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Birmingham Campaign Summary
The Birmingham Campaign took place in April 1963 and was organized by Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the local Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR).
Organizers led protests, sit-ins, and a boycott of local businesses to highlight the injustice African American citizens of Alabama and Birmingham faced. The local police, led by the Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene “Bull” Connor, responded with mass arrests and the use of force against the peaceful protests.
The police used dogs, fire hoses, and clubs in an attempt to stop the protestors. Images of the violent response from authorities helped provoke national outrage and contributed to a negotiated settlement that led to some legal integration in Birmingham. The Birmingham Campaign's outcomes also helped propel public support for the Civil Rights Movement and the proposed Civil Rights Act, and it solidified King as a national figure.
You've learned some key details about the protest in this Birmingham Campaign Summary. See the timeline below and the sections that follow to learn more.
Fig 1 - A statue commemorating the Birmingham Campaign of 1963.
Birmingham Campaign Timeline
See how the Birmingham Campaign developed in the timeline below.
Fig 2 - Birmingham Campaign Timeline, made by the author Adam McConnaughhay, a StudySmarter original.
Birmingham Campaign and Civil Rights
The Birmingham Campaign is one of the most outstanding examples of the success of the nonviolent tactics employed by Martin Luther King, Jr and the Civil Rights Movement. It, along with the March to Selma, produced some of the most iconic and provocative images of the violent response to the movement by authorities.
To help us understand the significance and impact of the Birmingham Campaign, let's look at its context, Martin Luther King's role, and the events themselves in greater detail.
Context of the Birmingham Campaign of 1963
While nearly all the US South and much of the north had a large degree of legal and de facto segregation, Alabama stood out because of the zeal and voracity of the response by authorities.
King called Birmingham the most segregated city in America.
Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known… There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation.”1
African Americans faced were denied work in higher paying jobs. Nearly all public spaces were segregated. The city had gone to such lengths to enforce segregation, that when a court outlawed segregation in public parks, the city closed them entirely.
Attacks on local activists were so frequent, the city had earned the nickname of “Bombingham.” This meant the population had a lot to gain by a successful Birmingham Campaign.
Another factor that made Birmingham a ripe setting for a protest campaign was the reputation of Bull Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety, a role that was similar to sheriff but also gave him a lot of power under the structure of the city's government.
Connor was extremely antagonistic to the Civil Rights Movement, and his anticipated violent response was a key factor in organizing the Birmingham Campaign.
Fig 3 - Photo of Bull Connor.
Nonviolent Direct Action and Civil Disobedience
The Civil Rights Movement was largely based on the use of direct action via nonviolent methods. Direct action is using actions such as marches, sit-ins, and boycotts to cause change rather than voting or conducting court cases battles, the more traditional and indirect forms of changing laws.
Many of the Civil Rights Movement's leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. adopted a strategy of nonviolence, modeled in some respects on Gandhi's leadership of the movement for Indian Independence. It also called for, when necessary, civil disobedience, or breaking the law, and willingly accepting being put into jail as a way to highlight the injustice of unfair laws.
Authorities responding violently to peaceful protests or jailing people simply demanding their rights helped give protestors the moral high ground, build sympathy, and highlight the injustice faced by African Americans. Therefore, the violent images of the beatings and attacks on protestors during the Birmingham Campaign, although horrible, were in many ways the intended effect and served the campaign's goals in turning public opinion to their side.
Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored… The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.”2
The Role of Martin Luther King in the Birmingham Campaign of 1963
Martin Luther King had emerged as a significant leader of the Civil Rights Movement during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His SCLC decided to join with local activist Fred Shuttleworth's ACMHR for the Birmingham Campaign.
As part of the role of Martin Luther King in the Birmingham Campaign, he came to Birmingham and organized a series of workshops and trainings on nonviolence.
Fig 4 - Statue of Martin Luther King in Birmingham.
Birmingham Campaign's Goals
The Birmingham Campaign's goals were:
- Desegregation of downtown Birmingham
- Fair hiring
- Reopening the parks
- A bi-racial committee for school desegregation
King and Shuttleworth planned the Birmingham Campaign during the busy Easter shopping season. They would organize a boycott of the white owned shops and a series of demonstrations in the downtown shopping area meant to disrupt business and put pressure on shop owners and the city to negotiate.
Fig 5 - Martin Luther King speaks at a meeting in preparation for the Birmingham Campaign.
Events and Development of the Birmingham Campaign
The Birmingham Campaign began with the boycott on April 3, 1963.
Beginnings
Activists organized mass meetings, marches, and sit-ins at lunch counters, churches, and the public library. As the Birmingham Campaign gained momentum, many more people volunteered to participate.
King's Arrest
On April 10, the city obtained a court order to stop the protests.
However, organizers decided to disobey the order. On April 12, Good Friday, King was arrested along with other prominent leaders of the campaign. He was held for over a week until April 20.
King's “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
While being held in solitary confinement in Birmingham's jail, King penned one of his most poignant writings on nonviolent civil disobedience, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
The letter was written as a response to a group of white clergymen who criticized the movement for provoking violence and called on them to stop the protests, negotiate, and wait patiently as progress was made.
King pointed out that no system of oppression was changed by choice, and that for African Americans who faced daily struggles, it was unacceptable to wait any longer. He went so far as to call white moderates a greater foe to Civil Rights than the KKK.
The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is a great explanation of the philosophy of nonviolence. Read the full letter here. As you do, consider why King believes breaking the law to be just when the laws themselves are unjust.
Fig 6 - Mugshot of Martin Luther King during the Birmingham Campaign.
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.”3
Children's Crusade
While King and some demonstrators were willing to be arrested, many were not, since they could not afford to risk missing work or pay bond. Therefore, demonstrations began to decline.
SCLC activist James Bevel proposed involving school children in further demonstrations. If the children were arrested, their families would not be missing out on wages. Bevel trained students on withstanding violent reprisals from police.
On May 2, hundreds of children from all ages walked out of school and marched to demonstrate in downtown Birmingham. Over 600 students were arrested, including a child as young as 8 years old.
Birmingham's 900-person capacity jail was now overflowing with more than 1,200 arrested protestors.
Connor Orders Violent Quelling of the Protests
With the jail full, Bull Connor decided to break the protests with a more extreme response.
On May 3, as approximately 1,000 students began to march, Connor ordered them sprayed with high-pressure water hoses. Protestors were knocked to the ground by the force of the hoses.
While some protestors threw rocks and bottles at police, the majority remained peaceful. Still, Connor ordered German Shepard police dogs to be used against them.
Finally, around 3 pm, protestors withdrew and police reopened the downtown area.
Fig 7 - Statue commemorating the Children's Crusade.
Stalemate and Negotiation
Tense standoffs continued for several more days.
Organizers pleaded with angry parents and residents to maintain nonviolent protests. Connor set up a makeshift jail on the city fairgrounds. Media and supporters of Civil Rights descended on Birmingham, and the Kennedy administration prepared to send the National Guard if events again turned violent.
Business had been ground to a halt, forcing business owners to negotiate. National chain stores that had locations in Birmingham began to pressure for a settlement. At 4 am on May 8, business leaders in Birmingham announced they would desegregate lunch counters, bathrooms, and drinking fountains, and hire African Americans. However, white political leaders refused to give in.
During the night of May 11, a bomb exploded at the Gaston Motel, where King had been staying until only hours before. The next day, riots broke out when state troopers arrived to further repress protests. On May 13, federal troops arrived. Organizers decided to end the campaign and declare victory on the agreement reached.
Birmingham Campaign Outcome
The Birmingham Campaign's outcomes were not immediately realized. The Chamber of Commerce said businesses had met the terms after hiring only one African American sales clerk.
However, a new mayor implemented further reforms.
By July, the city desegregated lunch counters and most public spaces, and parks were reopened. A biracial committee was appointed to plan the integration of schools and further advance Civil Rights and reconciliation.
Violence continued in Birmingham with the bombings of a local NAACP attorney's home and 16th Street Baptist Church by the KKK in September 1963. Actual gains in areas such as equal employment were slow.
The more important of the Birmingham Campaign's outcomes were how it influenced the national conversation. The images of fire hoses and police dogs turned on children and peaceful protestors were published in newspapers and seen on TV around the world, and they helped to bring attention, sympathy, and support for Civil Rights.
The spectacle in Birmingham… must excite the sympathy of the rest of the country for the decent, just, and reasonable citizens of the community.”4
King's reputation grew immensely and was further bolstered by the March on Washington that August. Kennedy and other national political figures drafted what became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The campaign inspired others like it around the country.
For this reason, the Birmingham Campaign's outcomes are considered to be a watershed moment in awakening the national consciousness to the need for Civil Rights legislation and the end of segregation. The violent images from it and the March to Selma in 1965 stand as some of the most lasting of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Birmingham Campaign - Key takeaways
- The Birmingham Campaign was a series of demonstrations organized by the local activists and Martin Luther King's SCLC.
- The campaign sought to force integration in Birmingham's downtown shopping district and consisted of a series of nonviolent marches and sit-ins.
- The city's authorities, led by Bull Connor, responded with mass arrests and the spraying of protestors, including children, with fire hoses and the use of police dogs.
- While only some demands were immediately addressed, the images from the protests helped to galvanize national public support for Civil Rights and played a role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as launched King into the national spotlight.
References
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter From a Birmingham Jail, 1963.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter From a Birmingham Jail, 1963.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter From a Birmingham Jail, 1963.
- Violence in Birmingham The Washington Post. May 5, 1963.
- Fig 5 - King speaking at church (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poh%C5%99eb_ob%C4%9Bt%C3%AD_bombov%C3%A9ho_%C3%BAtoku,_Birmingham_1963.jpg) by Tom Self/Birmingham News (https://www.al.com/news/erry-2018/09/2712124b2d2518/16th-street-baptist-church-bom.html) licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CC-BY-SA-4.0)
- Fig 7 - Statue of police sicking dog on child (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sculpture_of_Police_Siccing_Dog_on_Protester_-_Kelly_Ingram_Park_-_Birmingham_-_Alabama_-_USA_(34266832751).jpg) by Adam Jones (https://www.flickr.com/people/41000732@N04) licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CC-BY-SA-2.0)
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Frequently Asked Questions about Birmingham Campaign
What was the Birmingham Campaign?
The Birmingham Campaign was a series of demonstrations organized by the Civil Rights Movement in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, that proved to be a watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement due to the violent response from local authorities that was broadcast to the nation and inspired national support for reform.
When was the Birmingham Campaign?
The Birmingham Campaign took place from April to early May 1963.
When did the Birmingham Campaign start?
The Birmingham Campaign started on April 3, 1963.
How did the Birmingham Campaign begin?
The Birmingham Campaign began with marches on city government buildings, sit-ins, and a boycott of downtown shops and businesses.
Was the Birmingham Campaign successful?
The Birmingham Campaign was successful in achieving some of its immediate goals, such as the desegregation of public spaces, although progress on fair hiring and true integration took time. Its success is better measured by the effect it had on national support for the Civil Rights Movement.
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