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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
Memorial held for Martin Luther King at State Capitol. 4-7-68
Date Created
1968-04-07
Reel Format
Super 8mm
Reel Description
This reel contains footage of a gathering at the Virginia State Capitol on April 7, 1968, in mourning of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4. The majority of individuals wear dress clothes/church clothes. This appears to be a group of racially diverse participants.
Timestamp Description
00:00:09 Footage begins.
00:00:13 Footage filmed from the ground beneath the portico at the Virginia State Capitol of a crowd gathered at the bottom of the portico steps. The footage is blurry. The camera pans left to right.
00:00:34 Multiple shots panning the crowd, individuals appear to be waiting.
00:00:42 Footage of two individuals standing under the portico, speaking with one another, filmed from the ground below. One holds a yellow legal pad. Several other individuals are seen standing in a huddle behind them.
00:00:46 Footage of the crowd gathering on the capitol grounds, filmed from above, panning right to left. Footage is blurry.
00:01:09 Footage of the crowd filled from above, a column of the portico is visible on the left side of the frame. Uniformed officers are visible at the front of the crowd. The camera pans left to right.
00:01:21 Multiple clips of footage zooming in and panning across the crowd, filmed from the portico. Footage is blurry. Several individuals wearing clerical collars or nun habits are visible in the crowd.
00:03:03 Footage of two individuals standing on the sidewalk across from the capitol. The camera pans right and several dozen individuals are visible standing on the sidewalk.
00:03:30 Footage ends.
Event Description
On April 7, 1968, over 3,000 people gathered at the Virginia State Capitol south portico to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. following his assassination three days earlier on April 4th. The service began at 4PM, when the Sing Out South chorus sang "Freedom Isn't Free". Virginia State Conference Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) W. Lester Banks and opened the proceedings of prayers and eulogies. Richmond Mayor Morrill M. Crowe also addressed the crowd. Reverend E.E. Smith spoke as a stand-in for Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) president Reverend Curtis W. Harris. Another chorus present were the students from the St. Francis De Sales High School in Powhatan County. Several individuals carried palm fronds, with more distributed by a minister during the event. Other named speakers included Bishop John J. Russell of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Bishop Robert B. Hall of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, Dr. Theodore F. Adams of the First Baptist Church, Reverend E. William Judge of Third Street Bethel AME Church, Rabbi Saul Rubin of Beth Ahabah Temple, and Reverend James Carpenter of All Souls Presbyterian Church. State and capitol police patrolled the capitol grounds, as well as observing from the roof of the Hotel Richmond on 9th Street and Grace Street (Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 8, 1968).
Runtime
00:03:37
Personal Name Subject
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
Corporate Name Subject
Southern Christian Leadership Conference; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Topical Subject
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Assasination; Demonstrations; Crowds, Civil rights movements; Civil rights movements--United States; Civil rights demonstrations; Civil rights workers; Memorials; Nuns; Clergy; 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
Memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Virginia State Capitol Film Reel #01, 1968 April 7
File Name
VCU_M571_052.mp4