16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Research Paper

By 1963, when Martin Luther King planned a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. During the demonstration he was arrested and lives in the jail for eight days. While he was in prison, he wrote his "letter from Birmingham Jail" to explain his actions and those who urged him to call off the demonstrations. Martin Luther King Jr. Birmingham Jail is important because, he explains the reasons for the non-violent demonstrations, he shows that black people are intelligent, and he criticizes the unjust laws of black people.

In 1963, a month after Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech rang harmonies of freedom and equality throughout the United States, Klan members set off dynamite in the sixteenth Baptist Church. The resulting explosion and compromise in the integrity of the building killed four girls. These girls, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Denise McNarr were the victims of this atrocity. The events that followed furthered the bloodshed. Thousands of black protestors flooded the streets in protest of the horrific acta that took place in the sixteenth Baptist street church [2]. It was not until 2001 and 2002 when some of the men responsible for the crimes would be prosecuted and eventually convicted. Though the intent of the bombing was to instill fear and panic into the black community, what came about was unity and a call to action.

Marshall will be remembered for all his efforts in trying to put an end to racial segregation. He spent considerable time to work the Supreme Court to end the lasting legacy of slavery in the US. Quite evidently, he worked for the good of American society. Thurgood never wanted to lead protests but to peaceably pioneer civil rights movements. He found he was achieving a long-held ambition which placed him in the lead of the social revolution to end racial segregation. (4, 67) For this reason his life became very important in shaping the American society today. He also did many important things as a judge. He fought for individual rights and equality. His efforts helped to put an end to all racial segregation and discrimination against all African Americans in this country. Marshall did not only fight for equality in his fellow Africans, but also put important decisions as a Supreme Court judge regarding the environment, the right of appeal of people convicted of drug charges, failure to report for and to serve in the armed forces, and the rights of the Native Americans – only to state a few.

Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for protesting without a permit. The same day that King was arrested, a letter was written and signed by eight clergymen from Birmingham and titled “A Call for Unity”. The letter called for ending demonstrations and civil activities and indicated King as an “outsider”. On April 16, 1963, King responded to their letter with his own call, which has come to be known as his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King justified the nonviolent measures that sent him to jail and explained why the segregation laws against blacks in the south must be changed (356-371). At the beginning of this letter, King gives

After being arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote one of his most famous works to the people of Birmingham, titled “Letter From Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963. This piece speaks of the evils of the segregation laws and how the blacks had been treated unfairly in Birmingham, in an attempt to get the white people to support the desegregation of Birmingham. He had been imprisoned because of his participation in a civil disobedience protest, and he is arguing that, even though the white people of Birmingham see the black’s way of protesting as wrong, it is a justified way to fight back against the unjust laws. In “Letter From Birmingham

Martin received more support from many people and had more power in the year 1963. Martin chose peaceful protest movements, which led to ending segregation in Birmingham. Martin and Fred Shuttles-Worth were arrested because of defiance, and they were separated. Then all Martin’s supporters voluntarily chose to arrest themselves. They showed the government that they were not scared to go to prison because they saw that going to prison was a sign of the government 's dishonesty. They were following Martin to prison to stand in solidarity with him. Martin said, “Punish me. I do not deserve it. But because I do not deserve it, I will accept it so that the world will know that I am right and you are wrong,” (King 25). White police were confused why the black people wanted to go to the jails because all the prisons were full. The black people were saying that they did nothing wrong and they are good people, but the

Throughout the 20th century, Thurgood Marshall blazed the trail for the Civil Rights Movement from two sides of the American Legal System, both as a lawyer, and as a Justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall’s initial rise to fame came as a result of his success as the head lawyer for the Brown family in Brown vs. The Board of Education.

The 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing on September 15, 1963 has been one of the most historic bombing in the African American community. Since then, the Spike Lee’s Four Little Girls film and the poem, Ballad of Birmingham, have been created to commemorate the event and the loss of the four beautiful young girls. Both have received awards for their outstanding and thoughtful works that both artist put into their projects. The movie, Four Little Girls, was a very stimulating movie because it was not your typical scripted play. It was a documentary of all the family, friends, and community that were affected by this event. On the other hand, the poem, Ballad of Birmingham, was very eye opening because it put a new perspective of the church bombing.

Along with the murderers, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, there were quite a few other people in the

Martin Luther King Jr. wanted a demonstration, or protest, of the situation of the blacks and whites to be held in the most segregated city in the United States, Birmingham, Alabama. The Birmingham March took place between April and May of 1963. The protests and rallies were both peaceful and nonviolent. However, the police got tired of the daily protests and arrested hundreds that they found to be responsible for taking part in them and used unnecessary force, such as high pressured

In Birmingham, Ala., in the spring of 1963, King's campaign to end segregation at lunch counters and segregated hiring practices drew nationwide attention when police turned attacks dogs and fire hoses on peaceful demonstrators.

A very intelligent strong-minded man argued this case in 1954. According to UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History, Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908. He was raised in a two

Martin Luther King was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama while he was leading supporters of the southern leadership conference. While in jail, King wrote letters that were put into the national press. Police brutality against protesters sent a strong message to local Birmingham people. This helped build good support for the civil rights movement (Black History Timeline).

The police force had opted to stay out of the protection of the minority groups when these were being attacked and stripped of their dignity, yet somehow when the arrests were made only the affected party in this case the minorities were the once that were being arrested. Birmingham in the 1960s was a high point for protestors soon after 15,000 arrests were made in 186 cities. Birmingham was faced with boomings and more acts of violence all directly directed towards black and white protestors that had being up to now peacefully stand up for equality. After winning the presidency John F. Kennedy was reluctant on addressing the black demands; that would change after the violent acts in Birmingham in May 1963. He publicly acknowledged that the

Martin Luther King Jr. knew of the constant racism and cruelty in Birmingham, Alabama and decided to lead a march in 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy, treasurer of the SCLC, led a group of fifty marchers toward city hall in Birmingham (Boerst, 12). Martin Luther King Jr. and the protestors wanted to stand up