Citizens' Council Forum Films Collection, 1955-1966
The first Citizens' Council was formed in 1954 in Indianola, Mississippi, to resist integration. By March 1955, 167 Citizens' Councils were reported in Mississippi; these were loosely affiliated into a state organization. In 1955, the state organization began producing fifteen-minute weekly films under the name Citizens' Council Forum Films. These films consisted of interviews by producer Dick Morphew with American and foreign conservatives and were shown on local television stations throughout the country. The programs were created to persuade public opinion regarding two main issues: integration and communism. Some of the films in this collection were not produced by the Citizens' Council Forum Films, but by similar groups. Contained in the collection are 132 reels of film, approximately 90,000 feet.
Read MoreThe first Citizens' Council was formed in 1954 in Indianola, Mississippi, to resist integration. By March 1955, 167 Citizens' Councils were reported in Mississippi; these were loosely affiliated into a state organization. In 1955, the state organization began producing fifteen-minute weekly films under the name Citizens' Council Forum Films. These films consisted of interviews by producer Dick Morphew with American and foreign conservatives and were shown on local television stations throughout the country. The programs were created to persuade public opinion regarding two main issues: integration and communism. Some of the films in this collection were not produced by the Citizens' Council Forum Films, but by similar groups. Contained in the collection are 132 reels of film, approximately 90,000 feet.
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| MP_198601_0001_ref.mov | 'Speech by Major General Edwin Walker in the Jackson, Mississippi city auditorium. From Citizens Council Forum, "'Project Understanding"', "'The General They Couldn"'t Muzzle"'. Walker speaks about the Communist Movement in the state of Mississippi and the rest of the country. Also shown is Ross Barnett, John Bell Williams, Allen Thompson and Paul B. Johnson.' |
| MP_198601_0002_ref.mov | Representative Bruce Alger (R-TX) and Representative Argis Johannsen (R-MI) discuss the need for decentralization of the Federal Government. |
| MP_198601_0003_ref.mov | Representative William Jennings Bryan Dorn (D-SC) and Representative Harold McSween (D-LA) discuss proposed civil rights legislation. |
| MP_198601_0004_ref.mov | Bob Barry (Chrysler Executive) discusses 1956 Chrysler automobiles. |
| MP_198601_0005_ref.mov | 'Three introductory segments to Citizens"' Council Forum films with no program material.' |
| MP_198601_0006_ref.mov | 'Representative Mrs. Harris Blych (D-GA) discusses women"'s view of segregation.' |
| MP_198601_0007_ref.mov | Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) discusses communist influence on the civil rights movements. |
| MP_198601_0008_ref.mov | 'Representative Abel Whitener (D-SC) and Watt Abbott (D-VA) discuss the proposed States"' Right Bill before the House of Representatives.' |
| MP_198601_0009_ref.mov | Doctor Ernst van den Haag discusses sociological-psychological impact of segregation. |
| MP_198601_0010_ref.mov | Representative John Bell Williams (D-MS) discusses civil rights legislation. |
| MP_198601_0011_ref.mov | 'Lewis Hollis, Executive Director of the Citizens Concil in Jackson, Mississippi, discuss the Council"'s organization in the United States.' |
| MP_198601_0012_ref.mov | Representative Jamie Whitten (D-MS) and Representative William Colmer (D-MS) discuss integration and federal aid to education. |
| MP_198601_0013_ref.mov | Governor John Patterson (D-AL) and Representative Glenn Andrews (R-AL) discuss civil rights legislation. |
| MP_198601_0014_ref.mov | Representative Walter Rogers (D-TX) discusses property rights. |
| MP_198601_0015_ref.mov | Representative Argis Johanson (R-MI) and minorityitmember of the House Committee on Un-American Activities discuss United States foreign policy toward the Soviet bloc nations. |
| MP_198601_0016_ref.mov | 'Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) discusses United States"' Vietnam policy.' |
| MP_198601_0017_ref.mov | 'Representative Albert Watson (R-SC) discusses his switch to the Republican Party after he resigned his Democratic House of Representative"'s seat. He lost his Democratic seniority for supporting Barry Goldwater in his bid for the presidency in 1964. Watson ran as a Republican and won after giving up his Democratic seat.' |
| MP_198601_0018_ref.mov | Major General Edwin Walker discusses the need for public awareness of the communist threat and the communist style of war. |
| MP_198601_0019_ref.mov | Representative Ben Jenson (R-IA) and John S. Trevor, American Coalition of Patriotic Societies, discuss immigration. |
| MP_198601_0021_ref.mov | 'Carleton Putnam, author of "'Race and Reason"', talks about black inferiority at the Race and Reason in Mississippi Day festivities. Label on can says, "'Do not ship, keep in office for emergency use."'' |
| MP_198601_0022_ref.mov | Representative Noah M. Mason (R-IL) discusses federal aid to education. |
| MP_198601_0023_ref.mov | 'Joseph McDowell Mitchell, Field Director of Maryland and Virginia Citizens"' Councils of America, discusses the Councils"' impact and the nation"'s needs.' |
| MP_198601_0024_ref.mov | '"'Crisis in America "'Program Number 3, "'Communism and Co-Existence, Communism from 1917"', produced by Pepperdine College, Los Angeles, California. Narrated by Harry Von Zell and hosted by William Teague president of Pepperdine College.' |
| MP_198601_0025_ref.mov | Representative William C. Cramer (R-FL) discusses his proposed riot legislation. |
| MP_198601_0026_ref.mov | Representative John Bell Williams (D-MS) and Dr. Robert Gayre (Anthropologist) of Edinborough, Scotland, discuss an anthropological study of the black man. |
| MP_198601_0027_ref.mov | Myers G. Lowman, Executive Secretary of Circuit Riders, Inc., an anti-communist organization, discusses anti-communism. |
| MP_198601_0028_ref.mov | 'Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) discusses a Bible reading amendment to the Constitution and God"'s basis in the United States.' |
| MP_198601_0029_ref.mov | Dr. Henry E. Garrett, psychology professor at Columbia University, discusses interacial marriage and dating. |
| MP_198601_0031_ref.mov | 'Harry von Zell narrates a documentary entitled "'Communist Accent on Youth"', from the Citizens"' Council "'Project Understanding"' Films in which the communist world wide stratagy, especially as it relates to young people,is discussed. This film is produced by Pepperdine College.' |
| MP_198601_0032_ref.mov | Representative Sidney Herlong (D-FL) and Morgan Moulder (D-MO) discuss taxation. Herlong was on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. |