The campaign started with mass meetings, lunch counter sin-ins, a march on the city hall, and a boycott of downtown merchants. King gave a speech to Birmingham's black citizens about nonviolent protest and gained a lot of support. The movement expanded to larger sit-ins and marches, such as sit-ins at the library and a march to the courthouse to register votes.
On the April 10, the city government responded with a state court injunction against the protests. The campaign leaders, however, decided to disobey the order. King knew that he faced the risk of going to jail, but he went on with the campaign. Two days after, he was arrested and jailed. It was there that he wrote "Letters from the Birmingham Jail".
The campaign leaders thought that bringing children into action was a good idea to represent the young people's force. In May, more than a thousand students marched into downtown Birmingham. The local police used force to stop the demonstrations. The students were blasted by high-pressure water hosts, clubbed by officers, and bitten by dogs. Hundreds were arrested. This shocked and angered many Americans, who saw the brutal images on television and newspapers.
Negotiations were finally set up between the black citizens and the city's businesses. When the campaigners agreed to halt their demonstration, the city announced the desegregation of public services, including lunch counters, restrooms, drinking fountains, and fitting rooms. The businesses agreed to hire blacks, and hundreds of protesters were released from jail.
This did not mean the victory of movement, as the city witnessed many bombings of Civil Rights leaders and desegregated places. The Birmingham campaign, however, made huge progress for the Civil Rights movement.
Sources:
http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_birmingham_campaign/
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/birmingham-campaign-1963
I find it interesting that state and city governments often ignored the directives of the federal or state governments respectively during this time period. It brings up an interesting debate as to who has sovereignty to decide over issues of segregation, which are now defended as a constitutional right. I think the civil rights movement was particularly successful in these types of protests in their targeting of intellectual centers to legitimize their cause.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that a part of these protests which helped the civil rights protestors rally those who were on the fence to their cause -- the cruelty of the police in response to the students' peacefulness -- was supported by media, visual and otherwise. I wonder if -- going back to pure radio, to newspapers, or to times before newspapers when news traveled by disorganized word of mouth -- such protests were as effective when the coverage was less direct and stimulated the senses less.
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