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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
Anti Draft [sic] protest 3-19-70
Date Created
1970-03-19
Reel Format
16mm
Reel Description
This reel contains footage of approximately 150 individuals gathering for a march from Monroe Park to the Federal Building at 8th and Marshall Streets. Individuals and their signs are visible, then the march begins. The second half of the reel is of individuals from the protest leaving the Federal Building after a sit-in. This appears to be a group of majority white participants.
Timestamp Description
00:00:08 Footage begins. A crowd of individuals holding signs in Monroe Park. The camera pans from left to right across the crowd. One individual has red paint stripes on their face. Individuals looks directly at the camera and hold their signs towards it. Visible signs include: "We are all Outlaws in the Eyes of Amerika", "Revolution Now", "Pro Human", "Jesus Was A Man of Peace", "Who Died For You Today", "Solidarity With Third World People", "Nixon --> Death --> Hitler", a peace symbol with "Ha Ha" written under it, "Fuck It All", "Power to the People", "The Silent Majority Is Too Dam Loud", "I'm Gay for S.S.", "Asia: Love It and Leave It", "Draft Eats Kids" and "Draft Nixon".
00:00:29 Footage of a car driving by, two uniformed individuals stand by a light pole, behind them an individual takes pictures of the crowd. Mostly the same crowd and signs as the previous shot, some new signs: "Amerika Destroys Youth", "My Country Kills", "Draft is Indentured Servitude", "The Draft Is Good Business, Invest Your Son", "45,000 Dead, The True Silent Majority", an Omega symbol with "Resist", "Join the Conspiracy", "It's The War Profiteers", "We Are Prohuman" and "End the Draft". Cars drive between the camera and the demonstrators. A street sign shows the corner of N Belvidere St. and W. Franklin St.
00:00:43 Footage of three individuals holding a Canadian flag. To their left are four uniformed police officers and an individual in a suit, they converse facing away from the protest crowd. The Monroe Park fountain is visible in the background. The camera pans the crowd as an officer walks left to right in the frame and cars drive right to left. An officer on horseback is visible behind the crowd. Another sign: "All Power to the People".
00:00:54 The gathered individuals begin to walk across Belvidere St. The individuals holding the Canadian flag lead the group. An individual wears a white mask that depicts Richard Nixon. New signs: "End the War", "Eliminate the Draft", "The Streets Belong to the People", "End the Draft" with the Omega symbol around the word "the", "We Will Be Back April-15", "Agnew Eats Kids", "War [Is?] An Answer to the Population Problem", "Stop the Death Machine", "Join Us", "Free John Sinclair", "Fuck Your Greetings, Dick", "DeSade Lives At 1600 Penn.", "Women Against the Draft" with the drawing of a women's rights raised fist symbol, "Draft Mendell Rivers" [likely a reference to Lucius Mendel Rivers, South Carolina congressperson and chair of the House Armed Services Committee], "Work, Study, Get ahead, Kill", "Power to the N.L.F." [likely a reference to the National Liberation Front (NLF), also known as the Viet Cong (VC)], "Labor Pays", "Jesus is Just Right", "45000 Dead", "Capt. Kessler Kills" [likely a reference to Virginia State Director of Selective Service Capt. Charles L. Kessler], "Liberate Life" and "Black and White".
00:01:29 Footage of the march leaving Monroe Park walking down Franklin Street towards downtown Richmond, filmed from across the street. Cars are visible parked on the street and driving by. Uniformed officers follow on the road on police trikes, on foot, and on horseback. The camera slowly pans from left to right, back towards the park. Several dozen individuals are participating in the march, most can only be seen from the back.
00:01:51 Continued panning of the crowd, two individuals in suits are visible watching the march from the sidewalk. A sign for the Sheraton Motor Inn is visible in the background. More individuals can be seen watching in the background.
00:01:55 Footage of the corner of Monroe Park at the corner of Franklin and Belvidere, a group of approximately 10 individuals, some holding signs, wait to cross the street.
00:02:00 Camera has moved, is filming marchers walk by from the front. Several individuals pass holding a Canadian flag, one raises their fist towards the camera in salute. Behind them, someone holds a sign reading "Che Lives". A building sign reading "Franklin Federal" is partially visible in the background.
00:02:05 An individual walks past the frame with a camera around their neck.
00:02:06 Footage of two individuals, one holding a rolled up sign under their arm, walking down the sidewalk and then turning around.
00:02:12 The remainder of the footage is of individuals walking out of the Federal Building following a 55-minute sit-in in the south lobby to protest the draft. It is filmed from the sidewalk.
00:03:26 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 #06, 1970 March 19
File Name
VCU_M571_128.mp4