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Birmingham, Ala. / May 2, 1963:
In 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his supporters joined local activists to launch boycotts and protests in Birmingham, the most segregated city in America. King was arrested and jailed. As the campaign faltered, activist James Bevel devised a controversial plan to recruit schoolchildren to lead a mass protest. Students watched films of the Nashville sit-ins and were coached to overcome their fear of dogs and jails. On May 2, more than a thousand students -- some as young as 6 -- gathered at the 16th Street Baptist Church to march for their rights. Hundreds were arrested and jailed. Police Chief Eugene "Bull" Connor -- the face of Birmingham's brutal repression -- ordered fire hoses and police dogs turned on the children, but still they marched. Within days, thousands of students had been jailed. Press coverage made Birmingham's cruelty the shame of the nation and sparked a dramatic shift in public opinion about segregation. The "Children's Crusade" became one of the pivotal events of the civil rights movement. |