4 Little Girls

In 1963 Wallace proved that he would stand behind his campaign from 1962. On June 11, 1963, Wallace stood in the doorway at the University of Alabama, blocking two black students from gaining access. This was his second act of defying federal government orders. Again in September 1963, Wallace ordered schools in Alabama closed to keep the federal government from integrating schools.

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.

Additionally, Birmingham and other southern urban areas had been the scenes of bombings coordinated at African Americans and social equality nonconformists. “One of the tragedies of the struggle against racism is that up to now there has been no national organization which could speak to the growing militancy of young black people in the urban ghetto (Carmichael).” One of the tragedies of the battle against bigotry is that up to now there has been no national association which could address the developing militancy of youthful dark individuals in the urban ghetto. This shows how even today things have curved in a good way because of leaders who stood ground and believed that this was not the right way.

Whites was stuck in their traditional Southern ways and wasn’t about to let blacks change that. When blacks tried to protest non-violently, the whites was ready to start a riot but the blacks were the ones arrested for “inciting a riot”. Some blacks even lost hope because they felt they were fighting a losing battle. But the fight continued and some blacks such as C. K. Steele wasn’t going to stop fighting until total integration was achieved.

Segregation is not only in schools or on buses but at stores, restaurants, water fountains, just about anything. A man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for blacks to have their rights. Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t want to fight with violence he wanted to fight with peace and love. He believed that if blacks took the high road and didn’t fight back it would draw good attention towards the movement. Martin Luther king was arrested during a march and in jail he wrote a letter called “ a letter from a Birmingham jail”. He wrote the letter on toilet paper and it was smuggled from out of the jail. Martin Luther King Jr. was famous for many things like his preachings of love but he was mostly famous for his “ I Have A Dream” speech which was given on the March on Washington for jobs and Freedom. Not all people agreed with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about non violent protest. People like Malcolm X. Malcolm X believed that black people need to get their rights by “ any means necessary” Malcolm X was a prominent black leader. Like Martin Luther King

In the New York Times article, “Birmingham Bomb Kills Four Negro Girls in Church; Riots Flare; Two Boys Slain”, reporter Claude Sitton gives plenty of details about what occurred the Sunday morning of September 15th. The beginning of the article states that the bombing of the all Negro church killed four black girls (Cynthia Weasley, 14, Denise McNair, 11, Carol Robertson, 14, Addie Mae Collins, 14) and injured fourteen Negroes. Claude also explains that during the hours following the bombing and explosion, others were hurt and killed. The hours after the bombing were chaotic and Birmingham was in complete mayhem. Among the killings were two young black boys shot, sixteen year old Johnny Robinson and fourteen year old Virgil Wade. Among the

“Mississippi Burning” is based on the investigation of a missing persons case which turned into a murder case in Mississippi that involved three young students who were civil rights workers involved in Freedom Summer of 1964. Two of the students were Jewish and one was an African-American whom came down to Mississippi from New York City. After the students did not return home the parents pushed for media attention since the Mississippi Police were not doing any investigations. The FBI then had to get involved with the case. Little did the parents know that the police were the ones who actually committed the murder of their children. This film shows us the oppression towards African-Americans, specifically in the south.

However, the SCLC chose to hold out because Birmingham had impending mayoral elections. Though the notorious racist Eugene “Bull” Connor was defeated in the election, his successor, Albert Boutwell, was also a pronounced segregationist. Therefore, the protests began.

To begin with, the bombing came by surprise. It was September 15,1963 11:00 AM at The 16th Street Baptist Church (United States National Park Service). Just before this the church had been a big gathering point for civil rights activists (“16th Street Baptist Church Bombing). That morning at 11:00 AM a bomb was placed under the church stairs (“About the 1963 Birmingham Bombing”). The bombing was a surprise to everyone in and around

Within the first few minutes, the film summarized the church bombing that killed four innocent young girls and explained how it affected the Civil Rights Movement all through a historic song. The first scene of the movie, each victim’s family described their daughters’ childhood and how segregation affect their family. One interesting fact was the father of Denise McClair, one of victims, actually went to school in Tuskegee. The second victim, Carole Roberston, was confused why whites and blacks could not share the same water fountain, restaurant and bathroom. She did

Throughout history, Colored folks and White people do not seem to get along based on appearance.Men and women of color weren't treated fairly, no matter where they're at without being looked down upon. Most Americans have divided themselves into non-mixed neighborhoods. The “Jim Crow” laws on the state level stopped them from entering classrooms, bathrooms, theaters, trains, juries, and legislatures.Also, In the case of “Plessy v. Ferguson” in 1896, the U.S. Supreme court said that racially separate facilities are equal, it does not violate the Constitution. Segregation, the court said, was not a discrimination. Segregation supported the legal system and the police, but beyond the law, violence was going on around the citizens. The Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camellia, and other terrorists murdered thousands of African-Americans, to prevent them from voting and participating in public life. In Arkansas, Central High School was one of the firsts to integrate. Nine teenagers got together to go to Central High, they did not go in to protest but to get a better education. The Little Rock Nine didn't see it as a way to bring in violence, but it all started in Arkansas, in 1957, a conflict against two different points of views. However, In Warriors Don't Cry Melba Pattillo Beals presents the idea that emotional strength, Determination, and confidence are necessary to gain freedom and equality for all.

What might they and their aftermaths suggest about the nature of common social beliefs regarding race/ethnicity and womanhood in the American South? Your response should be in the range of 250-500 words.

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.

The resist of white through the civil rights movement can be seen through defensive localism, southern strategy and the war on drugs. Since the late 19th century white American have been fighting to keep control over black Americans. White supremacy can be defined as the belief that white people are superior to other races. Defensive localism is the connection between the racialization and monetization of space. An all white neighborhood had a higher property value than an all black one. White homeowner felt that having a black family in their neighborhood would lower the property value. Southern strategy was the republican party way to gain political support in the south by appealing to racism against blacks. A great example of someone who

The Birmingham campaign was a movement organized by King Martin Luther in the spring of 1963 to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. In the early 1960s, Birmingham was a very segregated city. This meant that black and white people were kept separated. They had different schools, restaurants, water fountains and even different place to stay. There were laws that allowed and enforced segregation called Jim Crow Laws. The movement which began in April, utilized massive direct action to attack Birmingham’s strongly engrained system of segregation. The protests were co-named “Project C”. The “C” stood for “confrontation”. The protests were non violent and included boycotting downtown stores, sit-ins, marches. The organizers thought that if enough people protested, then the local government would be forced to confront them and this would make national news gaining them support the federal government and the rest of the country. This project C brought national attention to the inequality of America’s economic, legal and social system- attention that led to the civil rights act of 1964.