(l to r) poitier, belafonte and heston at the 1963 march on washington
within hours of martin sharing his dream with the world, some of hollywood’s elite got together to discuss the state of civil rights in america. the panel included james baldwin, harry belafonte, marlon brando, joseph mankiewicz, charlton heston and sir sidney poitier. each man came in with different backgrounds and levels of investment in the civil rights movement. this not only led to an interesting talk, but it also gives us today a good snapshot of the country from almost 50 years ago.
some of my personal highlights/comments after the jump:
– harry belafonte was easily the coolest dude there.
– the dichotomy of being privileged enough to hold protests in america (when people in nations arguably could not) and the sorrow of needing to exercise said privilege.
– apparently “well-spoken” was just the new “eloquently” (c) charlton heston
– the “i ain’t a killer but don’t push me” approach to nonviolence voiced by 2pac belafonte.
– poitier: “i think implied in negro problem is a suggestion that i represent a problem. i do not represent a problem, you follow?”
mankiewicz: “the negroes are not a problem to us. we’re a problem to the negroes…this is what i have become aware of.”
– baldwin: “the white republic must ask itself why was it important for them to invent the nigger…he needed the nigger for something.”
1st seen at shadow and act
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