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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
H. Rap Brown September 15-18, 1967, Post Office- Trial
Date Created
1967-09-15/1967-09-16
Reel Format
Super 8mm
Reel Description
This reel contains footage protesters in front of the Richmond City Jail on September 15, 1967, as well as footage outside of the Richmond City Courthouse (known as the United States Post Office and Customhouse) from Jamil Al-Amin's (H. Rap Brown) habeas corpus hearing on September 16, 1967. Individuals protested the jailing of Al-Amin as he fought extradition to Maryland. The individuals entering and exiting the courthouse appears to be a group of majority Black participants. Towards the end of the footage, there is blurry footage of spectators across the street from the courthouse, the majority of whom appear to be white.
Timestamp Description
00:00:09 Footage begins. Two individuals with signs walk on the sidewalk of the Richmond City Jail. Their signs read: "Guerilla Warfare for Rap" and "Black People for Rap".
00:00:22 Two individuals (also seen in reel #1 of this event) walk down the E Main Street sidewalk in downtown Richmond, outside of the United States Post Office and Customhouse located on Main Street and 10th Street. They both hold signs which are illegible.
00:00:30 Footage of the same individuals walking down the street, now likely filmed from the steps of the courthouse building. More individuals have joined them. They hold signs which read: "Whitey Beware!", "Black and Beautiful", "Do You Know Your Color", "We Are Not Non-Violent", "H. Rap Brown's Only Crime Is Being Black". Their protest is filmed from different angles.
00:00:53 Various footage of individuals entering the courthouse, zoomed in to individual faces.
00:01:00 Footage of a group of individuals crossing the street, likely towards the courthouse. Some cover their faces with their hands as they pass the camera. Footage cuts to them entering the courthouse.
00:01:21 Footage of individuals leaving the courthouse, and then footage of some of the same individuals standing on the steps of the courthouse. Footage is blurry.
00:02:02 Footage of individuals standing across the street from the courthouse. Footage is very blurry, individual faces cannot be made out.
00:02:04 Footage zoomed in on a car rear license plate.
00:02:08 Footage of an individual walking down the street and then getting in the passenger seat of a car parked on the street. Two uniformed officers are visible in the background. Footage then cuts to the rear license plate of a car, possibly the same one, driving away.
00:02:14 Footage of approximately eight individuals standing on the steps of the courthouse, with a uniformed police officer standing on the sidewalk.
00:02:19 Footage of individuals standing across the street from the courthouse. Footage is very blurry, individual faces cannot be made out. Cars can be seen driving by between the individual filming and the crowds.
00:03:05 Footage of several individuals sitting on the lamppost that sits above the sidewalk. Footage is very blurry, individual faces cannot be made out.
00:03:07 Footage of individuals on the street in front of the courthouse, a uniformed officer is visible. The camera pans left, then zooms in on the individuals across the street. Footage becomes blurry.
00:03:26 Footage ends.
Event Description
This series of reels centers around various court hearings in Richmond, Virginia related to Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) chair Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown) from 1967 to 1969. Read more about Al-Amin via the SNCC Digital Gateway. During his incarceration from 1971-1976, Al-Amin converted to Islam and changed his name from H. Rap Brown to Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. For the narrative below, and materials related to these events, the name Jamil Al-Amin will be used.
According to a August 22, 1967 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Al-Amin did not need to appear in person for an extradition hearing in Virginia, where officials had charged him on July 26th of "unlawful flight from Maryland." Maryland sought him on charges of "incitement to riot and arson" in Cambridge, Maryland. More information on the Cambridge incident is available via Wikipedi here and here. Virginia Assistant Attorney Reno S. Harp III told the paper that the hearing was requested by Al-Amin's attorneys. The following day, the RTD (August 23, 1967) reported that the hearing had been delayed by request of Al-Amin's attorneys due to another legal situation in New York. The hearing was postponed to September 5 (per the RTD, September 5, 1967), and Al-Amin would not be in attendance. His attorneys William M. Kunstler, Philip J. Hirschkop, and Charles Mangum represented him at the hearing. Al-Amin remained in New York. Kunstler argued that Al-Amin's arrest in July in Alexandria was unlawful, and his federal fugitive warrant was "a direct derivative...of the Fugitive Slave Act." (RTD, September 6, 1967.) His lawyers also argued he would not receive a fair trial in Maryland, where he was shot by a police officer after giving a speech on the evening of July 24th. On September 7, Virginia Governor Mills E. Godwin Jr. signed the extradition order (RTD, September 8, 1967). It was believed his attorneys would file habeas corpus proceedings to block the extradition. On September 13, Al-Amin was transferred from Alexandria city jail to Richmond City jail as Judge Franklin P. Backus on the habeas corpus petition believed he could not set a bond for Al-Amin. However, Judge Backus was not made aware of the transfer (RTD, September 14, 1967). On September 15, Al-Amin was transferred from Richmond to a state prison farm in Powhatan County, and Richmond Mayor Morrill M. Crowe stated the city requested the transfer "based upon the desire of the City of Richmond to maintain tranquility within our community by avoiding all circumstances potentially disruptive to that tranquility." Three individuals protested in front of the jail on September 15. (RTD, September 16, 1967). An emergency habeas corpus hearing was held on September 16 (RTD, September 17, 1967). On September 18, Al-Amin was released on a $10,000 bond and ordered to not leave New York other than for court appearances. A full habeas corpus hearing was scheduled for October 3 (RTD, September 19, 1967). On October 3, the Corporation Court judge Backus turned down the motion for a writ of habeas corpus, but the decision was appealed to the Virginai Supreme Court (RTD, October 4, 1967). In February 1968, Al-Amin was ordered to appear in Richmond on charges of breaking the bond, allegedly having given two speeches in California, per the testimony of three FBI agents. (RTD, February 20, 1968). Al-Amin arrived at Hanover County jail on February 22 (RTD, February 23, 1968). At the February 23 hearing, Al-Amin's bond was revoked and he was ordered to return to New Orleans to face federal charges (RTD, February 24, 1968). His lawyer William M. Kunstler stated that he believed Al-Amin was allowed to travel to meet with him in California, and that his speeches were coincidental (Film Reel #8). On March 1, 1968, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the previous granting of extradition of Al-Amin to Maryland (RTD, March 2, 1968). Just days after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Al-Amin had another hearing in Richmond on April 8, 1968 (RTD, April 8, 1968). Judge Robert R. Merhige denied bond at this hearing (RTD, April 9, 1968). The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the bond request on April 11 (RTD, April 12, 1968). On March 10, 1970, the Bel Air, Maryland courthouse where Al-Amin was to be tried on the incitement charges was bombed. The previous day, two SNCC officials (Ralph Featherstone and William “Che” Payne) died in a car bombing--some activists believed it was an assassination attempt on Al-Amin, police claimed a bomb was being transported to the court house and went off accidentally (RTD, March 11, 1970). After the bombings, Al-Amin disappeared for 18 months, ending up on the FBI's Most Wanted List. After being arrested in 1971, the charges in Maryland were dropped on November 6, 1973 due to lack of evidence. (RTD, November 7, 1973).
Runtime
00:03:49
Personal Name Subject
Al-Amin, Jamil, 1943-; Kunstler, William M. (William Moses), 1919-1995; Merhige, Robert R.; Hirschkop, Philip J.; Godwin, Mills E. (Mills Edwin), 1914-1999;
Corporate Name Subject
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.); United States. Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
Topical Subject
Al-Amin, Jamil, 1943---Trials, litigation, etc.; Students--Political activity; Extradition; Trials; Civil rights movements; Civil rights movements--United States; Civil rights demonstrations; Civil rights workers; Student protesters; African American student movements; Student movements; Demonstrations; Black power; Black power--United States; Black militant organizations; Courts; Courthouses; 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
Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown) Trial in Richmond Film Reel #02, 1967 September 15-16
File Name
VCU_M571_050.mp4
Disciplines
African American Studies | Cultural History | Film and Media Studies | Other Film and Media Studies | Political History | Public History | Social History | United States History | Women's History