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Funding provided by:
Civil Rights Movement Series

Integrating the University of Alabama

In partnership with:
With support from: Lowell Institute
Date and time
Monday, November 17, 2003

This discussion centers around the screening of a film by Robert Drew, founder of cinema verite. The time was June 1963, when two black students tried to gain admission to the University of Alabama. The film, entitled *Crisis*, looks at the White House's handling of the event and simultaneously traces the actions of Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. The film was controversial when first released. Although now recognized as a major piece of work, at the time, *The New York Times* editorialized against it claiming, "Under the circumstances in which this film was taken, the use of cameras could only denigrate the Office of the President. To eavesdrop on executive decisions of serious government matters while they are in progress is highly inappropriate. The White House isn't Macy's window." Today, because of this film, we have a remarkable historical record of what led to the integration of the University of Alabama.

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Juan Williams, one of America's leading journalists, is a news analyst, appearing regularly on *Morning Edition* and *Day to Day*. Knowledgeable and charismatic, Williams brings insight and depth hallmarks of NPR programs to a wide spectrum of issues and ideas. A graduate of Haverford College, Williams received a B.A. in philosophy in 1976. Currently, he sits on a number of boards, including the Haverford College Board of Trustees, the Aspen Institute of Communications and Society Program, Washington Journalism Center and the New York Civil Rights Coalition. Williams is the author of the critically acclaimed biography *Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary*, which was released in paperback in 2000. He is also the author of the nonfiction bestseller *Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years*, 1954-1965, the companion volume to the critically acclaimed television series. *This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religious Experience* appeared in 2003. This book was the basis for a six-part public broadcasting TV documentary that aired in June 2003. In his 2006 book, *Enough*, Williams makes the case that while there is still racism, it is way past time for black Americans to open their eyes to the "culture of failure" that exists within their community. During his 21-year career at *The Washington Post*, Williams served as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist, and White House reporter. He has won an Emmy award for TV documentary writing and won widespread critical acclaim for a series of documentaries including *Politics - The New Black Power*. Articles by Williams have appeared in magazines ranging from *Newsweek*, *Fortune*, and *The Atlantic Monthly* to *Ebony*, *Gentlemen's Quarterly*, and *The New Republic*.
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Nicholas Katzenbach was born in in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 17th January, 1922. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy he joined the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). During the Second World War he was captured by enemy troops and spent two years as a prisoner of war in Italy. After the war Katzenbach attended Princeton University and Yale Law School. While at Yale he was editor-in-chief of *the Yale Law Journal*. He also received a Rhodes scholarship and studied at Oxford University for two years. In 1950 Katzenbach became a lawyer in New Jersey. In 1952 he became Associate Professor of Law at Yale University and also served as a Professor of Law at the University of Chicago (1956-1960). Katzenbach joined the justice department's Office of Legal Counsel and in April 1962, was promoted to deputy attorney general, the second highest position in the department. Katzenbach worked closely with President John F. Kennedy and was given the task of securing the release of prisoners captured during the Bay of Pigs raid on Cuba. On the advice of Robert Kennedy President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Katzenbach as Attorney General of the United States. In this post he helped draft the Voting Rights Act. Katzenbach clashed with J. Edgar Hoover over his policy of ordering unauthorized wiretaps of people such as Martin Luther King. After Johnson resigned Katzenbach returned to private law practice in Princeton, New Jersey.
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