SIT IN, PART 1

Series: white-paper

Year Published: 1960

Creator: national-broadcasting-corp-mcgraw-hill-films

Format: 16mm

Description: White Paper was an hour long news documentary program produced by NBC and offered for classroom use by McGraw-Hill Films. This episode, ”Sit-In,” broadcast December 20, 1960, is hosted by Chet Huntley and chronicles the events that occurred in Nashville, Tennessee, in the early half of 1960, marking the beginning of sit-ins across the South. Part One begins with African Americans entering a diner in Nashville, Tennessee and being told they could not be served. The film then shows students sitting in at counters in Woolworth's, Kress, and other establishments that discriminate on the basis of skin color. 00:46 A crowd of African Americans gathers in the street protesting the injustice. They picket with signs, hand out fliers. Some are arrested. 02:02 Host Chet Huntley gives background on desegregation and the current race crisis. 03:00 Footage of April 19, 1960 protest of at least 3,000 “Negroes” march on Nashville’s City Hall. 03:19 Nashville Mayor Ben West comments on the atmosphere of the city during his tenure. 04:59 Rev. Kelly Miller Smith Jr. talks about Nashville’s relationship to ancient Athens and points out why something needs to be done about segregation. 06:54 Students at Fisk University students gather at a meeting. They sing "We Shall Overcome.” 07:58 A young woman comments on workshops students created to prepare themselves for the way they would be treated at sit-ins. Includes role play scenes of the mistreatment they would be subjected too. 08:50 February 13, 1960, students sit at counters in Woolworth's, Kress, and other establishments that discriminate. Footage of the sit-in as various participants explain the etiquette of behavior at a sit-in and their feelings about the system including (at 09:48) John Lewis. 10:36 Footage of the sit-in, marching, police escorting, citizens watching. 11:02 At a lake, one student reads a disturbing letter from his mother. 12:39 A woman explains why store owners are justified in their discrimination. 13:17 White business owners voice their opinions about the sit-ins and the tradition of breaking bread. 14:39 A young white woman explains why she sides with the discriminated. 15:10 Young men explain why they and other whites will not change their ways. Footage of white opposition demonstrations is shown including mock lynchings. 16:02 Sympathizer Wilson Yates explains how he was attacked while marching while the man attacked the divinity student explains his point of view from a jail cell. 18:36 A woman and man describe the violence of February 27, 1960 at McClellan’s drugstore. Violent footage of the sit-in in which protestors are attacked, beaten and arrested. A police officer and an arrested protestor describe their respective experience of the day. 21:38 Footage of the protestors in jail. The mother of two of the jailed students tells of receiving a phone call from her son in prison. 23:12 The students comment on their experiences in jail, sing "Day-O," and reminisce with lighthearted stories. 26:32 END

Complete Record: White Paper was an hour long news documentary program produced by NBC and offered for classroom use by McGraw-Hill Films. This episode, ”Sit-In,” broadcast December 20, 1960, is hosted by Chet Huntley and chronicles the events that occurred in Nashville, Tennessee, in the early half of 1960, marking the beginning of sit-ins across the South. Part One begins with African Americans entering a diner in Nashville, Tennessee and being told they could not be served. The film then shows students sitting in at counters in Woolworth's, Kress, and other establishments that discriminate on the basis of skin color. 00:46 A crowd of African Americans gathers in the street protesting the injustice. They picket with signs, hand out fliers. Some are arrested. 02:02 Host Chet Huntley gives background on desegregation and the current race crisis. 03:00 Footage of April 19, 1960 protest of at least 3,000 “Negroes” march on Nashville’s City Hall. 03:19 Nashville Mayor Ben West comments on the atmosphere of the city during his tenure. 04:59 Rev. Kelly Miller Smith Jr. talks about Nashville’s relationship to ancient Athens and points out why something needs to be done about segregation. 06:54 Students at Fisk University students gather at a meeting. They sing "We Shall Overcome.” 07:58 A young woman comments on workshops students created to prepare themselves for the way they would be treated at sit-ins. Includes role play scenes of the mistreatment they would be subjected too. 08:50 February 13, 1960, students sit at counters in Woolworth's, Kress, and other establishments that discriminate. Footage of the sit-in as various participants explain the etiquette of behavior at a sit-in and their feelings about the system including (at 09:48) John Lewis. 10:36 Footage of the sit-in, marching, police escorting, citizens watching. 11:02 At a lake, one student reads a disturbing letter from his mother. 12:39 A woman explains why store owners are justified in their discrimination. 13:17 White business owners voice their opinions about the sit-ins and the tradition of breaking bread. 14:39 A young white woman explains why she sides with the discriminated. 15:10 Young men explain why they and other whites will not change their ways. Footage of white opposition demonstrations is shown including mock lynchings. 16:02 Sympathizer Wilson Yates explains how he was attacked while marching while the man attacked the divinity student explains his point of view from a jail cell. 18:36 A woman and man describe the violence of February 27, 1960 at McClellan’s drugstore. Violent footage of the sit-in in which protestors are attacked, beaten and arrested. A police officer and an arrested protestor describe their respective experience of the day. 21:38 Footage of the protestors in jail. The mother of two of the jailed students tells of receiving a phone call from her son in prison. 23:12 The students comment on their experiences in jail, sing "Day-O," and reminisce with lighthearted stories. 26:32 END

Metadata Source:University of Georgia Brown Media Archives