Birmingham+1963+as

http://faculty.smsu.edu/dsimon/change-civ%20rts.html

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/birmingham_1963.html

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1358

In the early 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama was the central scene of peaceful civil rights movements in America. This environment full of change and prosperity was stained by acts of racism and violence inflicted upon the African Americans by the police and government officials of Alabama. In the lead of these movements was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference working along with Martin Luther King. Together they organized rallies, boycotts, peaceful demonstrations, and appeals to justice, all in the hope of grasping the federal government's attention to the mass notion towards segregation and racism present in Alabama. Attempting to interfere with the movements were the Birmingham police influenced by governor George Wallace and head sheriff, Eugene "Bull" Connor.

Social activist, Martin Luther King Jr. once claimed Birmingham to be, "America's worst city for racism". In King's eyes this was an opportunity for change and publicity. The SCLC focused on nonviolent protesting against discrimination to better appeal to the white America. As word spread of these demonstrations for civil rights, new organizations and groups rose to the challenge of testing the still intact, deep-rooted segregation of the south. Soon enough the police force of Alabama, led by Bull Connor, was on the front fighting off nonviolent demonstrators with the use of fire hoses and trained German Shepherds.

Cameras flashed at the scene of protests as local African Americans were pummeled with the force of fire hoses. Each picture captured hit newspaper covers, as the civil rights movements of Birmingham were gaining publicity. The man behind this violence was Eugene "Bull" Connor, the head sheriff of Alabama. Connor believed in segregation and did all in his power to keep it that way. To support his beliefs and actions was governor George Wallace. "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." This was the motto Wallace lived by and won the election with. With such a corrupt government in place in Alabama, the violence and racism only grew worse. On the bright side, there was a chance of change right around the corner.

Once president John F. Kennedy learned of the issues in Birmingham, he took action immediately. For starters, Kennedy got Martin Luther's release out of jail for defying an injunction that denied his right to march or protest. To take and even bigger leap towards civil rights for all, Kennedy submitted the Civil Rights Legislation on June 11, 1963. //"//We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettos, no master race except with respect to Negroes?" This bill soon passed in congress as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Things only progressed from here in Birmingham, along with other segregated cities in the south. By 1965 the majority of African American in Alabama gained the right to vote through the Voting Rights Act.

In summary, Birmingham Alabama was the central city for civil rights movements and reforms throughout the early 1960s. With the help of ambitious organizations and social activists, change happened. This turn in segregation and racism wouldn't have occurred without the hostility and violence thrown at the demonstrators by the local government and police. It was this horrible treatment that caught the eye of the federal government to make a change for the better in a place where freedom and rights were held away from African Americans.