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3690: A Journal of First-Year Student Research Writing Volume 2012 Article 4 2012 The Civil Rights Movement: The Power of Television Amanda Philley [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/journal3690 Part of the Television Commons How has open access to Fisher Digital Publications benefited ou?y Recommended Citation Philley, Amanda (2012) "The Civil Rights Movement: The Power of Television," 3690: A Journal of First- Year Student Research Writing: Vol. 2012 , Article 4. Available at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/journal3690/vol2012/iss1/4 This document is posted at https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/journal3690/vol2012/iss1/4 and is brought to you for free and open access by Fisher Digital Publications at St. John Fisher College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Civil Rights Movement: The Power of Television Abstract Overview: “I am not a nigger” (Thomas). These five words seared through American television screens in May of 1963. James Baldwin, a preacher and novelist, declared his freedom from the chains of discrimination in an interview with Kenneth Clark and forever changed the conscience of black and white television owners. When asked if he was optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the nation, Baldwin made one thing clear: the fate of America lies within the ability to answer the question, why was the ‘nigger’ created? Born in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin grew up following in his father’s footsteps as a preacher, then went on to work on a railroad in New Jersey and eventually became a freelance writer and moved to Europe. Despite spending the majority of his adult life in Paris, Baldwin demonstrated the power of media by never ceasing to tell the story of his life as black man living in America, the influence of brotherhood, and the power of voice (Reference.com). Moments similar to Baldwin’s interview validate the reign of television and the impact of media on the Civil Rights Movement. During the interview, all the personal challenges that James Baldwin faced become apparent in his mannerisms, his gestures, and in every one of those five words. Baldwin’s unique and articulate comments, combined with access to the majority of American citizens via television media, left an impression that would span across states and decades. Commonly heard legal and moral arguments on injustices such as segregation and discrimination paled in comparison to Baldwin’s interview. It must be noted that the impact media had on the Civil Rights Movement was not unintentional by organizational leaders. For that reason, this paper will examine the use of television as a means to build momentum towards change, the implications of peaceful demonstrations on public consciences, the Church and its role in sustaining the movement via media, and the ability of unbiased television to shatter stereotypes. Despite the prominence of racially biased television and media during the Civil Rights Movement, coverage of demonstrations and interviews of protestors sparked national interest and quickened the pace towards racial equality. By employing understanding I have gained from documentaries, footage of demonstrations, online encyclopedias, journal articles, essays, and personal perspectives given by journalists who themselves covered the Civil Rights Movement, I intend to inform my reader about the implications of media coverage during the Civil Rights Movement. Keywords Writing This article is available in 3690: A Journal of First-Year Student Research Writing: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/ journal3690/vol2012/iss1/4 Amanda Philley The Civil Rights Movement: The Power of Television “I am not a nigger” (Thomas). These five words seared through American television screens in May of 1963. James Baldwin, a preacher and novelist, declared his freedom from the chains of discrimination in an interview with Kenneth Clark and forever changed the conscience of black and white television owners. When asked if he was optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the nation, Baldwin made one thing clear: the fate of America lies within the ability to answer the question, why was the ‘nigger’ created? Born in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin grew up following in his father’s footsteps as a preacher, then went on to work on a railroad in New Jersey and eventually became a freelance writer and moved to Europe. Despite spending the majority of his adult life in Paris, Baldwin demonstrated the power of media by never ceasing to tell the story of his life as black man living in America, the influence of brotherhood, and the power of voice (Reference.com). Moments similar to Baldwin’s interview validate the reign of television and the impact of media on the Civil Rights Movement. During the interview, all the personal challenges that James Baldwin faced become apparent in his mannerisms, his gestures, and in every one of those five words. Baldwin’s unique and articulate comments, combined with access to the majority of American citizens via television media, left an impression that would span across states and decades. Commonly heard legal and moral arguments on injustices such as segregation and discrimination paled in comparison to Baldwin’s interview. It must be noted that the impact media had on the Civil Rights Movement was not unintentional by organizational leaders. For that reason, this paper will examine the use of television as a means to build momentum towards change, the implications of peaceful demonstrations on public consciences, the Church and its role in sustaining the movement via media, and the ability of unbiased television to shatter stereotypes. Despite the prominence of racially biased television and media during the Civil Rights Movement, coverage of demonstrations and interviews of protestors sparked national interest and quickened the pace towards racial equality. By employing understanding I have gained from documentaries, footage of demonstrations, online encyclopedias, journal articles, essays, and personal perspectives given by journalists who themselves covered the Civil Rights Movement, I intend to inform my reader about the implications of media coverage during the Civil Rights Movement. Television Creates Movement So what exactly will we consider ‘media’ as it relates to the topic of study? For this discussion, I would like to focus on television and, more specifically, news and talk shows or interviews. These facets of television covered the Civil Rights Movement from a press and political perspective while including both segregationists along with desegregationist’s arguments. Also, news stations covered the majority of demonstrations led by civil rights organizations and broadcast interviews featuring African Americans, Caucasians, and city government officials. The first working television set was introduced to the United States in 1928 by Philo Farnsworth and was employed mainly for commercial purposes (Stephens). What is considered the ‘television revolution’ did not occur until the 1950s and 60s around the same time the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum and then peaked in 1964 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. During this period of time, politicians noticed the power television had over the public and thus used the medium to their advantage. Doherty argues that, for example, Richard M. Nixon’s “Checkers” speech, given on September 23, 1952, was broadcasted in an attempt to set the record straight on several controversial accusations against Nixon. On the other hand, televised airings of the Army-McCarthy hearings, broadcasted live on ABC, ultimately led to McCarthy’s loss of popularity and censure from the Senate in December of 1954. Both of these dramatic political broadcasts reflected the power of the media in directing public opinion. Broadcasting of the “Checkers” speech and the Army-McCarthy hearings both served as television milestones not only because of the significance of the events but also because of television’s role in the meaning and unfolding of the events. Beginning in the 1950s, television stations began broadcasting political conventions, inaugurations and hearings with millions of Americans tuning in. The immediacy and intimacy of at home viewing allowed the viewer to feel as though they were live with political leaders and created demand for vivid visual stimulation. Soon enough, producers and organizations were looking for “good television” and found it hard to ignore the ground breaking demand for and the appeal of the civil rights struggle (Thomas). Debates heated up across the United States over the issue of desegregation and integration in Southern schools. According to the digital history expert William Thomas, after the 1957 Bill of Civil Rights passed, congressmen put more pressure on television stations to ensure that the Southern point of view was heard. Shows such as The Citizen’s Council Forum stimulated the growth of Citizen’s Councils, which campaigned to maintain segregation and lend support to biased television shows all over the South. Thomas argues that in the nineteenth century, the United States Southern white conservatives claimed that national television news programming “instigated African American protests and poisoned race relations in the South.” Anyone familiar with national television news programming should agree that it is hard to ignore the facts especially in the case of segregation and discrimination. For example, in an interview with three white students at White Lane High School in Virginia, covered
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