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Title on Reel (transcribed from original)
Apr. 15 1970, National Priorties [sic] Day
Date Created
1970-04-15
Reel Format
16mm
Reel Description
This reel contains footage of a crowd of several dozen individuals gathered at the Checkers House in Monroe Park as part of the National Priorities Day event held on April 15, 1970. Several speakers are featured including Jim Elam, Arthur Waskow, David Hawk, and Loretta Johnson. It appears to be raining, with many individuals wearing rain coats and/or carrying umbrellas. This appears to be a group of majority white participants.
Timestamp Description
00:00:16 Footage begins. Footage of a ceiling in an office, likely due to the camera running while not being operated.
00:00:18 Panning footage of Monroe Park, filmed from a distance, with some individuals and horses visible in the park. The Checkers House is also visible.
00:00:30 Footage follows an individual wearing all purple walking across Monroe Park, filmed from a distance. This appears to be Loretta F. Johnson, an organizer with the Richmond Welfare Rights Organization.
00:00:33 Footage filmed from above, likely from the steps of the Checkers House, of approximately two dozen individuals gathering in Monroe Park. A uniformed police officer on horseback is visible in the background. There are multiple zoomed in clips of individuals and groups speaking with one another. Some of the footage is blurry.
00:01:56 Footage of an individual in a red cardigan standing with their arms crossed at the top of the stairs of the Checkers House, watching another individual speaking at a microphone on a podium. The speaker appears to be Jim Elam, Virginia Commonwealth University Student Government Association president-elect. The individual in the red cardigan appears to be Arthur Waskow, a fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies. The speaker wears a khaki raincoat, cream sweater, and appears to be holding an umbrella. Another individual appears to be seated between them, with only their head visible. This is David Hawk, coordinator of the National Vietnam Moratorium Committee. The footage appears to be filmed from the ground.
00:02:14 Footage of the crowd gathered at the bottom of the Checkers House listening to speakers, filmed from the second story of the house. Loretta Johnson is visible in the center, wearing purple. The camera slowly pans right to show Waskow speaking to the crowd, then pans left again.
00:02:43 Zoomed in footage of the crowd, which appears to focus on Johnson, then pans around to record others in the crowd. Followed by multiple zoomed in clips panning across the crowd. Several individuals hold umbrellas.
00:03:32 Footage of Johnson speaking to the crowd from the steps of the Checkers House.
00:04:43 Footage of Hawk speaking to the crowd from the steps of the Checkers House. An individual with a photograph camera stands to his right.
00:03:52 Footage of individuals in the crowd.
00:03:53 Footage ends.
Event Description
On April 15, 1970, approximately 100 individuals gathered in Monroe Park for an observance of National Priorities Day. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the day was scheduled to coincide "with the deadline for filing federal income tax returns," and "was designed to protest the Vietnam war and military spending and to ask for increased federal funds for welfare and other social purposes". The day started at Monroe Park, where Virginia Commonwealth University Student Government Association president-elect Jim Elam introduced speakers. It was raining and the sound system was not working, according to newspaper reporting. Most of the topics discussed included the Vietnam War. Then individuals marched to the Larrick Student Center at the Medical College of Virginia, for seminars "that were marked by earnest talk of poverty, politics, and welfare". The leaders were Arthur Waskow, a fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, and David Hawk, a coordinator of the National Vietnam Moratorium Committee. Both came from Washington, D.C. and organized National Priorities Day nationally. They left after speaking at Monroe Park, where Loretta Johnson, president of the Richmond Welfare Rights Organization, led the rest of the day. Johnson was also running for City Council. At Larrick, national Welfare Rights Organization organizer Tyrone Chapman spoke to a crowd of approximately 80 individuals. The RTD reported a plainclothes officer was present at the seminars (Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 16, 1940). The event was also covered by the VCU Commonwealth Times in the April 17, 1970 issue. Not included in newspaper coverage, the second half of the reel includes a group of individuals marching to the Police and Traffic Court Building at 501 N 9th Street, labeled as "SHW Building" on the reel. Marchers brought a black coffin and laid it at the building.
Runtime
00:04:12
Personal Name Subject
Waskow, Arthur Ocean, 1933-
Corporate Name Subject
Virginia Commonwealth University; National Welfare Rights Organization (U.S.)
Topical Subject
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements; Anti-war demonstrations; Demonstrations; Crowds; Student movements; Student protesters; Students--Political activity; Signs and signboards; Public welfare; Welfare rights movement; Anti-poverty movements; 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
National Priorities Day Protest in Richmond Film Reel #01, 1970 April 15
File Name
VCU_M571_126.mp4