- "I have a dream that we will live in a fair society
"where, you know, it doesn't matter what race you are.
"You can achieve anything you believe in.
"And like 10 other beautiful things."
(dramatic music)
(bell ringing)
- Hey guys, I'm Crissle West,
and today we're going to talk about
the Birmingham Children's March.
- Cheers Crissle. (Crissle chuckling)
- [Crissle] Let's march.
(ice clinking)
- Mm.
(ice clinking)
- Delicious!
- All right, so where does our story begin?
- (beep), who knows?
(Derek laughing)
So,
the story begins in
1963
in Alabama
where racism is so deeply imbedded in the community,
but the breaking point for Gwendolyn Sanders
was when she realized in the 7th grade
that her textbook had previously been used
by a white 5th grader.
And she's like "I knew I wasn't allowed
"to go to the same movie theaters
"and shit like that as white people,
"but y'all are giving us raggedy old textbooks
"that you are giving your 5th graders.
"Like, not only
"do you not give a (beep) about me or my people,
"you don't give a (beep) about my education either."
And so she realized then that things needed to change
and she wanted to be a part of it.
So, around the time that this story starts, sharts.
- It sharted. - Oh no,
don't let the story shart!
(Derek laughing)
So around this same time,
Martin Luther King Jr.
was urging the newly elected President Kennedy
like "Man, we need some official legislation
"to stop the bullshit that's happening to black people.
"Like you need to get involved.
"You're the (beep) president."
And Kennedy sympathized.
He was like "You know, I agree with you,
"but the party is still made up of poor, white,
"Southern voters and I cannot alienate them."
Which doesn't that sound super familiar
and kind of distressing, right?
So Dr. King is using the 16th Street Baptist Church
to try to organize a protest,
and Martin Luther King's being like "Yo, for real though,
"it's time for us to do something."
And the adults were like "Listen,
"it's not that we don't agree with you,
"but at the end of the day
"I still have to put food on the table
"and pay the rent in this home,
"and I don't want them burning crosses on my lawn
"or any shit like that, so."
"Look bitch, it's not (beep) safe!
"We can't do this!"
And Dr. King was like
"If we can't enact change in Birmingham,
"we can't do it anywhere.
"Who can join in the protest and get arrested with us?"
And he was sort of shocked
to see Gwendolyn Sanders and her sisters get up and say
"You know what, we'll do it.
"We will do somethin about this."
And then more and more kids stood up to volunteer.
They decided to mobilize.
So that's exactly what they did.
They went back to school, "Like listen,
"we know y'all are sick of the racism,
"and there's something we can actually do about it."
And on May 2nd
the protest went down.
Administrators started locking the doors
to keep them from getting out.
The kids would just straight up jump out the window
like "Bitch, you not gonna keep us here."
Over 1,000 kids left school to go to Kelly Ingram Park
to protest.
(drums beating)
But then Bull Connor,
head of the Birmingham Police Department,
was like "Okay, well y'all's black asses can go to jail."
So they started carting these kids off by the dozens
and over 1,000 kids were arrested on that first day,
which is insane.
After a few days of protests,
the Birmingham jail was totally overcrowded,
and saw as more kids are arrested,
others come back out to take up their place.
But on May 5th, that was when shit got really real.
Bull Connor was looking at hundreds of black kids
standing up to his bullshit,
he was like "Let's bring out the hoses."
These are high-pressure,
knock you the (beep) out water hoses.
But the kids realized
there's strength in numbers and togetherness matters.
So those kids linked hands and said "Not today, bitch.
"Not today."
So Bull Connor decides "Oh okay, release the canine units
"so that the dogs can (beep) these kids up (coughing).
"Excuse me."
(Crissle laughing)
And at this point there were news crews there
that caught the entire situation on camera,
and these are now some of the most infamous shots
of the civil rights movement.
And after people saw children on international TV
being sprayed with hoses and attacked by dogs,
a mind
shift
occurred.
And after eight solid days of protest,
President Kennedy felt motivated to come out and say
"You know what?
"I didn't wanna say it before
"because of the Southern white voters,
"but them mother-(beep) are racist.
"So it's time to just be real.
"The shit that you are going out here
"and doing to people in my name
"is not the (beep) okay."
Oh man, I love drinking.
How come I don't do this more?
(Derek laughing)
(Crissle laughing)
(Derek laughing)
Woo! (Derek laughing)
So anyway,
who was I talking about?
The kids. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Well, after the success of the Birmingham Children's March
Dr. King decided to ride that momentum
and he gave his "I have a dream" speech.
Bull Connor was fired.
And the Civil Rights Act was passed
within a year of all that.
So it was monumental that Gwendolyn Sanders and these kids
were willing to say "This is not a (beep) game,
"and you won't treat us and our people this way
"because we're here and this is what's going on
"and it's time for us to stand up too."
And so I don't have to worry about that sort of thing
the way those kids even did or their parents even did.
I don't take that for granted.
- Cheers to the kids!
- Cheers to the kids.
(glasses clinking)
- All right. - This is gone.
- Hello.
Today we're gonna talk about
the FBI versus Martin Luther King Jr.
During the 1960s, J. Edgar Hoover was the head of the FBI.
He's an old man.
And he thought "Communists are gonna take over America
"and I gotta get ready for it."
Meanwhile, Martin Luther King,
a non-violent, Christian minister,
gives the greatest speech of the entire 20th century.
"I have a dream that we will live in a fair society
"where, you know, it doesn't matter what race you are.
"You can achieve anything you believe in.
"And like 10 other beautiful things."
And J. Edgar Hoover sees the speech and says
"I have a dream this is total communist stuff."
It all makes so much sense
when you think about it like a crazy person.
J. Edgar Hoover called a press conference,
and Hoover tells these reporters that he's invited,
who are all women for some reason,
"Martin Luther King is the most dishonest man in America."
One of Hoover's underlings is saying
"Maybe you shouldn't talk (beep) about Martin Luther King.
"Maybe you should be nice."
And Hoover's like "(beep) you, I'm gonna tell the truth!"
They meet in J. Edgar Hoover's office.
Martin Luther King says "Hey J. Edgar Hoover,
"I love everything you've ever done.
"Maybe we could just be better teammates
"so we can achieve peace throughout America."
After those first two minutes,
J. Edgar Hoover decided "Dude, now it's my turn.
"It's my turn to say what's on my mind.
"The FBI does this.
"The FBI does that.
"The FBI is helping you here.
"The FBI is helping you there."
And he just goes on
and on
and on about how awesome the FBI is.
And afterwards one of Martin Luther King's friends calls him
and says "What was it like meeting with Martin Luther King?"
(laughing) I'm sorry, that's how drunk I am.
Okay.
"What was it like meeting with J. Edgar Hoover?"
And Martin Luther King was like "Dude, I'll tell you.
"J. Edgar Hoover, he's just an old man who talks too much.
"He's crazy."
J. Edgar Hoover was listening to everything that he said
and he was like "What the (beep)?
"He's talking (beep) about me
"even though I just talked with him?
"Oh man, it's on now."
These boss,
these guys...
(swallowing)
(cup thudding)
These guys
try to harass Martin Luther King.
This FBI agent, William Sullivan,
his entire job is like mind F-ing.
So he decides like "I gotta write a letter.
"Dear Martin Luther King,
"I'm a black person just like you.
"I'm not a white guy.
"I think that you are a bad person.
"You better kill yourself.
"Uh, see the attachment.
"The attachment is a recording
"of you having sex with lots of people.
"The end.
"I'm black.
"Send."
When this mysterious package showed up,
Martin Luther King's wife, Coretta Scott King,
listened to it.
It was like a mixtape that the FBI had specially made.
Every sex act, every embarrassing thing
that Martin Luther King had ever done,
and Martin Luther King's like
"This is crazy.
"The FBI is trying to destroy my life."
And they try to give up,
they try to make him give up his core beliefs.
Martin Luther King decides like
"I'm gonna stick to what I believe.
"I don't care what you guys
"do to me."
Martin Luther King continues to fight
for what he believes in.
(inspirational music)
Hoover never retired from the FBI.
He just sort of slowed down.
I think that he was just very upset
at anybody who has sex.
He thought it was a real bad idea.
He didn't like it.
"I'm gonna die now.
"Goodbye."
(inspirational music)
Oh man, this is the most nauseous I've ever been in my life.
- Hi, I'm Ashley Nicole Black,
and today we're talking about Nichelle Nichols.
So,
it's 1964
and Nichelle Nichols guest stars
on an episode of a show called "The Lieutenant"
that's run by Gene Roddenberry.
And Gene Roddenberry was like "You're amazing.
"You're so beautiful.
"Do you want to be on this new show called "Star Trek?"
"Here's my plan.
"It's gonna be super utopian
"and black ladies can be bosses.
"So this is actually a really big deal."
So Nichelle Nichols is like "That sounds chill as hell.
"So let's do that show."
So they start filming "Star Trek"
and Nichelle Nichols plays Lieutenant Uhura
who's the communications officer.
So she's like "Captain,
"I have something to communicate with you.
"Boop boop boop boop boop."
She has nails that are way too long for space,
but also Nichelle Nichols doesn't actually watch the show
because back then TV came on at a certain time
and she was at work during that time.
So at the end of the first season she's like
"Star Trek is cool, whatever.
"I don't know if anybody watches it,
"but my dream is to be on Broadway.
"I wanna sing.
"I wanna dance."
And she goes to Gene Roddenberry and she's like "Hey,
"I'm gonna go to Broadway.
"So, I'm done Trek-ing.
"I'm done."
So he tells her like "Please just like take the weekend
"to think about it."
And she's like "Whatever bitch.
"Fine."
So, that weekend,
Nichelle Nichols goes to an NAACP fundraiser
and one of the organizers comes up to her
and is like "Hey, there's a guy here
"and he's your biggest fan and he really wants to meet you."
And she's like "Okay, cool, whatever.
"Bring on the nerd."
And she sees her fan,
and he's like "Your show is the only show
"that I allow my three little children to stay up and watch.
"We love Star Trek.
"It's so good."
And she's like "Excuse me,
"are you Martin Luther King?"
And he's like "Yes, I am Martin Luther King,
"and I'm a Trekkie."
And she's like "(beep) me."
But it's real.
Martin Luther King loves "Star Trek"
and he's like "You are the only black woman on television
"who doesn't play a servant.
"You're the only person out there
"providing hope to black people that there's a future
"where maybe they won't be seen as less than
"and they'll be seen as equals."
And she's like "Wow, that's great.
"Except for I'm leaving.
"I quit Star Trek this week.
"I'm so sorry."
And he's like "No, you can't quit.
"Do you realize that you are the first black women who's,"
black woman.
He wasn't drunk when he said it.
- That's okay.
- I was drunk. (Derek laughing)
But Martin Luther King was like
"If you leave, this one image that children have
"of a black woman as an equal
"will just disappear from television."
And she's like "Well (beep).
"That's a lot.
"That's like a lot.
"That's a lot on my shoulders.
"Can you chill?"
And he's like "No, I'm Martin Luther King.
"I have no chill."
She's like "Okay, I'll think about it."
So Nichelle Nichols goes into Gene Roddenberry's office
and she's like "Gene, I met Martin Luther King this weekend
"and he really likes your shit."
And he's like "Oh my God.
"Someone understands what I'm trying to do here!
She's like "Oh my God, shut the (beep) up.
"That's not the point.
"The point is this show is going to advance racial equality.
"I'll stay on your show."
So, you know, they're filming "Star Wars."
It's great. - Is that true?
- Oh my God. (all laughing)
Also very good.
So,
they're doing "Star Trek."
It's great.
People love it.
At some point Gene Roddenberry's like "I know,
"we're gonna push the envelope.
"We're gonna have the first interracial kiss."
And William Shatner is like "Hell yes."
And Nichelle Nichols is like "Whatever, fine."
But the network came down and was like "Whoa, hold on.
"We can't have an interracial kiss on TV."
So William Shatner convinces them.
"Let's shoot it both ways.
"We'll shoot it with the kiss first
"and then we'll shoot it without,
"and you can decide what you wanna do in editing."
So,
they shoot the scene with the kiss.
And then he's like "You know what?
"I have a note.
"Let's try it again.
"Let's try it again!
"Let's do it one more time."
And they shoot it over and over and over again.
And they're like "William, enough kissing, okay?
"We only have time to shoot this one more time."
And he's like "Okay, let's just do one without the kiss."
So it isn't until the next day that they watch the scene
and see that William Shatner crosses his eyes to the camera.
And they're like "What the (beep)?
"Is this really happening?"
And William Shatner was like
"I guess we either have to air this interracial kiss
"or not have a scene."
And that is how the first interracial kiss
gets on television.
- [Derek] Wow.
- [Ashley] And then in 1969 America lands on the moon.
And every American is like
"Oh my God, we landed on the moon.
"It's amazing."
And Nichelle was like "Hold up, that's all white dudes.
"What the (beep), right?"
So she gives this big speech
and she's like "NASA, get your shit together.
"Can you please recruit someone to be an astronaut
"who's not a white dude?"
And NASA's like "Okay cool, but like can you do it
"'cause we don't know anybody who's not a white dude."
So Nichelle Nichols is like
"Uh, black ladies have to do everything."
So she travels around the country
and she recruits people to be in NASA
and she's like "Hey black people, Asians, lady people,
"do you wanna go to space?"
And they're like "Okay cool!"
And she recruited Sally Ride.
And then she recruits Colonel Bluford,
he's the first black dude to be in NASA.
- [Derek] How cool is that?
- [Ashley] And then she recruited Mae Jemison,
and she's like "Hey, you should apply for NASA."
And Mae Jemison is like "Oh my God.
"You were on Star Trek.
"I love you."
But she's like "Pay attention."
So Nichelle Nichols
was like the first black lady to go to space for fake,
and she recruited
the first black lady to go to space for real.
She literally integrated space.
Everybody who's really good at math,
or whatever you have to be good at to go to NASA,
can do whatever they want to do.
- But we still need to prosper if we're gonna live long.
- Yeah.
(Ashley laughing) - Is this America right now?
- Yes. - It's trying so hard but--
- But it can't get over-- - But this one finger
just can't deal with it. (Ashley laughing)
(dramatic music)
(bell ringing)