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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
Anti Draft Protest, 3-19-70, Rich. Police I.D., 649-4811 [phone number]
Date Created
1970-03-19
Reel Format
Super 8mm
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 the street and steps of the station. 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
00:00:10 Footage begins. Dark footage of an unidentified object.
00:00:13 Multiple clips footage taken from the ground level of picketers at the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station at 11th and Main Streets. The person filming is recording from the steps of the building, so the picketers and the traffic on Main Street is visible.
00:00:41 Footage of some sort of altercation--appears verbal only--in the picket line involving several demonstrators and an individual in police or military uniform.
00:00:45 Footage of a demonstrator being led away by the uniformed individual. It is a taken from ground level, and the individual recording this is likely the same individual seen recording in Reel #2 from the same event.
00:00:44 Footage of the picket line.
00:00:50 Footage of an individual taking photographs of the individual filming. Another individual crosses in front of the camera and blocks the frame.
00:00:54 Footage of the picket taken from the steps of the building, slow zoom in on an individual across the street wearing an orange scarf. Multiple cars are visible on the street. One picketer can be seen holding up a two finger peace sign.
00:01:01 Footage of the picket line. Individuals are visible carrying various signs reading: "End American Aggression In Asian, Latin Amer.", "Northern Virginia Resistance", "Resist Illegitimate Authority", "Hell No, We Won't Go!", "No More Lives For Your Lousy War" and "Close State Draft Headquarters".
00:01:11 Footage of the picket, still from ground level, further away. One individual, possibly a journalist, appears to have a camera set up on a tripod on the left side of the frame, halfway between the individual filming and the picketers.
00:01:13 Zoomed in footage of the picketers, with individuals also visible across the street. The frame zooms in on an individual in a tan vest with a bright orange button on it, potentially a protest coordinator. Close up shots of protestors and their signs, much of the footage is blurry. Several individuals make direct eye contact with the camera.
00:01:45 Footage of the picketers from another angle, still on the ground, footage is blurry. Footage slowly focuses. More protest signs: "Don't Kill For the Flag--Refuse to Go", a protest sign with an American flag, a peace symbol, and the words "How Many More".
00:02:21 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
00:03:53
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; 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 #03, 1970 March 19
File Name
VCU_M571_076.mp4