Birmingham Campaign 1963
- Created by: florineruby
- Created on: 07-04-15 19:54
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- The Birmingham Campaign 1963
- Why Birmingham?
- Large industrial city notorious for its violent racism: only 10% of the black population could vote and the NAACP had been banned
- Local civil rights campaigners, the Rev Fred Shuttleworth persuaded MLK that if segregation could be beaten here, it could be defeated anywhere in the South
- "Bull" Connor showed he was likkely to meet non-violence with violence, provoking media attention and therefore federal government intervention
- Large industrial city notorious for its violent racism: only 10% of the black population could vote and the NAACP had been banned
- Aims of the campaign
- Desegregation of the city's shopping areas, administrative buildings, schools and parks
- An end to racial discrimination in employment
- Progress of the Campaign
- Didn't get off to a good start: local white business leaders anxious to avoid bad publicity and were holding Connor back
- Southern white moderates seemed more interested in order than justice
- Primarily intended to convice white clergy of the need to oppose segregation: little impact in the South but touched consciences of many northern white clergy
- Connor was advised by Pritchett and initially followed his methods effectively: so many demonstrators were arrested MLK was in danger of running out of them: but this was done without violence
- Turning point
- MLK's campaign saved by James Bevel who persuaded him to encourage local high school students to join the marches
- Highly controversial:but it paid off as Connor ran out of jail space before MLK ran out of marchers
- Students had no fear and because they had no jobs or family responsibilities, could not be subjected to economic pressure
- Highly controversial:but it paid off as Connor ran out of jail space before MLK ran out of marchers
- The imprisonment of 1,300 local school students and the use of firehoses by Connor's police caused a media frenzy
- not just all over the USA but all over the world (Soviet media devoted 20% of their total radio time to Birmingham and JFK said he was "sickened" by the violence)
- MLK's campaign saved by James Bevel who persuaded him to encourage local high school students to join the marches
- Successes
- Kennedy had to intervene so he sent the Assistant Attorney General, Burke Marshall, who made an agreement with all parties
- Civil rights protestors were released from jail
- Large department stores were desegregated
- Large department stores were desegregated
- Local businessmen promised to end discrimination in employment
- Civil rights protestors were released from jail
- Civil rights protestors were released from jail
- Civil rights protestors were released from jail
- The violence attracted mass media coverage and the sympathy of white liberals
- Gave the Civil Rights movement more momentum than ever - MLK realised he needed media coverage to force the federal government to act
- Huge boost to campaigns elsewhere in the South - convinced Kennedy that national action was now essential
- In June 1963 he went on TV to tell the nation that "we face...a moral crisis as a country and a people" and to announce that he would introduce a Civil Rights Bill to end segregation
- Kennedy was also convinced by:
- Haviing to put the Alabama National Guard under federal control to ensure the admission of two black students to the Uniersity of Alabama
- 1963: murder of the NAACP leader in Mississippi, Medgar Evans
- The USSR was eagerly exploiting the images of the repression of African Americans
- Kennedy had to intervene so he sent the Assistant Attorney General, Burke Marshall, who made an agreement with all parties
- Failures and criticisms
- The terms of the settlement were less good than they seemed: despite the promises discrimination still occurred, many facilities remained segregated and there was much public opposition to intergration
- Peter Ling concluded: "Birmingham could not easily be counted as a victory in terms of its immediate, direct, local effects"
- MLK was criticised for some local blacks for:
- Allegedly ignoring local initiatives like a boycott of segregated stores
- Using children as marchers
- Some blamed his campaign for provoking the bombing of the local 16th Street Baptist Church by local KKK several months later in which 4 black girls were killed
- Settling too early: too eager to claim victory and move elsewhere
- The fact MLK felt the need to make the "I have a dream" speech shows the little success
- The terms of the settlement were less good than they seemed: despite the promises discrimination still occurred, many facilities remained segregated and there was much public opposition to intergration
- Why Birmingham?
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