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Mighty Ira

Ira is one of America's unsung champions of civil rights and liberties. As his generation retires from the barricades, Ira reminisces on his life at the forefront of defending the rights of all Americans.

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Chris Maltby, Nico Perrino, Aaron Reese

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[indistinct chatter] - Mighty Ira

[indistinct chatter]

Wait, I'll introduce the guest
of honor first
and then we can get-- - Mighty Ira

Wait, I'll introduce the guest of honor first and then ...

Oh, I remember reading
somewhere, uh, that you were
credited with taking the ACLU - Mighty Ira

Oh, I remember reading somewhere, uh, that you were credited...

-You're... you're that...
that Ira Glasser? That's--
-Well-- - Mighty Ira

-You're... you're that... that Ira Glasser? That&#...

It was pretty well established,
uh, before... before me,
but, um, but it grew a lot. - Mighty Ira

It was pretty well established, uh, before... before me, but...

[tranquil music playing] - Mighty Ira

[tranquil music playing]

[Ira] Much of my political
growth and development happened
between the '50s and the '60s. - Mighty Ira

[Ira] Much of my political growth and development happened b...

The '50s were known,
as I recall,
as the silent generation. - Mighty Ira

The '50s were known, as I recall, as the silent generat...

[man 2] The cafe lounge is a
perfect spot to loaf a while - Mighty Ira

[man 2] The cafe lounge is a perfect spot to loaf a while

It were, I remember,
as a time of not only
a political quiescence, - Mighty Ira

It were, I remember, as a time of not only a political quies...

We're spending an awful
lot of time, a lot of money, uh, - Mighty Ira

We're spending an awful lot of time, a lot of money, uh...

[Ira] People were forced to sign
loyalty oaths
and were fired if they didn't - Mighty Ira

[Ira] People were forced to sign loyalty oaths and were fire...

I don't remember there being
any student activism. - Mighty Ira

I don't remember there being any student activism.

[man 3] While with half
the world already
under the yoke of communism, - Mighty Ira

[man 3] While with half the world already under the yoke of ...

That changed dramatically
and I mean, really,
it's a quantum leap in the '60s. - Mighty Ira

That changed dramatically and I mean, really, it's a qu...

[crowd cheering] - Mighty Ira

[crowd cheering]

Their kids were being drafted,
the kids themselves were
in the streets, uh, protesting. - Mighty Ira

Their kids were being drafted, the kids themselves were in t...

The civil rights movement
had come to a stopping point - Mighty Ira

The civil rights movement had come to a stopping point

As the political climate
heated up a lot in the country, - Mighty Ira

As the political climate heated up a lot in the country,

[man 4] Robert F. Kennedy,
he wins the nomination
on the first ballot - Mighty Ira

[man 4] Robert F. Kennedy, he wins the nomination on the fir...

At the same time, uh,
Bobby Kennedy had begun
to emerge for me - Mighty Ira

At the same time, uh, Bobby Kennedy had begun to emerge for ...

Being a United States senator,
I mean, seeing that
in my own family, - Mighty Ira

Being a United States senator, I mean, seeing that in my own...

Somewhere in...
in the middle of his brother's
presidential administration - Mighty Ira

Somewhere in... in the middle of his brother's presiden...

And I wrote him this letter
explaining to him - Mighty Ira

And I wrote him this letter explaining to him

The idea that somebody,
you know, completely unknown - Mighty Ira

The idea that somebody, you know, completely unknown

Whatever reason, uh,
I finally got this appointment
with Senator Kennedy - Mighty Ira

Whatever reason, uh, I finally got this appointment with Sen...

So, I sit down with him
and he asks me
a lean in question of some kind - Mighty Ira

So, I sit down with him and he asks me a lean in question of...

And so he just said
that this was, you know,
at best premature, - Mighty Ira

And so he just said that this was, you know, at best prematu...

[soft music playing] - Mighty Ira

[soft music playing]

I told him that its agenda
of issues focusing on litigation
around the Bill of Rights - Mighty Ira

I told him that its agenda of issues focusing on litigation ...

Actually, he said, "You're wrong
about the narrowness. - Mighty Ira

Actually, he said, "You're wrong about the narrown...

I think, if you work there
it will get you into all the
issues you care about." - Mighty Ira

I think, if you work there it will get you into all the issu...

This is the guy who worked
for Joe McCarthy
who had wiretapped people. - Mighty Ira

This is the guy who worked for Joe McCarthy who had wiretapp...

And I said,
"Why do you say that?" - Mighty Ira

And I said, "Why do you say that?"

It's founded on a set of,
sort of, root principles - Mighty Ira

It's founded on a set of, sort of, root principles

Uh, values of liberty
and all the range of values
codified in the Bill of Rights." - Mighty Ira

Uh, values of liberty and all the range of values codified i...

A month or so later
after my meeting with Kennedy, - Mighty Ira

A month or so later after my meeting with Kennedy,

Good morning.
We are broadcasting this morning - Mighty Ira

Good morning. We are broadcasting this morning

I am announcing today
my candidacy for the presidency
of the United States. - Mighty Ira

I am announcing today my candidacy for the presidency of the...

And suddenly out of the blue,
Martin Luther King
is assassinated. - Mighty Ira

And suddenly out of the blue, Martin Luther King is assassin...

I have some very sad news
for all of you - Mighty Ira

I have some very sad news for all of you

[Bryan Stevenson] I remember
growing up in this poor rural
segregated community. - Mighty Ira

[Bryan Stevenson] I remember growing up in this poor rural s...

I remember sitting there
and just sensing
all of this anxiety - Mighty Ira

I remember sitting there and just sensing all of this anxiet...

Everybody in the
civil rights community
remembers King's death. - Mighty Ira

Everybody in the civil rights community remembers King'...

It was an assassination
that rocked this country with
civil disorders and violence. - Mighty Ira

It was an assassination that rocked this country with civil ...

There were lots of angry riots
in black communities
and burning of stores. - Mighty Ira

There were lots of angry riots in black communities and burn...

[soft music playing] - Mighty Ira

[soft music playing]

That declaration resulted
in the virtually unthinkable act - Mighty Ira

That declaration resulted in the virtually unthinkable act

[alarm ringing] - Mighty Ira

[alarm ringing]

[dramatic music playing] - Mighty Ira

[dramatic music playing]

So it was in the spring of 1968,
barely a year - Mighty Ira

So it was in the spring of 1968, barely a year

My thanks to all of you,
and now it's on to Chicago
and let's win there. - Mighty Ira

My thanks to all of you, and now it's on to Chicago and...

[crowd cheering] - Mighty Ira

[crowd cheering]

[people gasp] - Mighty Ira

I still regarded the
New York Civil Liberties Union
as a temporary step, - Mighty Ira

I still regarded the New York Civil Liberties Union as a tem...

I was having fun and fulfillment
where I was, so I stayed. - Mighty Ira

I was having fun and fulfillment where I was, so I stayed.

[soft music playing] - Mighty Ira

[soft music playing]

Twenty years later, I wake up
in a hotel room on some sort of
road trip for the ACLU - Mighty Ira

Twenty years later, I wake up in a hotel room on some sort o...

[slow beat music playing] - Mighty Ira

[slow beat music playing]

My top priority when I first got
to the national ACLU, - Mighty Ira

My top priority when I first got to the national ACLU,

Throughout its existence, the
American Civil Liberties Union
has defended unpopular causes, - Mighty Ira

Throughout its existence, the American Civil Liberties Union...

Actually my... my top priority
turned out to be
organizational survival. - Mighty Ira

Actually my... my top priority turned out to be organization...

The first time I heard
the name Skokie, Illinois,
was probably '77 or '78. - Mighty Ira

The first time I heard the name Skokie, Illinois, was probab...

Skokie is a suburb of Chicago
and Skokie liked to call itself
a village - Mighty Ira

Skokie is a suburb of Chicago and Skokie liked to call itsel...

Mostly, middle-income families
living in one-family homes, - Mighty Ira

Mostly, middle-income families living in one-family homes,

After the Second World War, - Mighty Ira

After the Second World War,

We saw with my... with our
own eyes what did happen
and it could happen. - Mighty Ira

We saw with my... with our own eyes what did happen and it c...

[woman 1] For months, American Nazi party leader, Frank Collin - Mighty Ira

[woman 1] For months, American Nazi party leader, Frank...

[man 6] Leader Frank Collin says
he's inviting Nazis
from all over the country - Mighty Ira

[man 6] Leader Frank Collin says he's inviting Nazis fr...

We can do it.
This is only the beginning
of dozens of marches. - Mighty Ira

We can do it. This is only the beginning of dozens of marche...

That's the way I look at myself, - Mighty Ira

That's the way I look at myself,

Collin decided
that he was going to demonstrate
in the name of free speech - Mighty Ira

Collin decided that he was going to demonstrate in the name ...

Collin said all these suburbs
are white and they're all
escaping Chicago. - Mighty Ira

Collin said all these suburbs are white and they're all...

I'm going to demonstrate
in the suburbs
where a lot of these people live - Mighty Ira

I'm going to demonstrate in the suburbs where a lot of ...

Mr. Stern,
what does it mean to you, uh, - Mighty Ira

Mr. Stern, what does it mean to you, uh,

Uh, the symbol, obviously,
has some meaning to you. - Mighty Ira

Uh, the symbol, obviously, has some meaning to you.

I got a call one night
from Mr. Collin saying, - Mighty Ira

I got a call one night from Mr. Collin saying,

The idea that people wearing
swastikas were going to come to
their streets was unthinkable. - Mighty Ira

The idea that people wearing swastikas were going to come to...

The passion
with which some residents
in the town of Skokie reacted - Mighty Ira

The passion with which some residents in the town of Skokie ...

I'm a Jew.
Well, this is my home. - Mighty Ira

I'm a Jew. Well, this is my home.

The sight of people marching
with swastikas on their arms, - Mighty Ira

The sight of people marching with swastikas on their arms,

[man 8] These people are part
of a 500-member
Skokie B'nai B'rith lodge - Mighty Ira

[man 8] These people are part of a 500-member Skokie B'...

They lead the fight
against the Nazis
marching in their community. - Mighty Ira

They lead the fight against the Nazis marching in their comm...

The Jewish leaders talking
to the officials in Skokie
made them understand - Mighty Ira

The Jewish leaders talking to the officials in Skokie made t...

I called my general counsel,
Ed Rothschild, who was a mentor - Mighty Ira

I called my general counsel, Ed Rothschild, who was a mentor

Why are you ordering me
to take the case?" - Mighty Ira

Why are you ordering me to take the case?"

We're going to continue to do
what we've been doing - Mighty Ira

We're going to continue to do what we've been doin...

Should the Nazis appear,
we will break their heads. - Mighty Ira

Should the Nazis appear, we will break their heads.

[man 9] Chicago's Nazi chapter
prompted angry
counter-demonstrations - Mighty Ira

[man 9] Chicago's Nazi chapter prompted angry counter-d...

[upbeat music playing] - Mighty Ira

[upbeat music playing]

Mighty Ira poster

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Ira is one of America's unsung champions of civil rights and liberties. As his generation retires from the barricades, Ira reminisces on his life at the forefront of defending the rights of all Americans.

User Rating: 0.0 (0 ratings)

Director: Chris Maltby, Nico Perrino, Aaron Reese

Writer: N/A

Production: N/A

Genre: documentary

Year: 2020

MetaScore: N/A/100

ImdbRating: 7.5

BoxOffice: N/A

Released: 09 Oct 2020

Awards: N/A

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