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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
Anti-school consolidation motorcade to Washington, 24 Feb. 72, Fair Grounds written on film
Date Created
1972-02-17
Reel Format
16mm
Reel Description
This reel contains a footage of cars in the February 17, 1972 motorcade from Richmond to Washington D.C. opposing the consolidation of schools for integration. The cars are primarily filmed leaving the State Fairgrounds on Laburnum Avenue. Car license plates are filmed, as well as a uniformed officer and other individuals directing traffic and speaking with one another outside of cars.
Timestamp Description
00:00:18 Footage begins. Footage filmed from the side of the road of cars turning right onto the road parallel to the one being filmed from. A uniformed officer in a yellow raincoat directs traffic. One car sits parked with its lights on to the left of the officer. Many cars have "Little Red Schoolhouse" signs taped to their doors. There is snow on the ground and it is actively snowing.
00:00:31 Footage to the right of the intersection in the previous clip, three individuals stand under one umbrella holding a sign which reads "We Will Not Bus Our Grandchildren". They hold up two finger peace signs to the cars driving by. A red car with illegible white writing on its exterior is parked behind them.
00:00:35 Footage of the uniformed officer directing cars to turn right at the intersection.
00:00:46 Zoomed in footage of the rear license plate of the car parked at the intersection. Multiple clips follow, filming all the rear license plates of the cars driving by as they turn.
00:01:20 Footage of a line of cars filmed from the front, filmed from a car with its windshield wipers on.
00:01:25 Footage of the uniformed officer directing car to turn right at the intersection.
00:01:27 Footage of a car stopped at the intersection, an individual gets out of the car.
00:01:33 Footage of the uniformed officer and three other individuals in coats next to a stopped car, they speak with the driver. Two individuals outside the car wear red armbands with a red cross on their left arms. The camera follows them as they walk towards the right of frame, showing more cars stopped on the street.
00:01:45 Footage of cars turning right resumes. The camera pans right to also show the three individuals standing on the side of the road.
00:02:24 Footage filmed from a car of a line of cars leaving a gated area with trees in the background. An individual directs traffic.
00:02:27 Footage of cars near the intersection, waiting to turn. One car has a sign which reads "If Nixon Can't Stop Busing Wallace Will!" In the next clip, the driver of this car rolls down their window and waves at the camera.
00:02:51 Footage ends.
Event Description
After years of arguments around school desegregation busing in Richmond, in January 1971 U.S. District Court Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr. ordered the merger of school systems in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield in order to facilitate school integration (Encyclopedia Virginia). On February 17, a motorcade of a reported 3,261 cars made the 108 mile trip from Richmond to Washington, D.C. to "fight against consolidation of Richmond metropolitan areas schools by a federal court". Participants in the motorcade gathered at the State Fairgrounds on Laburnum Avenue. Henrico police directed the cars in Richmond. In Washington, D.C., local police directed them there. Some organizers worried that the American Nazi party would join the motorcade, but according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, their bus was blocked by other motorists in D.C. Richmond Councilperson Howard H. Carwile was part of the motorcade, despite being asked by one of the organizing groups--the U.S. Citizens for Neighborhood Schools of Chesterfield--to not participate (Richmond Times-Dispatch, February 18, 1972). The Independent Garage Owners of Virginia and the Virginia Gasoline Retailers Association supplied thirty-five tow trucks to support the motorcade. The Henrico County Council of P-TAs distributed the only signs allowed to be displayed, referred to as "Little Red Schoolhouse" signs. Other organizations that joined the motorcade included the Henrico County Civic Association, Richmond Area Coordinate Committees, Chesterfield County P-TAs, U.S. Citizens for Neighborhood Schools, Richmond Concerned Citizens, Save Our Neighborhood Schools of Richmond and Norfolk, and Henrico Education Association (Richmond Times-Dispatch, February 17, 1972).
Runtime
00:04:23
Note
Although the reel is labeled February 24, 1972, the motorcade from Richmond to Washington, D.C. took place on February 17, 1972.
Personal Name Subject
Merhige, Robert R.
Corporate Name Subject
Richmond Public Schools (Va.)
Topical Subject
Busing for school integration; School integration; Segregation in education; Signs and signboards; Demonstrations; Crowds; Motorcades; White supremacy movements; White nationalism; Police; Police patrol--Surveillance operations; Electronic surveillance; Video surveillance
City/Location
Richmond (Va.)
Genre
color films (visual works)
Local Genre
moving image
Type
Moving Image
Digital Format
video/mp4
Language
eng
Rights Statement URL
Rights
This material is in the public domain in the United States and thus is free of any copyright restriction. Acknowledgement of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is requested.
Collection
Richmond Police Department Surveillance Collection
Source
Motorcade Against School Consolidation from Richmond to Washington, D.C. Film Reel #01, 1972 February 17
File Name
VCU_M571_122.mp4