planetary. >> never has this descent been as emotional. as intense. >> in the '60s, it was one thing after another. each year it was filled with multiple events. >> governor wallace has ordered 500 alabama national guardsmen into tuscaloosa. at the moment they are under his control. >> whether it was the civil rights movement or it was the kennedy assassination or the space race, when there was a huge thing that happened, it happened on tv. >> the witness to the violence, seemed to be unprovoked on the part of the demonstrators. >> television became the fire in which the whole tribe gathered around to listen to the elders telling them what was going on. >> police reinforcements moving down balboa street now. [ chanting ] [ chanting "the whole world's watching" ]