Americans gather to participate in the Civil Rights march in Washington DC known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They gather at the Washington Monument grounds. Crowd at demonstration cheers. Actor and activist Ossie Davis speaks on the podium. He tells them it is time to begin the march to the Lincoln Memorial and they start the march. They hold boards and placards in hands. Trees and flags in the background. People sing "We shall not be moved" and then sing and chant "Freedom" song. A woman holds her "Freedom" sign in the air and chants "(freedom) now, (freedom) now, now." Some walk beside the Reflecting Pool. Others walk up Constitution Avenue. Sign for the Brooklyn College NAACP chapter is seen and their marchers go by. Brief view of prominent Civil Rights leaders marching together, including A. Philip Randolph and Roy Wilkins. A child sits on the shoulders of a man and applauds. A loudspeaker on a wooden scaffold structure at the Lincoln Memorial (2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20002, United States). African American and white marchers arriving at the Lincoln Memorial and assembling for the speeches there. View toward the Lincoln Memorial from the crowd, and from the Lincoln Memorial looking out at the assembling crowd.
Americans gather in a large number for the Civil Rights march, Washington DC, known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They gather at the Lincoln Memorial (2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20002, United States). Crowd cheers and sings. They hold boards and placards in their hands. View of the crowd from many angles. Some gathered at the Reflecting Pool. Singer Marian Anderson is introduced. She addresses the gathering and sings "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."
Americans gathered in large numbers for the Civil Rights march in Washington DC, known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. African American and white citizens are seen gathered at the Lincoln Memorial (2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20002, United States) following the speech by Martin Luther King Jr. People hold flags in their hands. They hold their hands together and sing "We Shall Overcome". Organizers begin taking down chairs as the crowd is departing the Lincoln Memorial grounds. A young woman takes photographs of the people. They hold boards and placards in hands. People sit along the sides of the Reflecting Pool near the memorial. They talk amongst themselves and soak their feet in the water. A man in a Queens College sweatshirt walks and talks with a friend. At another location, A. Philip Randolph addresses reporters and speaks about the success of the march. Roy Wilkins and Walter Reuther stand beside him, and John Lewis is behind him. Night view of the city. People returning home from the March. People asleep in buses at night. Audio in background of clip at end with people singing and chanting "Freedom!"
Shows a Greyhound bus traveling to Little Rock Arkansas, moving on streets in the city. Exterior view of the bus in motion as seen from another vehicle. German Press crew inside the bus, along with passengers. Point of view shots from inside the moving bus of Little Rock Arkansas area as seen through the bus window. Scenes of a gas station, used cars shop, government building. A German reporter exits from the bus in front of Central High School and mentions having been there 6 years ago during civil rights confrontations surrounding the "Little Rock Nine" in 1957, when National Guard troops were dispatched to maintain order.
Shows several newspaper headlines relating to racial segregation and desegregation in Little Rock Central High school in Little Rock, Arkansas and the civil rights movement. Elizabeth Eckford, a member of the Little Rock Nine (African American students) speaks about the changes in Little Rock Central High school since 1957. High school girls,including an African American girl, shooting in a firing range. African American students are among those seen in Central High School lunch room. Students, including an African American, play basketball.
Standing in the gymnasium of Little Rock Central High school in Arkansas, a school official talks about operating under a "Pupil Assignment Law" under which school officials assign students so that there are some black among mostly white students and some white among mostly black students in Arkansas schools (during period of civil rights focus and the "Little Rock Nine" in the United States). Integrated students, including whites and some African Americans, play basketball in background.