Unknown Speaker: "Mr. Johnson said this week in New England that I had been a protester all my life, and I have been: protesting the status quo, protesting illiteracy, protesting poverty, protesting ignorance, protesting inadequate treatment of all of our citizens and unequal opportunities for all of our people. And by protesting, we have done something about them."
Announcer: 1967 may be remembered as a year of protest. There were protest demonstrations not only in the United States' cities, but in Peking, London, Moscow, Jakarta, Tokyo, Saigon and Paris. In fact, most major cities of the world were the scene of demonstrations of one kind or another.
In the United States, the demonstrations most often concerned Vietnam, the draft and civil rights. The first large nationwide demonstration was held on April 15th. It was booked as an Anti-Vietnam War Protest; but as was often the case in ’67, the demonstration embraced those who had things to say about civil rights and the draft, too.
Reverent Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I have not urged a mechanical fusion of the civil rights and peace movements. There are people who have come to see the moral imperative of equality, but who cannot yet see the moral imperative of world brotherhood. I would like to see the fervor of the civil-rights movement imbued into the peace movement to instill it with greater strength. And I believe everyone has a duty to be in both the civil-rights and peace movements. But for those who presently choose but one, I would hope they will finally come to see the moral roots common to both."
Announcer: Martin Luther King was joined in New York City that day by Stokely Carmichael.
Stokely Carmichael: "The draft exemplifies as much as racism the totalitarianism which prevails in this nation in the disguise of consensus democracy. The President has conducted war in Vietnam without the consent of Congress or the American people, without the consent of anybody except maybe Lady Bird."
Stokely Carmichael: "In fact, the war itself is for the Birds: Lady Bird, Lyndon Bird and Lucy Bird."
Announcer: Hubert Humphrey gave his view of dissent in April.
Hubert Humphrey: "Recognizing that debate and discussion and dissent at times are distracting and disturbing, nevertheless the answer, the best answer to the Communists, the best answer to the totalitarian is the fact that we do permit intellectual freedom, academic freedom, freedom of the press, freedom of dissent, freedom of discussion. I think all Americans need to keep in mind that there’s a great deal of difference between dissent and being irresponsible. But I think most Americans do."
Announcer: The protesters and dissenters weren’t the only ones who marched in 1967. There were parades and demonstrations supporting U.S. action in Vietnam and the soldiers fighting there.
Unknown Speaker 1: "Just a few months ago, I spoke to someone who was carrying the NFL flag. I see that you're carrying an American flag, aren't you? How do you feel about those who are displaying the flag of the Vietcong?"
Unknown Speaker 2: "Well, this is my flag. That may be their flag, but this is my flag and I love it; so I carry it, and I wave it. I'm not gonna burn it, spit on it, it's mine. Somebody try to take it away from me, and I’d fight them to take it away from me."
Unknown Speaker: "Our activities tomorrow were planned quite some time ago. The -- the request only got into a real high gear in the last few days. Our activities are nationwide. we have urged everyone everyplace to turn the lights of their car on during Saturday and Sunday. We've asked 'em to turn the lights on if they're driving a truck or a bus or a taxicab or a motorcycle. And we're asking 'em to leave a light burning all night, a visible nightlight in their homes, apartments, places of business, on Saturday night. We are not trying to counter anything except A -- a wrong image of this country, and to the extent that the people of this country show their feeling, we feel that we will have achieved our purpose."
Announcer: One of the best organized and largest demonstrations of the year was the march on the Pentagon on October the 21st. Like other demonstrations during the year, this one was not without incident …
Unknown Speaker: "The crowd finally broke through, coming around the mall entrance, and now are charging at the very entrance of the Pentagon. The police are locked into a small portico, where the doors are still open. Troops are now pouring out."
Announcer: The United Press International Review of the 1967 news will continue right after this message.
Yes, the year was filled with sit-ins, march-ins, love-ins, and even this at the White House. Could it be a quack-in?
Unknown Speaker: "A different bird at the White House today."
Unknown Speaker: "We thought we had seen every kind of demonstration on Pennsylvania Avenue, but today …
Unknown Speaker: " … a group of Long Island ducks, led by housewives, picketed to protest a proposed atomic power plant at Riverhead, Long Island. The ladies represent a group called the Fact Finders, who feel that atomic reactors near homes threaten the health and safety of the community. As one lady told us …
Unknown Speaker: "'The slogan is, we don’t want radioactive ducks (laughing). We like our ducks on Long Island.'
Unknown Speaker: "They carried signs saying, 'Down with atomic quackery' and 'You can't duck radioactive waste'. This is Duck Thomas at the White House."
Announcer: A less noisy and somewhat more sophisticated type of protest demonstration is the strike. 1967 had those, too.
The United Autoworkers struck the Ford Motor Company for almost two months, and some of the prettiest strikers of all time were the Bunnies from the Playboy Club.
The Rockettes of Radio City Music Hall did their high kicking out in the street for three weeks as they struck the Hall for higher pay and for better working conditions.
One million school children in New York City had an extended summer vacation when their teachers chose to strike for 17 days; some students, however, demonstrated right back. They wanted to get on with school, they wanted teachers.
Students: "We want teachers! We want teachers! We want teachers! We want teachers!"
Announcer: 1967 was quite a year. In the Midwest, it will be remembered as the year of the ‘67 Blizzard; in Long Beach, California, the year the Queen Mary came to stay; in Washington, D.C., the year of the wedding …
President Lyndon B. Johnson: "We are very happy this morning, Mrs. Johnson and I, to welcome all of you here to the East Room of the White House. This is the poor man’s wedding chapel."
"That’s one of the fringe benefits of the Presidency. You can have a wedding here in the house, and no one in the country really thinks it's cheap."
"Actually, we decided to have the wedding here because of one of my most recent experiences in a church."
Announcer: You've been listening to the United Press International 1967 in Review. This program was written, produced and directed by Stan Sabik. Technical Director was Pen Stevens, and your Narrator has been Ed Karrins. 1967 in Review was a United Press International Audio Production.
