It
was not all that long ago that Jim Crow laws made segregation and
discrimination a part of life in America. While these laws existed
primarily in the "old south," negative attitudes about diversity and
legal barriers to integration existed all over America. For example,
in Chicago suburbs, it was common to have property deeds state that a
house could not be sold to an African American.
Imagine what segregation would
be like. Some American citizens were not allowed to do the same
things or go to the same places as white people. African Americans
couldn't go to most restaurants, parks, hotels, swimming pools, or
amusement parks. They even had to use separate drinking fountains and
bathrooms. Sometimes, there were no public restrooms that they could
use at all.
Generations of African Americans
grew up with these injustices and lived their whole lives powerless to
change the situation. Being forced to live this way and not being
able to change things is difficult. It is even harder to explain this
to your children.
Legal and cultural oppression
was deeply ingrained in the south. Those that talked or attempted to
work for change were dealt with violently. The law seemed to look the
other way. In some cases, the law seemed to actually be on the side
of the lawbreakers that committed crimes of violence to maintain
segregation.
The situation looked bleak and
overwhelming. Like many of his followers, Dr. King was discouraged.
What could they do? Many were ready to give up, but they kept
meeting, talking, and praying. One night, when Dr. King asked who
would demonstrate with him, ready to go to jail if arrested, the
children stood up.
This surprised everyone; some
adults even told them to sit down. Dr. King was grateful for their
offer and thanked them. He did not want to see children suffer
fighting discrimination. The children, however, would not be denied
the opportunity to be part of change. They wanted to help.
This was distressing to Dr. King. The only volunteers to take action
were children. He was not comfortable leading a protest with
children. Reverend
James Bevel, another civil
rights activist and minister, encouraged Dr. King to accept the
children's support.
Reverend Bevel asked, "Are they
too young to go to segregated schools? Are they too young to be kept
out of amusement parks? Are they too young to be refused a hamburger
in a restaurant?"
Dr. King and the assembled crowd
all answered, "NO!"
Reverend Bevel replied, "Then
they are not too young to want their freedom."
It was difficult to deny the
powerful reasoning and wisdom that Reverend Bevel shared. It made no
sense to make children wait a lifetime for freedom. Everyone agreed
that if children were old enough to join the church, they were old
enough to decide to march. Word of this bold decision quickly
spread. Children and young adults told their friends. On the day of
the march, they were a thousand strong.
As expected, the sheriff
arrested the protesters and put them in jail. The next day, even more
showed up to protest. Friends of the children and young adults that
had been arrested joined the march. Parents and their extended
families got involved. This happened again the following day.
Eventually, more than one thousand children were in jail.
Reverend Bevel understood that
adults might be reluctant to march. They were rightfully afraid of
going to jail. They were afraid of losing their jobs. They were
afraid of hurting their families. Children were not bound by these
fears. Reverend Bevel know that when adults saw children march in a
dignified and brave manner, standing up for their rights, older people
joined the action.
Perhaps even more important,
Reverend Bevel knew that the sight of children being hauled to jail
would dramatically stir the nation's conscience.
Today it is hard to believe, but
in Birmingham, there were people that supported the local Sheriff,
Eugene "Bull" Conner, and the vicious way that he tried to beat down
the challenge to segregation. He instructed police to beat marchers
with their night sticks. He told them to release police dogs on the
children, allowing the dogs to bite. He directed the Fire Department
to turn fire hoses on the children, so strong, the force of the water
could strip bark off trees. Imagine the destructive force of 100
pounds of pressure per square inch being sprayed on you.
Local, then national and then
international news organizations covered this abuse in print and TV.
When people all over the country and the world saw pictures of this
brutal misuse of police power all directed at children, they were
outraged.
What type of society would do
this to children? What was their crime? The protesters only wanted
the right to live like other American kids. Unfortunately, the nation
was not willing to have a reasonable discussion about human rights in
America. Now, Birmingham was being shamed while the rest of the
country and world watched.
Of course, the white people in
Birmingham did not want the world condemning them and their way of
life. It was one thing to abuse children when it was seen as a "local
issue;" it was another thing to have the eyes of the world watching
and proclaiming, "SHAME ON YOU!"
The injustice hurt the local
economy. Who would want to go into such a community and conduct
business or go shopping, or look for entertainment? People were
afraid to go downtown and support local retailers and restaurants.
Groups of African Americans and whites that had previously disagreed
on action were now united in the belief that a grave injustice was
being committed on the streets of Birmingham.
People saw that Sheriff Connor
was not a law enforcer. He was a bigot and an abusive thug. The
children were not committing any real crimes. It was the authorities
that proclaimed to represented law and order that were acting like
criminals.
The great achievement of the
Children's March was the realization that peaceful action on the part
of the protesters would show the nation and the world the ugly nature
of racism. When Sheriff Connor authorized and advocated excessive and
dangerous force against children, he stood naked in front of the
world. His "moral authority" had been stripped.
Filling the jails in Alabama
with thousands of children who's only crime was to advocate for a
normal childhood was a gross injustice that few could stomach. Even
fewer could justify it. Up to now, it was not possible to get adults
to address the hypocrisy and injustice of segregation. Now, adults
all across the nation demanded change.
Up to now, the President of the
United States, John F. Kennedy, felt he could do nothing about the
segregation in the south. It was beyond executive authority. After
the chaos and embarrassment of Birmingham's Children's March, he could
no longer stand by and watch. The children's march had awaken the
nation -- the ugly, violent, and unjust situation in Alabama was no
longer a "local issue."
Dr. Martin Luther King was
arrested for his role in the Children's March. President Kennedy
placed a personal call to the police station. Dr. King was released
from jail.
The Children's March's original
goal was to desegregate downtown stores in Birmingham. Now, Dr. King
had a global stage and the leverage to demand more. Clearly, brave
children that were victims of police brutality and uncalled for
incarceration deserved more. With the country more united, now was
the time to negotiate for meaningful change.
The fight for Civil Rights in
America was a long and hard battle. Many were hurt and many lives
were lost. Families were torn apart. They Children's March began a
serious of events that made passage of The Civil Rights Act Possible.
Great historical events are connected. Here are some of the important
events that occurred in 1963:
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