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Birmingham Campaign

Birmingham Campaign. SCLC chose to confront segregation in Birmingham in the spring of 1963. Birmingham was one of the most racially divided cities in the U.S. Black citizens faced legal and economic inequalities as well as violence. Goals of Campaign. Desegregate downtown stores

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Birmingham Campaign

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  1. Birmingham Campaign • SCLC chose to confront segregation in Birmingham in the spring of 1963. • Birmingham was one of the most racially divided cities in the U.S. • Black citizens faced legal and economic inequalities as well as violence.

  2. Goals of Campaign • Desegregate downtown stores Through store boycotts, puts economic pressure on city. • Get media attention on their cause by forcing violent reactions Achieved through Sit-Ins & Demonstrations, Mass Arrests

  3. Rationale for Campaign • "My theory was that if we mounted a strong nonviolent movement, the opposition would surely do something to attract the media, and in turn induce national sympathy and attention to the everyday segregated circumstance of a person living in the Deep South," Wyatt Tee Walker, leader of SCLC Birmingham Campaign.

  4. "The purpose of ... direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation." Dr. King, 1963 • "You can rest assured that I will fill the jail full of any persons violating the law as long as I'm at City Hall.“ Bull Connor, 1963

  5. Eugene “Bull” Connor • Birmingham’s Public Safety Commissioner, Connor was notorious for violent & brutal actions against CR activists. • Widely publicized confrontations between black youth and white civic authorities. • "The Civil Rights movement should thank God for Bull Connor. He's helped it as much as Abraham Lincoln." JFK

  6. Dr. King arrested in Birmingham

  7. Letter from Birmingham Jail • Dr. King arrested in a mass demonstration, as well. • From jail, he writes a letter in response to whites who say CR tactics are wrong.

  8. Children’s Crusade • The Children's Crusade in May 1963 used black youth from area schools as demonstrators. • Bull Connor arrested 100s of children and sent them to jail. • He used fire hoses and police dogs to stop nonviolent protests.

  9. Effect • Front-page photographs in newspapers convinced Kennedy to force an end to violence. • "The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased cries for equality that no city or state or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them." JFK • The Soviet Union devoted up to 25 percent of its news broadcast to the demonstrations, sending much of it to Africa, where Soviet and U.S. interests clashed.

  10. Impact • Pressured Birmingham government to change the city's discrimination laws. • Brought national (and international) attention to CR issues. • Ultimately led to passing of the CR Act of 1964.

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