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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
Anti Draft Protest, 3-19-70
Date Created
1970-03-19
Reel Format
16mm
Reel Description
This reel contains footage of the daytime picket at the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station at 11th and Main Streets. Most footage is of the picket, showing individuals walking in a large oval on the sidewalk. Some building workers are seen--potentially security guards and others. The footage is filmed from across the street and above. At one point, one of the picketers is detained by a uniformed individual, likely a police officer, and led away. This appears to be a group of majority white participants.
Timestamp Description
00:00:12 Footage begins. Footage at an angle of the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station at 11th and Main Streets, likely from the camera being laid down while still rolling.
00:00:15 Footage filmed from across the street and above of approximately twelve individuals standing outside of the building, many of which were visible gathering in the previous reel. Three individuals in suits are standing on the steps observing them. Two individuals from the crowd climb the stairs and enter the building. A bus goes by in the frame, right to left.
00:00:22 The camera has panned to the right of the building, with a store window reading "General Fidelity, Life Insurance Company" visible. Approximately eight individuals walk away from the building, some are part of the demonstrator group and some appear to be pedestrians.
00:00:26 The camera has panned to the left slightly, filming the right corner of the building. Multiple individuals, both demonstrators and pedestrians, walk in both directions past the building. The demonstrators appear to have started a picket and walk in an oval on the sidewalk. One of the individuals appears to have their face painted white, with black paint around their eyes, wears their black hair long and straight, and is wearing flowing black clothing. Other individuals wear day clothes and jackets. Another individual wears an Uncle Sam hat. An individual in police or military uniform stands to the right of the building, and multiple individuals in suits stand at the top of the steps of the building.
00:00:33 One of the individuals in the picket stops to take a picture of the individuals in suits on the stairs.
00:00:38 Multiple clips of the picketers walking in front of various parts of the building. Picketers can be seen talking to each other, laughing, and waving off camera. Some individuals look straight at the camera.
00:00:59 More picketing footage, an individual in a suit and peacoat stands on the building steps, filming the picketers. This might be another police officer. As they lower the camera, more picketers come into frame. One individual holds a protest sign with a United States of America flag, a peace symbol, and the words "How Many More."
00:01:07 Footage cuts to one individual being led away forcefully by another individual in uniform, while the individual previously filming from the steps is now on the sidewalk filming the other picketers. The individual being detained throws their hands in the air as they are led away. Another picketer follows them with a photography camera, followed by the individual with the film camera, along with other passersby, picketers, and potential journalists.
00:01:20 Footage of the picket line.
00:01:37 The individual who was previously filming the picket line enters the center of the line, and shows something to one of the picketers with a camera around their neck, possibly a police badge. They then point towards the direction the detained individual was led to. Another individual also points in that direction. The picketers continue walking. Multiple clips of the picket.
00:02:46 Footage cuts to the sidewalk left of the building. An individual in a police or military uniform sits on a horse. Six picketers are on the sidewalk speaking with one another. They then walk further away from the building.
00:02:53 Four individuals walk from left to right in the frame. Second from the right is the individual previously filming the picketers, to their right is another individual with a camera. The individual on the left also has a camera. It is unclear if they are police, journalists, or observers.
00:02:57 Footage of the picketers in front of the building. The individual in the previous shot that was all the way on the right holding a camera is now standing on the steps of the building. Continued footage of the picketers.
00:03:29 Footage of the General Fidelity building, more demonstrators walk from right to left towards the picket. An individual can be seen watching through the glass doors of the Travelers Building. The picketers pass by two individuals standing by the General Fidelity doors, seemingly on a smoke break.
00:03:34 Footage of a uniformed officer on a horse, with two potential picketers walking from the right to left of the frame. Both hold at least one sign, the legible one reads "Resist Illegitimate Authority".
00:03:36 Footage of the uniformed individual on horseback, with three other potential picketers walk from right to left of frame. A passerby walks in the opposite direction.
00:03:40 Footage cuts back to the picket. Many of the same individuals seen throughout the footage are present. One individual holds a sign which reads "Northern Virginia Resistance".
00:04:01 Footage ends.
Event Description
On March 19, 1970, a multi-level protest organized by the VCU Radical Student Union consisted of a picket of the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station at 11th and Main Streets, the State Selective Service headquarters at the Federal Office Building on 8th and Marshall Streets, and at Monroe Park. This was part of a nationwide week-long protest organized by the group New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. A group of approximately 25-30 individual picketed the entrance of the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station, and one VCU student was arrested for "breach of the peace" (Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 20, 1970) and/or "failure to move" (Commonwealth Times, March 20, 1970). Around 12PM, some 200 individuals participated in a rally at Monroe Park, with speakers including recorder of the Radical Student Union Fred Shorter, draft counselor Page Morris, the Reverend ProHuman Williams, and Phyllis Conclin. At 12:30PM some 150 students marched to the Federal Building and held a 55-minute sit-in in the south lobby to protest the draft. Four demonstrators met with Virginia State Director of Selective Service Capt. Charles L. Kessler and two federal marshals, the press was not admitted. Students from VCU and Union Theological Seminary were among the participants.
Runtime
00:04:15
Note
The order of the eight reels from this day of protests was determined by the Digital Initiatives Librarian using newspaper reports from the day, as well as other indicators of time in the footage. It may not be accurate to the order the footage was filmed in.
Corporate Name Subject
Virginia Commonwealth University; Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education
Topical Subject
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Draft resisters; Anti-war demonstrations; Demonstrations; Crowds; United States--Armed Forces--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.; Draft; Draft resisters; Draft registration; Student movements; Student protesters; Students--Political activity; Signs and signboards; Mounted police; Police horses; Animals in police work; 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
Anti-Draft Protest in Richmond Film Reel #02, 1970 March 19
File Name
VCU_M571_027.mp4