copy !req
1149. While rageful violence continues
towards the unarmed people of Selma,
Copy !req
1150. while they are assaulted with tear gas
and batons like an enemy in a war,
Copy !req
1151. no citizen of this country
can call themselves blameless,
Copy !req
1152. for we all bear a responsibility
for our fellow man.
Copy !req
1153. I am appealing to
men and women of God
Copy !req
1154. and goodwill everywhere,
Copy !req
1155. white, black and otherwise.
Copy !req
1156. If you believe all are created equal,
come to Selma.
Copy !req
1157. Join us. Join our march against injustice
and inhumanity.
Copy !req
1158. We need you to stand with us.
Copy !req
1159. Judge Johnson,
Dr. King's call-to-action
Copy !req
1160. was nationally televised.
Copy !req
1161. We've seen hundreds of people
travel across the country
Copy !req
1162. to attend tomorrow's march,
Copy !req
1163. mostly white,
mostly clergy of some kind.
Copy !req
1164. The SCLC is seeking
a federal court order
Copy !req
1165. enjoining the state authorities
from interfering with the next march.
Copy !req
1166. You're asking me to overturn
the Governor's mandate
Copy !req
1167. and to do so without a hearing,
Copy !req
1168. but it's not going to happen at all
Copy !req
1169. without a proper proceeding.
Copy !req
1170. Dr. King is in position
to lead tomorrow's march, Judge.
Copy !req
1171. Understood, but you will have
your day in court on Thursday, Mr. Gray.
Copy !req
1172. Meanwhile, there will be
no march tomorrow.
Copy !req
1173. I will not oppose Wallace
against protocol.
Copy !req
1174. "Thousands head south
in moral crusade."
Copy !req
1175. The SCLC
already filed an appeal
Copy !req
1176. against Wallace's orders this morning.
Copy !req
1177. You want my advice, Mr. President?
Copy !req
1178. You have to ask?
Copy !req
1179. Give King the march to Montgomery.
Copy !req
1180. Do that, and then Selma's over.
Copy !req
1181. Then you're back in control.
Copy !req
1182. In control of what?
Copy !req
1183. Another civil war?
Copy !req
1184. This ain't about the goddamn march.
Copy !req
1185. You think he cares about the march?
Copy !req
1186. He wants the law changed, now.
Copy !req
1187. I've got Congress
calling me by the dozens.
Copy !req
1188. I've got picketing that gets
bigger and bigger every day.
Copy !req
1189. He tugs on their goddamn
white liberal conscience.
Copy !req
1190. Every march pulls 'em. Especially when
people are getting beat up in the streets.
Copy !req
1191. These pictures are going
around the world, Lee.
Copy !req
1192. I understand, Mr. President.
Copy !req
1193. All the more reason to act now.
Copy !req
1194. I'm gonna act now.
Copy !req
1195. You tell Wallace
and those backwater hicks
Copy !req
1196. I don't want to see
any more of this horseshit.
Copy !req
1197. And you tell King he best not march,
you hear me?
Copy !req
1198. Either King stops and Wallace stops,
Copy !req
1199. or I'll stop 'em both.
Copy !req
1200. I'm here on the President's order
to try and make this work.
Copy !req
1201. Please work with me.
Copy !req
1202. So we give up the march and you...
Copy !req
1203. You give what?
Copy !req
1204. We asked for federal protection.
Copy !req
1205. And with no disrespect,
Copy !req
1206. but when the Assistant Attorney General
Copy !req
1207. is the highest-ranking
federal official in Selma,
Copy !req
1208. we have our answer.
Copy !req
1209. And it's not the one we want.
Copy !req
1210. Might I suggest that you
speak with Governor Wallace
Copy !req
1211. and Sheriff Clark
and urge them against violence
Copy !req
1212. instead of trying to persuade us
Copy !req
1213. not to have a peaceful protest?
Copy !req
1214. Maybe we can make a deal.
Copy !req
1215. What if I
Copy !req
1216. could assure you that the administration
would endorse a later march
Copy !req
1217. if tomorrow is called off?
Copy !req
1218. You know what?
He's closer than you may think
Copy !req
1219. to coming around on this issue.
Copy !req
1220. I believe this compromise
might be agreeable.
Copy !req
1221. Mr. Doar?
Copy !req
1222. Thousands have gathered here
to demonstrate their dignity.
Copy !req
1223. I don't want to challenge Judge Johnson.
Copy !req
1224. I don't want to go against the President.
Copy !req
1225. I don't want any of this.
Copy !req
1226. The President could stop this
with a stroke of his pen.
Copy !req
1227. He chooses not to.
Copy !req
1228. The decision is with your side, sir,
Copy !req
1229. not ours.
Copy !req
1230. Good to see you, Father.
Good to see you.
Copy !req
1231. Thank you for coming.
Thank you for coming out.
Copy !req
1232. Hello, sister. Good to
see you this afternoon.
Copy !req
1233. Oh. Oh... You came.
Copy !req
1234. You called and we came, my friend.
Copy !req
1235. You are not alone, my friend.
Copy !req
1236. Welcome, welcome.
Copy !req
1237. - Hi, what's your name?
- Susan.
Copy !req
1238. Hi, I'm Viola. Welcome to Selma.
Copy !req
1239. - Yes, ma'am, I'm good. How are you?
- Fine, thank you.
Copy !req
1240. What is your name
and where are you from, sir?
Copy !req
1241. My name is James Reeb.
I've come from Boston.
Copy !req
1242. Tell me, why have you
traveled here, Mr. Reeb?
Copy !req
1243. I heard about the attack
of innocent people
Copy !req
1244. who just want their rights,
Copy !req
1245. and I couldn't just stand by
when Dr. King put out that call to clergy.
Copy !req
1246. I couldn't.
Copy !req
1247. The President doesn't
want us to march today.
Copy !req
1248. The courts don't want us to march.
Copy !req
1249. But we must march.
Copy !req
1250. Yeah!
Copy !req
1251. - We must stand up.
Yeah!
Copy !req
1252. We must make a massive demonstration
of our moral certainty.
Copy !req
1253. I'm so glad we're here together today.
Copy !req
1254. I thank you for standing up.
Copy !req
1255. For we shall be victorious in our quest.
Copy !req
1256. We shall cross the finish line
hand in hand.
Copy !req
1257. For we shall overcome.
Copy !req
1258. All right.
Copy !req
1259. Troopers, withdraw!
Copy !req
1260. My point is,
after what happened the last time,
Copy !req
1261. if it don't feel right, we don't do it.
That's my point.
Copy !req
1262. We've been going round
and round on this for hours,
Copy !req
1263. and nothing's gonna change the fact that
Copy !req
1264. it was Doc's decision
and we have to support him.
Copy !req
1265. This is a movement
of many, not of one.
Copy !req
1266. So any choice we make
has to be right for many.
Copy !req
1267. Come on, Diane. Now, you know
that's not what I meant by that, all right?
Copy !req
1268. People are angry, Dr. King.
Copy !req
1269. Angry. They went back to that bridge
because they were hot about Sunday.
Copy !req
1270. That was our moment out there today.
Copy !req
1271. And you threw it away.
Copy !req
1272. They could've sealed off
the road behind us.
Copy !req
1273. No food, water, no kind of
support allowed through.
Copy !req
1274. We wouldn't have made 10 miles.
Copy !req
1275. You saying this was a trap?
Copy !req
1276. I don't know what it was.
Copy !req
1277. That was no trap!
Copy !req
1278. You know why they
opened up the road to us?
Copy !req
1279. Because all them nice,
respectable white folks
Copy !req
1280. was with us, and we
should've capitalized on that.
Copy !req
1281. Because they're not gonna be
around here for long. They never are!
Copy !req
1282. It was Martin's call. It's done.
Copy !req
1283. - He made the wrong goddamn call!
- Hey, watch your mouth, young man!
Copy !req
1284. Two days ago,
you didn't wanna march at all.
Copy !req
1285. And now you're mad because
it didn't go the way you planned?
Copy !req
1286. Calm down, brother.
Copy !req
1287. Now, what happened out there today?
Copy !req
1288. You gotta tell us something. Please.
Copy !req
1289. I'd rather people be upset and hate me
Copy !req
1290. than be bleeding or dead.
Copy !req
1291. My dearest Corrie,
Copy !req
1292. at a time when I need you,
Copy !req
1293. I cannot call you.
Copy !req
1294. And I have done this to myself, to us.
Copy !req
1295. At this late hour,
Copy !req
1296. my thoughts are of you
Copy !req
1297. and all you have sacrificed
for this struggle.
Copy !req
1298. So many have sacrificed.
Copy !req
1299. So many have been lost.
Copy !req
1300. I wonder how many must we lose.
Copy !req
1301. I pray for discernment and guidance
as we journey on.
Copy !req
1302. I pray, too, that I can justify
the faith you once had in me.
Copy !req
1303. I, too, often feel that heavy fog
you spoke of, Corrie.
Copy !req
1304. Only you and our family clears the haze.
Copy !req
1305. Love, Martin.
Copy !req
1306. He betrayed trust.
Copy !req
1307. He called, we came,
and he didn't fulfill his own call.
Copy !req
1308. Yeah, but sometimes
it's not that clear-cut.
Copy !req
1309. Sometimes it's instinctual.
Copy !req
1310. Like when you're preaching,
Copy !req
1311. and you're just flying.
Copy !req
1312. You know, you're not on the notes.
You're not on memory.
Copy !req
1313. You're tapped into what's higher,
what's true.
Copy !req
1314. God is guiding you.
Copy !req
1315. I've known that feeling.
Copy !req
1316. It's rare, but I've known it.
Copy !req
1317. I think that's what happened to Dr. King
up there on the bridge today.
Copy !req
1318. He kneeled down,
prayed to God and got an answer.
Copy !req
1319. And he was brave enough
to follow that answer,
Copy !req
1320. and I, for one, don't fault him for it.
Copy !req
1321. - Except he owes me a bus ticket home.
Copy !req
1322. You know what
I hate more than niggers?
Copy !req
1323. What's that?
Copy !req
1324. White niggers.
Copy !req
1325. Look, we don't want trouble, okay?
Copy !req
1326. No, you came here
stirrin' trouble.
Copy !req
1327. Doc,
Copy !req
1328. someone's been hurt.
Copy !req
1329. A priest, from Boston.
Copy !req
1330. White.
Copy !req
1331. Now you know what being a nigger
around here feels like, boy.
Copy !req
1332. Hurt? How?
Copy !req
1333. Dead.
Copy !req
1334. I need a phone!
Copy !req
1335. Chicago, Detroit, Boston, I don't care.
Copy !req
1336. Hell, you got 2,000 people
marching up in Harlem.
Copy !req
1337. Well, good for you.
Copy !req
1338. But when you have people
come inside the White House?
Copy !req
1339. Inside the White House! On a tour?
Copy !req
1340. They just sat down, Martin.
Copy !req
1341. They sat down in the main corridor,
Copy !req
1342. started singin' and shoutin'.
Well, I won't have it!
Copy !req
1343. I cannot stop people from expressing...
Copy !req
1344. You can! You can stop them.
Copy !req
1345. No, you can stop it.
You, sir, can do more.
Copy !req
1346. Now I'm glad to hear that you called
Reverend Reeb's widow, sir.
Copy !req
1347. That is very fine, and it is right.
Copy !req
1348. I only wish that
Jimmie Lee Jackson's family
Copy !req
1349. would have received the same
consideration from their President.
Copy !req
1350. Don't you lay your guilt at my door.
Copy !req
1351. You're the one choosing to send
Copy !req
1352. people out to slaughter
when we told you there was trouble.
Copy !req
1353. We won't sit idle
Copy !req
1354. while you wait another year or two
to send this bill up at your leisure.
Copy !req
1355. That should be clear by now.
Copy !req
1356. We will continue to demonstrate
until you take action, sir.
Copy !req
1357. And if our President
won't protect our rights,
Copy !req
1358. we will take this fight to court.
Copy !req
1359. You know, I'm... I'm trying here.
Copy !req
1360. We're getting close
to figuring something out
Copy !req
1361. on this voting thing,
but I will not have this!
Copy !req
1362. This bill has been
almost impossible to craft,
Copy !req
1363. you hear me?
Copy !req
1364. You think you're jugglin', Martin?
I'm jugglin', too.
Copy !req
1365. I am a preacher from Atlanta.
Copy !req
1366. You are the man who won the presidency
of the world's most powerful nation
Copy !req
1367. by the greatest landslide
in history four months ago.
Copy !req
1368. And you are the man
Copy !req
1369. dismantling your own legacy
with each passing day.
Copy !req
1370. No one will remember
the Civil Rights Act.
Copy !req
1371. But they will remember
the standoff in Selma
Copy !req
1372. when you never even
set foot in this state.
Copy !req
1373. They will remember you saying,
"Wait," and "I can't,"
Copy !req
1374. unless you act, sir.
Copy !req
1375. Evenin'.
- Evenin'.
Copy !req
1376. I wanted to speak privately.
Copy !req
1377. I know there's been trouble
with the group,
Copy !req
1378. and I apologize that our efforts
Copy !req
1379. have caused a rift between y'all.
Copy !req
1380. That's a painful thing, I know,
Copy !req
1381. and I'm truly sorry it's happened.
Copy !req
1382. Yeah, painful.
Copy !req
1383. LBJ is not moving, John.
Copy !req
1384. I thought he would,
but our efforts are not working,
Copy !req
1385. and I can't risk another march
with people getting killed
Copy !req
1386. when it's not working. I won't do it.
Copy !req
1387. We need voting, not marching.
You know that.
Copy !req
1388. We have to move beyond these protests
to some real political power.
Copy !req
1389. This can't go on forever like this.
Copy !req
1390. I can't go on like this.
Copy !req
1391. When I was...
Copy !req
1392. When I was working with SNCC
on the Freedom Rides,
Copy !req
1393. the Montgomery bus
reached the city limits.
Copy !req
1394. We got off. And out of nowhere,
Copy !req
1395. from all directions, they came.
Copy !req
1396. There was men, women.
Copy !req
1397. Kids, too.
Copy !req
1398. They had just about every
makeshift weapon you could think of.
Copy !req
1399. I mean, bats, bricks,
Copy !req
1400. tire irons, pipes.
Copy !req
1401. I remember...
Copy !req
1402. I remember this little girl
just clawing her nails
Copy !req
1403. into the side of my friend Jessie's face
Copy !req
1404. while her daddy... Her daddy
beat him with an ax handle.
Copy !req
1405. Jessie was unconscious,
Copy !req
1406. and they just kept beating on him
and beating on him.
Copy !req
1407. I must've passed out
on the asphalt somewhere.
Copy !req
1408. Next day, I found myself patched up
and sitting in a church.
Copy !req
1409. I could barely hold my head up,
but I needed to be there.
Copy !req
1410. You were gonna be speaking.
Copy !req
1411. And I needed to hear you.
Copy !req
1412. And I was feeling down,
but you got up there.
Copy !req
1413. You remember that day at all?
Copy !req
1414. I don't think we remember it
the same way.
Copy !req
1415. What'd I say, John?
Copy !req
1416. I'm about to tell you right now.
Copy !req
1417. And I hope you hear me.
Copy !req
1418. You said that we would triumph.
Copy !req
1419. That we would triumph
because there could be no other way.
Copy !req
1420. And you know what else you said?
Copy !req
1421. You said,
Copy !req
1422. "Fear not.
Copy !req
1423. "We've come too far to turn back now."
Copy !req
1424. I feel good about where we are.
Copy !req
1425. We have a strong case.
Copy !req
1426. - We can do this.
- Right.
Copy !req
1427. Now, Ms. Cooper
and Ms. Boynton are here,
Copy !req
1428. - and they need to be ready.
Mmm-hmm.
Copy !req
1429. A lot depends on
what they have to say. Okay?
Copy !req
1430. Mmm.
I hear what you're saying, but...
Copy !req
1431. You're here.
Copy !req
1432. Yes, I'm here.
Copy !req
1433. I'm glad.
Copy !req
1434. Just in time.
Copy !req
1435. In the matter of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference
Copy !req
1436. v. the state of Alabama,
Copy !req
1437. I will now hear testimony
from the plaintiffs. Mr. Gray.
Copy !req
1438. Your Honor, you will hear
testimony from the victims
Copy !req
1439. who were beaten and bludgeoned
in their quest for freedom.
Copy !req
1440. For their right to vote
and to self-determine.
Copy !req
1441. The fact of the matter, Your Honor,
Copy !req
1442. is that the incidents that occurred
cannot be disputed.
Copy !req
1443. These particular circumstances
Copy !req
1444. will paint a thorough picture
of the horrific events endured in Selma.
Copy !req
1445. Very well, you may proceed.
Copy !req
1446. Mr. King, you went out on that bridge
in direct violation of that judge's orders.
Copy !req
1447. You deliberately disobeyed this judge
and the Governor, did you not?
Copy !req
1448. Thousands of people came to Selma,
Copy !req
1449. aroused by Sunday's brutal acts
Copy !req
1450. exacted by officials of the city of Selma
Copy !req
1451. and the state of Alabama.
Copy !req
1452. I felt if I had not led the march,
Copy !req
1453. pent-up emotions and inner tensions
Copy !req
1454. would have led to an uncontrollable
retaliatory situation,
Copy !req
1455. a violent situation on both sides.
Copy !req
1456. I don't need any of your preaching
and prancing in here,
Copy !req
1457. you hear? I want an answer.
Copy !req
1458. Objection.
Copy !req
1459. Watch it, counselor.
Copy !req
1460. I'm trying very hard, Judge.
Copy !req
1461. Try harder, counselor.
Copy !req
1462. It seems basic
to our constitutional principles
Copy !req
1463. that the extent of the right to assemble,
Copy !req
1464. and demonstrate and march
Copy !req
1465. along the highway in a peaceful manner
Copy !req
1466. ought to be commensurate
Copy !req
1467. with the enormity of the wrongs
Copy !req
1468. that are being protested
and petitioned against.
Copy !req
1469. In this case, the wrongs are enormous.
Copy !req
1470. Therefore,
Copy !req
1471. the extent of the right to demonstrate
Copy !req
1472. in an estimated five-day march
from Selma to Montgomery
Copy !req
1473. has been approved accordingly.
Copy !req
1474. Yes!
Thank God!
Copy !req
1475. There's no further
business with this court.
Copy !req
1476. These proceedings are concluded,
with our thanks to the litigants.
Copy !req
1477. Good day, gentlemen.
Copy !req
1478. Yeah, that's right.
Copy !req
1479. Well, now, we don't like
to have no mistakes, if you...
Copy !req
1480. If you're sure about it.
Copy !req
1481. Bayard says that Harry says
he can get Nina Simone,
Copy !req
1482. Dick Gregory, Joan Baez,
Peter, Paul and Mary in.
Copy !req
1483. Come on now.
We don't got money for that.
Copy !req
1484. Well, Harry is chartering a plane himself.
Copy !req
1485. Day-O, day-O
Copy !req
1486. Daylight come
and me wan' go home
Copy !req
1487. President's angling for your blocking
of the march to be overturned.
Copy !req
1488. Unfortunately, all my maneuvers
have been put on hold
Copy !req
1489. while the matter's being adjudicated.
Copy !req
1490. Governor,
you wanted to talk.
Copy !req
1491. Well, Mr. President...
Copy !req
1492. Malcontents are disrupting Alabama,
Copy !req
1493. and it's your responsibility to stop them.
Copy !req
1494. They're protesting about the right to vote
Copy !req
1495. and the way they're treated in your state.
Copy !req
1496. So that's your problem,
your responsibility,
Copy !req
1497. and it's on your watch.
Copy !req
1498. Mr. President, I disagree.
Copy !req
1499. We have a certain way things are done.
It's the way it is.
Copy !req
1500. And it's the way
the people want it to stay.
Copy !req
1501. George, why are you doing this?
Copy !req
1502. Your whole career
has been working for the poor.
Copy !req
1503. Why are you off on this black thing?
Copy !req
1504. Well, 'cause you can't ever satisfy them.
Copy !req
1505. First, it's the front seat of the bus.
Copy !req
1506. Next, it's take over the parks,
Copy !req
1507. then it's the public schools,
Copy !req
1508. then it's voting, then it's jobs,
Copy !req
1509. then it's distribution
of wealth without work.
Copy !req
1510. George, you seen
all those demonstrators
Copy !req
1511. out front of the White House
Copy !req
1512. keeping my Lady Bird awake
the whole damn night?
Copy !req
1513. Oh, yes, Mr. President. I saw them.
Copy !req
1514. Well, let's go out there, you and I,
Copy !req
1515. and announce that you've decided
to let the blacks vote undeterred,
Copy !req
1516. and this whole mess will go away.
Copy !req
1517. And I don't have to draft bills
or force the issue.
Copy !req
1518. Now, why don't we do that, George?
Copy !req
1519. Why don't you just let the niggers vote?
Copy !req
1520. You agree they got the right to vote,
don't you?
Copy !req
1521. Oh, there's no quarrel with that.
Copy !req
1522. I know that. That's the law.
Copy !req
1523. Then why don't you just let 'em vote?
Copy !req
1524. I don't have that power.
Copy !req
1525. It belongs to the county registrars.
Copy !req
1526. Now, don't shit me
about who runs Alabama.
Copy !req
1527. I don't have any legal power
over the county registrars, Mr. President.
Copy !req
1528. They have their regulations
and they adhere.
Copy !req
1529. Are you trying to shit me,
George Wallace?
Copy !req
1530. Are you trying
to fuck over your President?
Copy !req
1531. Mr. President...
Copy !req
1532. We shouldn't even
be thinking about 1965.
Copy !req
1533. We should be thinking about 1985.
Copy !req
1534. You and I'll be both dead
and gone by then.
Copy !req
1535. In 1985, what do you want looking back?
Copy !req
1536. You want people
remembering you sayin',
Copy !req
1537. "Wait," or "I can't,"
or, uh, "It's too hard"?
Copy !req
1538. I don't right care what they think,
Copy !req
1539. and you shouldn't neither.
Copy !req
1540. Well...
Copy !req
1541. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let history
Copy !req
1542. put me in the same place
as the likes of you.
Copy !req
1543. I speak tonight for the dignity of man
Copy !req
1544. and the destiny of democracy.
Copy !req
1545. At times, history and fate
Copy !req
1546. meet at a single time in a single place.
Copy !req
1547. So it was last week in Selma, Alabama.
Copy !req
1548. There, long suffering men and women
Copy !req
1549. peacefully protested the denial
of their rights as Americans.
Copy !req
1550. Rarely in any time
Copy !req
1551. does an issue lay bare the secret heart
Copy !req
1552. of America itself.
Copy !req
1553. The issue for equal rights
for the American Negro
Copy !req
1554. is that issue.
Copy !req
1555. For this issue,
Copy !req
1556. many of them were brutally assaulted.
Copy !req
1557. There is no Negro problem.
There is no Southern problem.
Copy !req
1558. There is only an American problem.
Copy !req
1559. The Constitution says that
no person shall be kept from voting
Copy !req
1560. because of his race or color.
Copy !req
1561. To correct the denial
of this fundamental right,
Copy !req
1562. this Wednesday,
I will send to Congress a law
Copy !req
1563. designed to eliminate
these illegal barriers.
Copy !req
1564. The bill will strike down
voting restrictions in all elections,
Copy !req
1565. federal, state and local.
Copy !req
1566. And we shall do this.
Copy !req
1567. We shall overcome.
Copy !req
1568. We believe we can cover you
through Lowndes County,
Copy !req
1569. but once we add the final day's march
through Montgomery,
Copy !req
1570. and you're passing through
all those tall buildings and whatnot,
Copy !req
1571. coverage becomes challenging.
Copy !req
1572. So please consider
Copy !req
1573. driving in on the final leg.
Copy !req
1574. And please consider nixing
the speech at the Capitol.
Copy !req
1575. Well, if Wallace
will see us when we arrive,
Copy !req
1576. there'll be no need for a speech.
Copy !req
1577. - Can you arrange that?
Copy !req
1578. I can't hide.
Copy !req
1579. We can't hide. You understand.
Copy !req
1580. I don't want to see this go wrong for you.
Copy !req
1581. Don't you want
to protect yourself, Doctor?
Copy !req
1582. Let me try to do that.
Copy !req
1583. You know, I know you want to live to see
the fruits of all this work. I know you do.
Copy !req
1584. I'm just asking you
to allow us to help you do that.
Copy !req
1585. I'm no different than anybody else.
Copy !req
1586. I want to live long and be happy.
Copy !req
1587. But I'll not be focusing
on what I want today.
Copy !req
1588. I'm focused on what God wants.
Copy !req
1589. We're here for a reason,
through many, many storms.
Copy !req
1590. But, today, the sun is shining,
Copy !req
1591. and I'm about to stand in its warmth
Copy !req
1592. alongside a lot of freedom-loving people
who worked hard to get us here.
Copy !req
1593. I may not be with them
for all the sunny days to come,
Copy !req
1594. but as long as there
is light ahead for them,
Copy !req
1595. it's worth it to me.
Copy !req
1596. Thank you, John.
Copy !req
1597. We heard them say
we'd never make it here.
Copy !req
1598. We heard them say they'd stop us,
if it was the last thing they did.
Copy !req
1599. We heard them say
we don't deserve to be here.
Copy !req
1600. But today, we stand as Americans.
Copy !req
1601. We are here,
Copy !req
1602. and we ain't gonna let nobody
turn us around.
Copy !req
1603. This mighty march,
Copy !req
1604. which will be counted
as one of the greatest
Copy !req
1605. demonstrations of protest and progress,
Copy !req
1606. ends here in the Capitol of Alabama
Copy !req
1607. for a vital purpose.
Copy !req
1608. We have not fought only
for the right to sit where we please
Copy !req
1609. and go to school where we please.
Copy !req
1610. We do not only strive here today
to vote as we please.
Copy !req
1611. But with our commitment,
Copy !req
1612. we give birth each day to a new energy
Copy !req
1613. that is stronger than
our strongest opposition.
Copy !req
1614. And we embrace
this new energy so boldly,
Copy !req
1615. embody it so fervently,
Copy !req
1616. that its reflection illuminates
a great darkness.
Copy !req
1617. Our society has distorted who we are.
Copy !req
1618. From slavery to the Reconstruction
Copy !req
1619. to the precipice at which we now stand,
Copy !req
1620. we have seen powerful
white men rule the world
Copy !req
1621. while offering poor white men
a vicious lie as placation.
Copy !req
1622. And when the poor white man's children
Copy !req
1623. wail with a hunger
that cannot be satisfied,
Copy !req
1624. he feeds them that same vicious lie.
Copy !req
1625. A lie whispering to them
Copy !req
1626. that regardless of their lot in life,
Copy !req
1627. they can at least be
triumphant in the knowledge
Copy !req
1628. that their whiteness makes them
superior to blackness.
Copy !req
1629. But we know the truth.
Copy !req
1630. We know the truth, and we will
go forward to that truth, to freedom.
Copy !req
1631. We will not be stopped.
Copy !req
1632. We will march for our rights.
Copy !req
1633. We will march to demand
treatment as full citizens.
Copy !req
1634. We will march until the viciousness
and the darkness
Copy !req
1635. gives way to the light of righteousness.
Copy !req
1636. No man, no myth,
Copy !req
1637. no malaise will stop this movement.
Copy !req
1638. We forbid it. For we know
that it is this darkness
Copy !req
1639. that murders the best in us
and the best of us.
Copy !req
1640. Whether Jimmie Lee Jackson
or James Reeb,
Copy !req
1641. or four blameless little girls
Copy !req
1642. struck down
before they had even begun.
Copy !req
1643. You may ask, when will we
be free of this darkness?
Copy !req
1644. I say to you today,
my brothers and sisters,
Copy !req
1645. despite the pain, despite the tears,
Copy !req
1646. our freedom will soon be upon us.
Copy !req
1647. For "truth crushed to earth
will rise again."
Copy !req
1648. When will we be free?
Copy !req
1649. Soon, and very soon.
Copy !req
1650. Because you shall reap what you sow.
Copy !req
1651. When will we be free?
Copy !req
1652. Soon, and very soon.
Copy !req
1653. Because no lie can live forever.
Copy !req
1654. When will we be free?
Copy !req
1655. Soon, and very soon
Copy !req
1656. because "Mine eyes have seen
the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Copy !req
1657. "He is trampling out the vintage
where the grapes of wrath are stored.
Copy !req
1658. "He hath loosed the fateful lightning
of his terrible swift sword.
Copy !req
1659. "His truth is marching on.
Copy !req
1660. "Glory! Hallelujah!
Copy !req
1661. "His truth is marching on."
Copy !req