Booker T. Bonner Conducts Sit-In (1963)

This news segment for Houston’s KPRC-TV, broadcast on July 30, 1963, documents Booker T. Bonner’s sit-in at the Texas State Capitol as well as picketing outside the Governor’s Mansion in Austin. A member of the Freedom Now Committee, Bonner was a prominent figure of the Houston civil rights movement. He organized the demonstration after Connally stated he did not support President John F. Kennedy’s proposed public accommodation bill since it “violated traditional property rights.” Booker spent several days sitting outside the governor’s office at the Capitol waiting to talk with him about civil rights. As his sit-in continued, Capitol authorities removed his chair and forced him to move around the building.