Film Clips

Henry McNeal Turner: “Eligibility of Colored Members to Seats in the Georgia Legislature”

Film clip. Voices of a People’s History.
Henry McNeal Turner’s “Eligibility of Colored Members to Seats in the Georgia Legislature” (1868), read by Danny Glover.

Time Periods: 1865, 19th Century
Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Reconstruction, Slavery and Resistance
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Henry McNeal Turner’s “Eligibility of Colored Members to Seats in the Georgia Legislature” where he stated “I Claim the Rights of a Man” (September 3, 1868).

After organizing the first U.S. Colored Troops, Henry McNeal Turner (1834-1915) later joined them as Chaplain. He then became a delegate to the state constitutional convention in Atlanta. In 1868 Turner was elected as a representative to the Georgia state legislature.

Soon after, he was among twenty-four legislators expelled for the “crime” of being Black. Read full text of speech from BlackPast.org.

Danny Glover reads Henry McNeal Turner, “Eligibility of Colored Members to Seats in the Georgia Legislature” (September 3, 1868) from Voices of a People’s History.

Film Clip Description

This clip is an excerpt from Henry McNeal Turner’s address to his fellow legislators denouncing the expulsions. Turner’s, “Eligibility of Colored Members to Seats in the Georgia Legislature” is read by Danny Glover, May 2, 2007, at The Great Hall of Cooper Union, New York, New York. The excerpt is from Voices of a People’s History of the United States edited by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove.

More video clips of stories from people’s history can be found at the Voices of a People’s History website and in the film The People Speak.

More About Henry McNeal Turner

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Related Resources
Teaching Activities (Free)

Reconstructing the South: A Role Play

Lesson. By Bill Bigelow. 17 pages.
This role play engages students in thinking about what freedpeople needed in order to achieve — and sustain — real freedom following the Civil War. It’s followed by a chapter from the book Freedom’s Unfinished Revolution.

News

National Report on the Teaching of Reconstruction

The Zinn Education Project produced a national report on the teaching of the Reconstruction era. The report examines state standards, course requirements, frameworks, and support for teachers in each state. It also includes stories about creative efforts by districts and/or individual teachers in each state to teach outside the textbook about Reconstruction.

Books: Non-Fiction

Voices of a People’s History of the United States, 10th Anniversary Edition

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. 2014. 704 pages.
Speeches, letters, poems, and songs for each chapter of A People’s History of the United States.

This Day in History

Dec. 9, 1867: Georgia Constitutional Convention

The Georgia Constitutional Convention was held with 33 African Americans and 137 white attendees.

This Day in History

Sept. 3, 1868: Henry McNeal Turner Addressed the Georgia Legislature

Henry McNeal Turner addressed the Georgia Legislature on its decision to expel all Black representatives.

2 comments on “Henry McNeal Turner: “Eligibility of Colored Members to Seats in the Georgia Legislature””

  1. Glenda Howard on

    I attended Henry McNeal Turner High School in Atlanta Georgia. Danny Glover did an outstanding job with this rendition. I applaud him. Not much has changed. New legislation…New legislators…same results. However I am grateful to be an American,and proud of our accomplishments as a nation. The battle is not over. Thank you Frederick Douglass…Booker T. WASHINGTON…HENRY MCNEAL TURNER…and the countless other who bravely paved our future.

  2. Elaine Robinson on

    Danny Glover did an excellent job of reading this man’s history. Until this morning I had never heard of Henry McNeil Turner. I feel a lot was left out of teaching the people about men/women who made a big difference in our history. A sad fact indeed.

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