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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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What happened next was that
we went into court and, frankly,
all hell broke loose. - Mighty Ira

What happened next was that we went into court and, frankly,...

In symbolic terms
and in real terms, - Mighty Ira

In symbolic terms and in real terms,

Why would you ever want
to defend the rights
of people like that? - Mighty Ira

Why would you ever want to defend the rights of people like ...

It basically forced me
to articulate reasons - Mighty Ira

It basically forced me to articulate reasons

I can promise this,
that come hell or high water, - Mighty Ira

I can promise this, that come hell or high water,

[upbeat music playing] - Mighty Ira

[upbeat music playing]

Growing up there, I spent
a lot of time in the streets. - Mighty Ira

Growing up there, I spent a lot of time in the streets.

There was no supervised play,
there were no adults anywhere,
there were no little leagues, - Mighty Ira

There was no supervised play, there were no adults anywhere,...

You'd sing doo-wop on the
street corners, a cappella stuff
whoever was there. - Mighty Ira

You'd sing doo-wop on the street corners, a cappella st...

Uh, you'd play stickball,
punchball on the streets. - Mighty Ira

Uh, you'd play stickball, punchball on the streets.

Your parents would give you
a quarter and you go buy a
Spalding, which was a pink ball. - Mighty Ira

Your parents would give you a quarter and you go buy a Spald...

And that Spalding
was your summer activity. - Mighty Ira

And that Spalding was your summer activity.

And you would have
to figure out: - Mighty Ira

And you would have to figure out:

Stickball in the open street,
stickball against the wall
where you have a strike zone. - Mighty Ira

Stickball in the open street, stickball against the wall whe...

That was where we learned
how to mediate conflict
and how to deal with bullies, - Mighty Ira

That was where we learned how to mediate conflict and how to...

Uh, king-queen, box ball,
hit the penny-- - Mighty Ira

Uh, king-queen, box ball, hit the penny--

Uh, and the other thing
growing up in Brooklyn,
we had the Brooklyn Dodgers. - Mighty Ira

Uh, and the other thing growing up in Brooklyn, we had the B...

The Brooklyn Dodgers were, um,
heroes to us
and in my neighborhood, - Mighty Ira

The Brooklyn Dodgers were, um, heroes to us and in my neighb...

[man 10] The Brooklyn Dodgers,
the Ebbets fielders, the Bums, - Mighty Ira

[man 10] The Brooklyn Dodgers, the Ebbets fielders, the Bums...

They were... they were really
like alien and they were, uh,
uh... at the time, - Mighty Ira

They were... they were really like alien and they were, uh, ...

[Norman Siegel] You know,
I remember as a kid
when I went on a Friday night - Mighty Ira

[Norman Siegel] You know, I remember as a kid when I went on...

Ah, I close my eyes,
I still... I see it. - Mighty Ira

Ah, I close my eyes, I still... I see it.

[Ira] I had that kind of
religious relationship
with the Dodgers, - Mighty Ira

[Ira] I had that kind of religious relationship with the Dod...

Ebbets Field was a shrine to us
and it was our cathedral. - Mighty Ira

Ebbets Field was a shrine to us and it was our cathedral.

[man 11] What other team
could run the bases so nimbly, - Mighty Ira

[man 11] What other team could run the bases so nimbly,

The real genesis of my passion
for... for baseball
and my interest - Mighty Ira

The real genesis of my passion for... for baseball and my in...

Now, for a lot of kids,
that is normal. - Mighty Ira

Now, for a lot of kids, that is normal.

I mean, they... they are aware
of baseball,
but... but, you know, - Mighty Ira

I mean, they... they are aware of baseball, but... but, you ...

[man 12] Jackie Robinson,
a trailblazer
in the world of sports. - Mighty Ira

[man 12] Jackie Robinson, a trailblazer in the world of spor...

[upbeat music playing] - Mighty Ira

[upbeat music playing]

These are five great, not just
ball players but people as well. - Mighty Ira

These are five great, not just ball players but people as we...

So, in the middle,
significantly, in my opinion,
is 42 Jackie Robinson. - Mighty Ira

So, in the middle, significantly, in my opinion, is 42 Jacki...

Every one of them
was an outsized hero to us - Mighty Ira

Every one of them was an outsized hero to us

And on that team
of outsized heroes,
Robinson comes in in 1947 - Mighty Ira

And on that team of outsized heroes, Robinson comes in in 19...

[Norman] Here comes this
four-lettered man from UCLA - Mighty Ira

[Norman] Here comes this four-lettered man from UCLA

I was really totally unaware
of the racial situation
in the United States. - Mighty Ira

I was really totally unaware of the racial situation in the ...

There was nobody black anywhere
that I could see. - Mighty Ira

There was nobody black anywhere that I could see.

As a matter of fact,
I never saw anybody
who wasn't white and Jewish. - Mighty Ira

As a matter of fact, I never saw anybody who wasn't whi...

New York City had the reputation
for being what sociologists
at the time called - Mighty Ira

New York City had the reputation for being what sociologists...

In reality, the city was
a collection of very insular, - Mighty Ira

In reality, the city was a collection of very insular,

That's the first time I ever
hear about segregated
public accommodations. - Mighty Ira

That's the first time I ever hear about segregated publ...

That's how I learn
about segregation in hotels,
segregation in restaurants. - Mighty Ira

That's how I learn about segregation in hotels, segrega...

And that's where
I come to hate it. - Mighty Ira

And that's where I come to hate it.

And we don't hate it because
we have any prior commitment
to civil rights. - Mighty Ira

And we don't hate it because we have any prior commitme...

When I went to Ebbets Field,
then and a year or two later
by myself, - Mighty Ira

When I went to Ebbets Field, then and a year or two later by...

I would sit next to a 35-,
40-year-old black guy - Mighty Ira

I would sit next to a 35-, 40-year-old black guy

So you grew up in an atmosphere
of black and white together,
we shall overcome. - Mighty Ira

So you grew up in an atmosphere of black and white together,...

And that that was an experience,
uh, that I don't think - Mighty Ira

And that that was an experience, uh, that I don't think

So, this was the core,
and as you can see two blacks,
three whites - Mighty Ira

So, this was the core, and as you can see two blacks, three ...

And... and then we found out...
I, for sure, when I went
to Mississippi and Georgia - Mighty Ira

And... and then we found out... I, for sure, when I went to ...

So, we decided we make them live
by all those words
in the constitution about - Mighty Ira

So, we decided we make them live by all those words in the c...

Well, in 1958 one of the three
great villains of the world, uh, - Mighty Ira

Well, in 1958 one of the three great villains of the world, ...

[Ira] I was devastated
when they tore down Ebbets Field - Mighty Ira

[Ira] I was devastated when they tore down Ebbets Field

I remember, you know,
describing it
as like losing a parent - Mighty Ira

I remember, you know, describing it as like losing a parent

It is a loss from which you...
you never fully recover. - Mighty Ira

It is a loss from which you... you never fully recover.

[dramatic music playing] - Mighty Ira

[dramatic music playing]

The car come to a jolting halt
and, uh, my later-to-be-wife,
Trude, - Mighty Ira

The car come to a jolting halt and, uh, my later-to-be-wife,...

It... it was a... it was a...
a... a unique place - Mighty Ira

It... it was a... it was a... a... a unique place

[laughs] - Mighty Ira

[indistinct chatter] - Mighty Ira

[indistinct chatter]

[Noam] You were the man behind
the decision to defend the Nazis - Mighty Ira

[Noam] You were the man behind the decision to defend the Na...

Actually, at that time, I was,
uh, not the National Head
of the ACLU, - Mighty Ira

Actually, at that time, I was, uh, not the National Head of ...

So, I was really, had no part
in the initial decision. - Mighty Ira

So, I was really, had no part in the initial decision.

I had a large part in defending
that decision, but...
but not... not in making it. - Mighty Ira

I had a large part in defending that decision, but... but no...

-And you would defend it again
today, if you had to?
-Yes. - Mighty Ira

-And you would defend it again today, if you had to? -Yes.

There's a theme or a slogan
which we in the party have used
as regards Skokie - Mighty Ira

There's a theme or a slogan which we in the party have ...

I want to use Marquette Park
which is several blocks away
from my office - Mighty Ira

I want to use Marquette Park which is several blocks away fr...

[Ira] On one side of the park
was a kind of
a white ethnic community - Mighty Ira

[Ira] On one side of the park was a kind of a white ethnic c...

[Edgar Jackson]
Children who have recently moved
on the periphery of that area, - Mighty Ira

[Edgar Jackson] Children who have recently moved on the peri...

[indistinct chatter] - Mighty Ira

[indistinct chatter]

[Philippa]
Collin tried to host a rally
in exactly the same place - Mighty Ira

[Philippa] Collin tried to host a rally in exactly the same ...

[Philippa] Chicago wasn't
any more welcoming, however, - Mighty Ira

[Philippa] Chicago wasn't any more welcoming, however,

[upbeat music playing] - Mighty Ira

[upbeat music playing]

[chanting] - Mighty Ira

We are the only organization
in America - Mighty Ira

We are the only organization in America

I'm asking you-- - Mighty Ira

I'm asking you--

And then they said, "Well,
you can only come if you use
one of the four forums - Mighty Ira

And then they said, "Well, you can only come if you use...

And then, they added
a bond requirement. - Mighty Ira

And then, they added a bond requirement.

[man 14] The Chicago
Park District said
the Nazis could come here - Mighty Ira

[man 14] The Chicago Park District said the Nazis could come...

Now, the problem with the
$250,000, uh, bond requirement - Mighty Ira

Now, the problem with the $250,000, uh, bond requirement

[David] The city and Mayor Daley
was determined to try
to shut him down. - Mighty Ira

[David] The city and Mayor Daley was determined to try to sh...

Those insurance bond
requirements had been
the classic mechanism - Mighty Ira

Those insurance bond requirements had been the classic mecha...

♪ We shall overcome - Mighty Ira

♪ We shall overcome

He said, "If we can't
demonstrate in Chicago, - Mighty Ira

He said, "If we can't demonstrate in Chicago,

Skokie reacted like a bull
to a red flag. - Mighty Ira

Skokie reacted like a bull to a red flag.

[woman 2] Residents have held
protest demonstrations and
the village has passed laws - Mighty Ira

[woman 2] Residents have held protest demonstrations and the...

We don't want them here.
If they don't come here,
we'd be delighted. - Mighty Ira

We don't want them here. If they don't come here, ...

[upbeat music playing] - Mighty Ira

[upbeat music playing]

The first approach was simply
to get an injunction - Mighty Ira

The first approach was simply to get an injunction

If you were an ACLU lawyer this
was what you were there for. - Mighty Ira

If you were an ACLU lawyer this was what you were there for.

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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