Describe the long and short-term causes of the 1963 Birmingham Campaign. Explain the impact of this campaign on the lives of the people. The 1963 Civil Rights campaign in Birmingham, Alabama was caused by many different people, events and activities. These causes varied from long-term to short-term and all had a different impact on the movement and people involved, transforming it into the historical campaign we know today. The first long-term cause of the campaign in Birmingham, 1963, was the ongoing discrimination and racial prejudice African-Americans had been facing in their daily lives for the past century, despite the promise of equality in 1863 under the Emancipation Proclamation. Initially, African-Americans were introduced to the …show more content…
It was nicknamed ‘Bombingham’ after the many bombings and attacks on black churches, homes and groups by the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Along with the brutality in Birmingham, Bull Connor, the Public Health and Safety Commissioner, was an extreme segregationist and played a huge part in city laws and rules. With his important role in the city, he had the ability to control an entire race by changing local laws and controlling segregation in Birmingham. In a speech on the topic given to convince people of his segregationist views, he firmly stated his belief that “you’ve got to keep the black and white separate”. After the failure of peaceful protest in Albany, Martin Luther King was careful to select a city in which he could be sure the movement would get a reaction, and he knew that he would get a violent and aggressive response from Bull Connor. This was a major factor causing the Birmingham Campaign, as it was chosen specifically as a city where protesters could be sure to make their …show more content…
The act ended racial segregation in public places, schools, transport and other facilities nationwide, and outlawed discrimination based on not only race, but gender, religion and nationality amongst other things. Although the act could clearly not eliminate people’s racist and discriminatory beliefs, it did make many acts illegal, so that the violence, cruel backlash and attacks on people based on race or otherwise were punishable by law. This affected African-Americans immensely because it finally gave them true liberty and freedom, over one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation declared it without ever fully executing it in 1963. White Americans were also impacted because their lives had been significantly altered, and many people’s behaviour was proved no longer acceptable in society. Groups like the ‘Ku Klux Klan’ were officially outlawed, as were actions implementing beliefs such as the segregationist views of Bull Connor or the savagery of many white supremacists. Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr., finally reached a true level of success and were praised as ‘heroes’ who would go down in history for their courage and determination for change. Taking everything into account, although racism and
The Birmingham Church Bombing is possibly one of the most significant events in history throughout the segregation period, majorly for the African American communities that were affected by this time. The causes, nature, shot-term and long-term impacts of this bombing all play a role in its significance both at the time and today. As of the late 1960’s, Birmingham in Alabama was known to be one of America’s most segregated and racially discriminatory cities, due to the racism present in this city, it meant that there were many events of segregation that caused this bombing. At that time, the governor of Alabama, George Wallace was a leading figure of desegregation.
Thesis Martin Luther King, Jr., through the use of eloquent writing and appeals to emotion, refutes several local religious leaders' criticisms of the his and the SCLC's outside involvement and nonviolent direct action taken to draw attention to and build support for the end of segregation, not only in Birmingham, but all of the United States. Main Points First King refutes idea that he is an outside agitator that doesn’t belong in Birmingham, as he and several members of his staff were invited to the city by a local affiliate organization of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He also asserts that his involvement there is valid, as “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” as communities are connected and affect each other indirectly.
The Birmingham Campaign was very significant, as well as the SCLC, in the Civil Rights Movement. The SCLC is the Southern Christian Leadership Campaign. This was headed by King himself. The SCLC created the nonviolent Birmingham Campaign in 1957. Bull Connor, city commissioner, tried to use force against the activists.
Argument Analysis Paper During the nineteen sixties, there were high racial tensions between the whites and minority races, mainly with blacks. This was an issue that occurred almost everywhere in the United States at this time, but Birmingham, Alabama was affected the most. Public places in that town were segregated from transportation services to restaurants to restrooms. There were restaurants that did not allow blacks, public water fountains were separated from blacks and whites, and blacks had to sit in certain sections of buses.
Early in 1963, Civil Rights leaders in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other civil rights groups developed a plan to desegregate Birmingham, a city notorious for its discriminatory practices in employment and public life. SCLC and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights members immediately canvassed colleges and high schools for volunteers and began training them on the tactics of nonviolent direct action. here are not enough cops to contain them, and police reinforcements are
Reason being, it not only brought the decision of Brown v. Board of Education, but it brought the Civil Rights movement. It also brought a new anti-Jim Crow attitude in federal government. The U.S Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, in 1964. This act was a law that ended segregation in many public accommodations, outlawed employment discrimination, and anticipated further major civil rights legislation (Journal of Pan African). The year after, 1965, Congress passed the first Voting Rights Act.
Even through all of the threats King received, after going to jail and having his house bombed, he persevered and pressed on against segregation. This was only another of his many achievements that greatly affected the civil rights movement. One of King’s most popular achievements was the Birmingham Campaign. King organized large groups of students to march from the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to City Hall. Eugene Connor, Birmingham's commissioner of public safety, met the students with fire hoses and and police attack dogs.
Rhetorical Strategies: Letter from Birmingham In 1963, Birmingham Alabama was a place where African Americans struggled for equal rights. From segregation to discrimination, Birmingham consisted of all many injustice activities which involved civil rights. In 1963, Martin Luther King was arrested from protesting the treatment of African Americans.
The tactics used civil rights movement of both the 1950’s and 1960’s were different helped them succeed in different ways. During the late 1950s the tactics that were used were political, while in the early in 1960s they used social and political tactics to get their goals achieved, but in the late 1960s the tactics that were used were primarily economic and social, In the 1950’s, the civil rights movement was very successful because activist showed the level of racism and segregation in the south. The tactics and resistance made in this time period helped achieve desegregation because and the resistance that the activists dealt with just made them become more aware in the media and hopefully spread nation wide.
Analyzing Modes of Persuasion Handout Kennedy's June 11, 1963 Civil Rights Speech Directions: For each category, find two examples of the following items: Category 1: Logos: Appeal to logic 1. Referring to historical events The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no city or State or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them. attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States and African Americans were tired of the bad treatment that they were receiving so they started to peacefully protest and that event paved the way towards civil rights.
1960s was a decade when ordinary citizens took to the streets in many parts of the world to protest against policies of the government and to demand a change in society. African Americans faced segregation and were treated extremely violently in mostly the southern states of America by conservative factions in society. Martin Luther King Jr. led the Birmingham Campaign in 1963 to draw attention to the on-going segregation and actions of the police. One of the protests in this campaign was the Children’s Crusade, where thousands of children took part in a non-violent protest, but were met with brutal violence from the police. At the same time, South Africa faced Apartheid, a system of racial segregation enforced through legislation.
In this paper, I will focus on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I will provide the history, the important people involved in the establishment of the Civil Rights Act, the events that led to the act, and the reactions from the people, mostly Southerners, after the act was established. In the year of 1963, Blacks were experiencing high racial injustice and widespread violence was inflicted upon them. The outcry of the harsh treatments inflicted upon them caused Kennedy to propose the Civil Rights Act.
Summary/Assessment: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which is an organization operating in every Southern state with its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. He came to Birmingham, Alabama because injustice lies there and helped protest about it in a nonviolent demonstration against racial discrimination. The eight clergymen of the South did not approve of these demonstrations happening which caused Dr. King to be confined in Birmingham Jail cell, writing a letter to them men explaining on why he was in Birmingham and what his reasons were for these protests. He begins to talk about and explain the four basic steps that needed to be followed for any nonviolent campaign. He also gives the audience a better understanding by giving a visual glimpse of what the black community had to endure.
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.
Martin Luther King’s leadership and his beliefs had a powerful impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Their methods of peaceful resistance and civil disobedience to achieve integration, reflected his teachings. These methods later proved to be successful in achieving the goal integration of minorities when the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964. Demonstrations like the bus boycotts and non-violent marches were just some of the acts the led to this result.