Joseph Azbell discusses Montgomery, Alabama as it was in 1955, including the the system of segregation in the town and the bus system. He discusses leaders in the Civil Rights Movement and politicians in Montgomery including, E.D. Nixon, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rufus Lewis and Mayor Tacky.
Pre-interview (Contact the archive for more information.)
Joseph Azbell
Joseph Azbell began his newspaper career in the United States Air Force, where he founded the Air University Dispatch. In 1948, Azbell was hired by the Montgomery Advertiser and worked there through the early 1960s. His book, The Riotmakers, was published in 1968, and he wrote a weekly column for the Montgomery Independent from 1968 until his death in 1995. Azbell also worked on the presidential campaigns of George Wallace in 1968 and 1972 as Director of Communications. (Reporting Civil Rights)
Civil Rights Era
During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Joseph Azbell was the city editor for the Montgomery Advertiser. When E.D. Nixon told him of the upcoming boycott, he put it on the front page of the newspaper. As a reporter, Azbell attended the first mass meeting at the Holt Street Baptist Church and sat in on meetings between the Montgomery Improvement Association, the bus company, and the three city commissioners. He was also present after the bombings of Martin Luther King's and E.D. Nixon's homes. When Dr. King was on trial in Montgomery, Azbell testified that he advocated non-violence. (Interview with Joseph Azbell.)
Bibliography
- Reporting Civil Rights. Library of America, 2003. 8 August 2006. http://www.reportingcivilrights.org/authors/bio.jsp?authorId=2
- Interview with Joseph Azbell, conducted by Blackside, Inc. on October 31, 1985, for Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965). Washington University Libraries, Film and Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection.