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 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

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.

• "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

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

Dr. King arrested in Birmingham

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.

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.

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.

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.