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American Experience
The Governor: A Short Film from Freedom Riders
John Patterson, Governor of Alabama from 1958 to 1963, won election as a staunch segregationist. Patterson discusses his response to the Freedom Rides and his decision to refuse a phone call from President John F. Kennedy when the Freedom Riders encountered mob violence in Birmingham.
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1:50:24
Follow LBJ from rural Texas to his ascendancy to the presidency after the assassination of JFK.
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Part of the award-winning The Presidents collection.