A KKK stronghold, Birmingham was described by Martin Luther King Junior as America's worst city for racism as in years leading up to the riots African Americans were castrated by the KKK, bookstores were pressured to ban a book containing pictures of black and white rabbits, and black music was in the process of being banned from radio stations. Even local businessmen believed that the extreme racism held the city back, but there was too much danger for them to voice their opinions.
The first protest in Birmingham was a boycott meant to pressure businesses to end segregation in public facilities, restaurants, schools and stores and open employment to all races. The SCLC agreed to assist the civil rights activists in Birmingham when the local business and government leaders resisted the boycott. Birmingham activist Shuttlesworth joined with Wyatt Tee Walker and Martin Luther King Junior of the SCLC to create Project C, a series of marches and sit-ins intended to lead ot mass arrests in order to gain national attention.
In other campaigns such as Albany, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by King had many problems resulting in little success. The Birmingham campaign, however, was better planned and there was national attention due to the rash and violent actions of the chief of police Bull Connor, a firm supporter of segregation who believed that even low key protests were a threat to his "rule" of the city. Connor set police dogs on the protesters immediately resulting in national attention on Birmingham.
After Connor's initial violent actions on the peaceful protesters, he arrested King for ignoring an injunction denying his right to march and protest and placed him in solitary confinement and barred him from access to a lawyer. Later JFK intervened for his release, but during his time in jail, King begrudgingly used students to continue the campaign in Birmingham as many adults still remained distanced from the protest. 500 young protesters were arrested and jailed as photographs and videos of students being subjected to high pressure hoses and police dogs by Connor's men were shown throughout the country. King was later given both praise and criticism for putting children in harms way for the sake of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Birmingham campaign utilized the media to draw the world's attention to the segregation in the South and the terrible treatment of the black Americans there. It was a model of nonviolent direct action protest and it gave Martin Luther King Junior his reputation while getting Bull Connor kicked out of a job and forcing desegregation in Birmingham. These protests also paved the way for the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and public services across the country.Sources:
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-civil-rights-movement-in-america-1945-to-1968/birmingham-1963/
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/birmingham-campaign-1963
This is a great post! The Birmingham protest was one of the most influential protests from Black Americans. The non- violent aspect of the march was notably effective (long term) even though many Black Americans were met with harsh force by White Americans and even police authority. King's Birmingham letter was a very important letter to motivate Black Americans to keep persisting through the violence. It is important to note that Martin Luther King Jr took inspiration for the non- violent protest from Gandhi.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you included other protests and how they compared to the Birmingham campaign. I also liked how you described what the outcomes of the campaign was because it really shows how serious this campaign was taken.
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