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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
Rap Brown trial, April 1968
Date Created
1968-04-08
Reel Format
16mm
Reel Description
This reel contains footage filmed outside of the Richmond City Courthouse (known as the United States Post Office and Customhouse) from Jamil Al-Amin's (H. Rap Brown) bond hearing on April 8, 1968. Al-Amin had been transferred from New Orleans to Richmond the previous day, and according to papers looked emaciated and limped into the courtroom, as he had just ended a hunger strike. Judge Merhige denied the bond. There was a heavy presence of Richmond police and state troopers both inside and outside the courthouse, likely due to ongoing unrest following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. four days prior. This reel contains footage of individuals outside the courthouse. This appears to be a group of majority Black participants, though the majority of uniformed police officers appear to be white.
Timestamp Description
00:00:09 Footage begins. Footage filmed from the sidewalk, with the courthouse steps and facade on the left. Individuals walk into the courthouse, though their faces are not visible due to shadow.
00:00:28 Footage of individuals walking down the sidewalk, some with photography or film cameras. A uniformed officer with a helmet and baton is standing at the bottom of the courthouse stairs.
00:00:40 Footage recorded from a distance of a group of individuals crossing Main Street away from the courthouse and towards a coffee shop.
00:00:43 Footage of three individuals standing on the corner of Main Street and 10th Street, one holds a microphone while another holds what appears to be a film camera. Other individuals pass them on the sidewalk. Another uniformed officer with a helmet and baton is visible.
00:00:50 Footage of individuals walking down Main Street in front of the courthouse. Uniformed officers with helmets and batons stand at the steps approximately every ten feet, as well as on the street side of the sidewalk.
00:00:59 Footage filmed across Main Street from the courthouse, an individual with a photograph camera turns around.
00:01:02 Footage of several individuals on the corner of Main Street and 10th Street, with the Virginia State Capitol grounds visible behind them.
00:01:04 Footage of various individuals on the corner of Main Street and 10th Street from different angles.
00:01:16 Individuals walking in front of the courthouse, some have cameras.
00:01:20 Footage of various individuals on the corner of Main Street and 10th Street from different angles.
00:01:40 Footage filmed from across Main Street of the courthouse. Individuals walk by, enter, and exit the building. Footage of vehicles driving by.
00:01:52 Footage of two individuals crossing 10th Street towards the courthouse.
00:01:55 Footage of a car stopped at a light on Main Street.
00:02:00 Footage of various individuals on the corner of Main Street and 10th Street. There is a film camera set up. The camera zooms in and pans over individuals.
00:02:30 One of the individuals on the corner looks into the camera and holds up a closed fist salute. This same individual crosses the street while speaking with a uniformed officer wearing a helmet and carrying a baton.
00:02:39 Footage filmed from the courthouse side of Main Street of the building across the street which reads: "American Building, 1001 East Main". Individuals stand outside and walk by.
00:02:42 Footage of two individuals on the corner of Main Street and 10th Street speaking with a uniformed officer wearing a helmet and carrying a baton.
00:02:45 Multiple clips of individuals, both alone and in small groups, walking on the block around the courthouse. Uniformed officers with helmets and batons are seen throughout.
00:03:19 Footage of a crowd gathering on the corner of Main Street and 10th Street on the opposite side of 10th Street from the courthouse. The camera follows various groups of individuals leaving the courthouse.
00:03:58 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
00:04:17
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 #08, 1968 April 8
File Name
VCU_M571_150.mp4