Title:
Martin Luther King Jr and Civil Rights Scenes in Chicago 1963
REEL ID:
L019R034A
RUN TIME:
00:09:10
FILM STOCK:
Black & White
FILM FORMAT:
16mm
AUDIO:
Sound
Description:
This powerful black-and-white sound reel consists of sections from the 1970 film King, documenting Martin Luther King Jr.’s time in Chicago during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The footage captures both private and public moments, set against escalating racial tension and the struggle for fair housing in urban America.
Early scenes show Dr. King in informal settings—shooting billiards with friends and engaging directly with residents and children in Chicago neighborhoods. These quieter moments contrast sharply with the unrest that follows, grounding the film in King’s personal approach to community engagement.
The reel then documents scenes of urban life under strain. Children play in the streets as fire hydrants are opened during summer heat, followed by police intervention. Footage shows young Black residents being arrested for playing in the water, escalating into scenes of police brutality directed toward Black Chicagoans. Nighttime sequences capture police and firefighters responding to a fire near a theater labeled Central Park, with arrests continuing amid chaos and confusion.
A police officer is interviewed on camera, describing the incident as a disturbance that began with children opening fire hydrants and led to what he characterizes as a riot. In a separate interview, Dr. King responds critically, describing the situation as embarrassing for the city and indicative of deeper systemic injustice rather than isolated disorder.
The film includes a key speech by Dr. King addressing Chicago directly. In it, he challenges the idea of the city as a “promised land,” arguing that Northern cities are not immune to racism, segregation, and economic inequality. He calls on Chicago to rise up and confront housing discrimination, emphasizing that civil rights struggles extend beyond the South.
Protest footage follows, showing demonstrators holding fair housing signs and marching alongside Jesse Jackson. Placards read messages such as “Fair Housing” and “This City Serves All Real Estate,” while counter-protesters—predominantly white—are shown shouting in opposition, demanding that Black residents be kept out of their neighborhoods. One sequence centers on chanting outside a storefront identified as Burtons, highlighting localized resistance to desegregation.
Together, these scenes form a stark and unfiltered record of racial conflict, activism, and police response in Chicago during the late 1960s. Preserved with synchronized sound, the reel stands as an important historical document of Dr. King’s Northern civil rights campaign and the entrenched opposition it faced.
Tags:
Martin Luther King Jr., MLK, Chicago, Illinois, 1970, Civil Rights Movement, Fair housing, Housing discrimination, Northern civil rights, Police brutality, Urban unrest, Protest footage, Jesse Jackson, Civil rights protest, Fire hydrants, Police arrests, Black and white film, Sound film, 16mm film, Documentary footage, Historical film, Urban history, Race relations, Americana, Archival footage, African American History
