Bibliography –
- Bass, S. Jonathan (2001). Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail ‘, Louisiana State University Press, ISBN 0-8071-2655-1,
- Branch, Taylor (1988). Parting The Waters; America in the King Years 1954–63, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-46097-8,
- Cotman, John (1989). Birmingham, JFK, and the Civil Rights Act of 1963: Implications For Elite Theory, Peter Lang Publishing, ISBN 0-8204-0806-9,
- Davis, Jack. (2001). The Civil Rights Movement, Oxford. ISBN 0-631-22044-5,
- Eskew, Glenn (1997). But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle, University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 0-8078-6132-4,
- Fairclough, Adam (1987). To Redeem the Soul of America: the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King, Jr. University of Georgia Press, ISBN 0-8203-0898-6,
- Franklin, Jimmie (1989). Back to Birmingham: Richard Arrington, Jr. and His Times. University of Alabama Press, ISBN 0-8173-0435-5,
- Garrow, David (1986). Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, William Morrow and Company, ISBN 0-688-04794-7,
- Garrow, David, ed. (1989). Birmingham, Alabama, 1956–1963: The Black Struggle for Civil Rights, Carlson Publishing. ISBN 0-926019-04-X,
- Hampton, Henry, Fayer, S. (1990). Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s Through the 1980s, Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-05734-0,
- Isserman, Maurice, Kazin, Michael. (2008). America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-509190-6,
- Manis, Andrew (1999). A Fire You Can’t Put Out: The Civil Rights Life of Birmingham’s Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-585-35440-5,
- McWhorter, Diane (2001). Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution, Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-1772-1,
- Nunnelley, William (1991). Bull Connor, University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-585-32316-X,
- White, Marjorie, Manis, Andrew, eds. (2000). Birmingham Revolutionaries: The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, Mercer University Press, ISBN 0-86554-709-2,
- Wilson, Bobby (2000). Race and Place in Birmingham: The Civil Rights and Neighborhood Movements, Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8476-9482-8,
Why was the Birmingham campaign in Birmingham?
History >> Civil Rights for Kids What was the Birmingham Campaign? The Birmingham Campaign was a series of protests against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama that took place in April of 1963. Background In the early 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama was a very segregated city. This meant that black people and white people were kept separated. They had different schools, different restaurants, different water fountains, and different places they could live. There were even laws that allowed and enforced segregation called Jim Crow laws, In most cases, the facilities such as schools for black people were not as good as those for white people. Planning a Protest In order to bring the issue of segregation in Birmingham to the rest of the nation, several African-American leaders decided to organize a mass protest. These leaders included Martin Luther King, Jr., Wyatt Tee Walker, and Fred Shuttlesworth. Project C The protests were codenamed Project C. The “C” stood for “confrontation.” The protests would be non-violent and included boycotting downtown stores, sit-ins, and marches. The organizers thought that if enough people protested, the local government would be forced to “confront” them and this would make national news gaining them support from the federal government and the rest of the country. The protests began on April 3, 1963. Volunteers boycotted downtown stores, marched through the streets, held sit-ins at all-white lunch counters, and held kneel-ins in all-white churches. Going to Jail The main opponent to the protesters was a Birmingham politician named Bull Connor. Connor got laws passed that said the protests were illegal. He threatened to arrest the protesters. On April 12, 1963, knowing they would get arrested, a number of protesters led by Martin Luther King, Jr. set out on a march. They were all arrested and sent to jail. Letter from Birmingham Jail King remained in Jail until April 20, 1963. While in jail he wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In this letter he outlined why his strategy for non-violent protest against racism was so important. He said that the people had a moral responsibility to break unjust laws. The letter has become an important document in the history of the American civil rights movement. Youth Protests Despite the efforts of the campaign, it wasn’t getting the national attention the planners had hoped. They decided to include school children in the protests. On May 2, over one thousand African-American children skipped school and joined in the protests. Soon the Birmingham jails were overflowing with protesters. The next day, with the jails full, Bull Connor decided to try and disperse the protesters in order to keep them from downtown Birmingham. He used police dogs and fire hoses on the children. Pictures of children getting knocked down by the spray from fire hoses and attacked by dogs made national news. The protests had grabbed the attention of the country. An Agreement The protests continued for several days, but on May 10th an agreement was reached between the protest organizers and the city of Birmingham. The segregation in the city would come to an end. There would no longer be separate restrooms, drinking fountains, and lunch counters. Black people would also be hired as salespeople and clerks in the stores. Things Turn Violent On May 11th, a bomb went off at the Gaston Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was staying. Fortunately he had left earlier. Another bomb blew up the home of King’s younger brother A.D. King. In response to the bombings, the protesters became violent. They rioted throughout the city, burning buildings and cars and attacking police officers. Soldiers from the U.S. army were sent in to regain control. Bomb Wreckage near Gaston Motel by Marion S. Trikosko Results Although there were still many issues with racism, the Birmingham campaign did break down some barriers with segregation in the city. When the new school year started up in September of 1963, the schools were integrated as well.
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Works Cited History >> Civil Rights for Kids
What caused the riots in Birmingham?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Birmingham riot of 1963 | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Civil Rights Movement | |
| Location | Birmingham, Alabama, United States |
| Date | May 11, 1963 |
| Perpetrators | Ku Klux Klan (alleged) |
The Birmingham riot of 1963 was a civil disorder and riot in Birmingham, Alabama, that was provoked by bombings on the night of May 11, 1963. The bombings targeted African-American leaders of the Birmingham campaign, In response, local African-Americans burned businesses and fought police throughout the downtown area.
The places bombed were the parsonage of Rev.A.D. King, brother of Martin Luther King Jr., and a motel owned by A.G. Gaston, where King and others organizing the campaign had stayed. It is believed that the bombings were carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan, in cooperation with Birmingham police,
Civil rights protesters were frustrated with local police complicity with the perpetrators of the bombings, and grew frustrated at the non-violence strategy directed by King. Initially starting as a protest, violence escalated following local police intervention.
The federal government intervened with federal troops for the first time to control violence during a largely African-American riot, It was also a rare instance of domestic military deployment independent of enforcing a court injunction, an action which was considered controversial by Governor George Wallace and other Alabama whites.
The African-American response was a pivotal event that contributed to President Kennedy’s decision to propose a major civil rights bill. It was ultimately passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Why was Birmingham established?
In the Saxon 6th Century Birmingham was just one small settlement in thick forest – the home (ham) of the tribe (ing) of a leader called Birm or Beorma. Geography played a major role in the transformation of Birmingham from a hamlet worth 20 shillings in 1086 into Britain’s centre of manufacturing in the 20th Century.
It was a dry site with a good supply of water, routes converging at Deritend Ford across the River Rea. There was easy access to coal, iron and timber. The de Bermingham family held the Lordship of the manor of Birmingham for four hundred years from around 1150. In 1166 Peter de Birmingham obtained a market charter from Henry II and in 1250 William de Bermingham obtained permission to hold a four day fair at Whitsun.
In addition the family allowed many freedoms to their tenants and there were no restrictive obstacles to trade. Developing as a market centre, Birmingham also saw the beginnings of small scale smithing and metal working. Craftsmen were listed amongst the taxpayers in 1327.
- When Leland visited Birmingham in 1538 there were 1500 people in 200 houses, one main street with a number of side streets, markets and many smiths who were selling goods all over England.
- By supplying the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War (1642-46) with swords, pikes and armour, Birmingham emerged with a strong reputation as a metal working centre.
By 1731 the population had grown to 23,000 and manufacturing business thrived. By the time of the Industrial Revolution Birmingham had become the industrial and commercial centre of the Midlands.
Why is Alabama important to history?
What Is Alabama Known For? – Alabama is known for its Southern hospitality, its history of civil rights struggles, and as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. It is also a large producer of two commodities in the United States and is a significant home to space discovery. Here are some of the interesting things that Alabama is known for.
What were Martin Luther’s goals?
The spiritual virtuoso – We call Luther a “spiritual virtuoso” because he completely devoted his life to religious study and practice. His intense commitment to spiritual perfection resembled the perseverance of outstanding virtuosi in fields like music, athletics or dance.
During his career, Luther wrote thousands of sermons and pamphlets, composed hymns, preached every week and engaged in tireless work on behalf of the emerging Protestant churches. Over a century ago, the German sociologist Max Weber thought about hermits’ and monks’ isolation, self-denial and intense dedication and defined their absolute commitment as a kind of virtuosity,
Spiritual virtuosi devote themselves to comprehending and enacting a higher spiritual purpose, They are willing to sacrifice their earthly comforts and pleasures in order to reach unity with God or another higher power. The essence of spiritual virtuosity is personal humility.
To that end, virtuosi tend to be reluctant leaders. Because of their unease with worldly power, they are wary of having themselves confused with the message. Luther was not interested in leading a social movement or reaping material rewards. What he wanted to do was to serve God and bring God’s word to others.
It was the students in Luther’s movement, and the clergy who supported them, who became the key activists and organized widespread support in Wittenberg, Basel and other university towns. We call them “virtuosi activists.” Luther himself preached, lectured and debated, but he was not much troubled with strategy or organizational tactics of organizing a movement.