1963: The Birmingham Campaign

DHS US History II

The Birmingham Campaign: During the early 1960s, segregation was at an all time high in the south, especially in Alabama. Times were very difficult for African Americans as they were seen as the inferior race. They were segregated from restaurants, bathrooms, water fountains and they had specific neighborhoods to live in. Furthermore, African American students were forced to attend different schools which were often not as good. Blacks were forbidden to be seen with whites. Birmingham Alabama was a city known for the extreme racism. The KKK dominated this city and years before, this group castrated an African American, forced a library to remove a book because it contained a black and white rabbit together and sought to end black music on radios. Martin Luther King Jr. said that Birmingham was “the worst big city in race relations in the United States.” The African Americans had enough with the extremities the whites were doing, so they sought change. The Birmingham Campaign was a movement in 1963 that worked to desegregate the public facilities in Birmingham, Alabama. These movements were run by Martin Luther King Jr, James Bevel, Fred Shuttlesworth and many others.The first protest in Birmingham was when Shuttlesworth pressured business employees to allow employment be open to all ethnicities and to put a stop to the segregated public facilities. However, this failed and the SCLC, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, agreed to help them. Soon a group began, which was called the Project C. Project C was a series of sit-ins, boycotts and nonviolent protests. The goal of Project C was to be on media and see why black people needed justice in the South. This was a success. People from across the country were changing views on the discrimination in the south as they saw everything that was happening. After being arrested so many times, King was sent to jail due to the protest he was apart of. While King was in jail, he wrote a letter explaining why he was in jail. "I am here because injustice is here," he wrote. "I would agree with Saint Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.'" His words were powerful and motivating towards the other African American citizens in Birmingham. King and many others were willing to go to jail to fight for the rights they deserve. The Birmingham Campaign began to become very low on adult volunteers so James Bevel decided to recruit students to become the main focus of the campaign. He trained students in from elementary school to college in order for them to be able to participate in nonviolent protests and peaceful walks. However, this failed as it ended it thousands of arrests and children sitting in jail. Having children participate in these movements proved how passionated people were about the rights they deserved. On may 11th, things turned violent; a bomb went off at the Gaston Motel where King was previously stayed. Thankfully he had left earlier that day. In addition, another bomb exploded at King’s younger brother’s, A.D King, house. These two bomb attacks affected the protesters greatly and they become violent as well. They rioted through the city, burning building and cars and attacking police officers. Soldiers from the US army were forced to come to control the terror and violence. The Birmingham Campaign was a model of nonviolent directed actions to attract attention on the media to the rest of the country in order for others to see the problems occurring. Stores were desegregated, opportunities for African Americans improved and a biracial committee was set up in Birmingham to help fix the troubled community. This campaign ultimately paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.