Birmingham+Campaign

=Birmingham Campaign=

Campaign led by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 to achieve desegregation in the city of Birmingham, Alabama
In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the worst upholders of segregation. At the time, the police leader, later made mayor, Eugene Connor, was a supporter of segregation and attempts to damage the black community by the KKK went ignored by him.

Martin Luther King Jr., along with the SCLC, decided Birmingham would be the next best place to take their protest. Gaining support from the head of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, Fred Shuttlesworth, King was able to lead a protest against the new mayor, Connor, on Good Friday, April 12th. Due to a court law temporarily passed for disallowing protest, and a small amount of bail money available from the SCLC, King had trouble deciding whether or not to follow through with the campaign. Yet, he deceived the law and acting on faith continued with the march.

In the afternoon of April 12th, 50 protestors marched to City Hall, but were arrested and placed in jail. In the day, an article in the Burmingham News showed criticism for the protest by a group of white ministers. From his jail cell, King wrote the famous letter, "Letter from Burmingham Jail" defending his campaign in the city. On April 20, King's bail was paid and he met with SCLC member James Bevel and CORE member Isaac Reynolds who said they had been training black school students to protest non-violently and therefore said they could get their support. King originally disagreed because he thought the older black members of the community would go against him for it, yet he allowed them to support the May 2nd rally at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.

The rally gained support from many students, however as they were sent towards the City Hall in groups, most were arrested, totalling 600 arrests by the end of the day. The next day however, over 1000 students came from the church and marched against city forces including buses, police cars, K-9 units and trucks. Refusing to stop, they were forcefully repelled by the use of high pressure hoses as well as police dogs. After some students had been bitten and photos appeared the next day in the papers, president John F. Kennedy saw the the disturbing disturbing pictures and sent Assistant Attourney General Burke Marshall for negotiations.

On the 4th of May, black leaders and store owners started negotiations, while marches continued till May 8th, King stated marches would halt for the mean time while negotiations occurred. May 10th brought a final decision, allowing restrooms and drinking fountains to be used by black people within 30 days of the new Mayor Boutwell's inauguration, and soon after lunch counters would be desegregated, as well as the creation of a biracial committee.

__Bibliography__ McElrath, J. (2009). //The Birmingham Campaign.// Available: http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/birminghamalabama/a/birmingham.htm. Last accessed 27 May 2009. Unknown author. (2009). //Birmingham Campaign.// Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign. Last accessed 27 May 2009. Eskew, Glenn T.. (2007). //Birmingham Campaign of 1963.// Available: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1358. Last accessed 27 May 2009.