Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called Birmingham “the most thoroughly segregated big city in the U.S.” In 1962, a federal court ordered the city to integrate its park. Rather than obey the order, the city closed its parks. The city gave up its professional baseball team rather than play with Black players. Like all Southern cities, Black children could not attend white schools. Black children could not worship in white churches, drink at white water fountains, use white restrooms, or eat at white restaurants. There were so many unsolved bombings of Black churches and homes that some people named the city Bombingham.
Dr. King began planning his attack on Birmingham’s segregation. He knew that the Black people in Birmingham had more power at the cash register than at the ballot box. Most of the Black people couldn’t vote, but they shopped in the local stores. The thought was if every Black person boycotted the stores, white businessmen couldn’t afford to keep the lunch counters and restaurants segregated. Black customer’s spending power could make a difference.
He and other civil rights leaders began planning their strategy. They called their plan Project C. The C stood for the confrontation they would have with segregation by the city’s leaders. Any progress they made was blocked by Eugene “Bull” Connor, the city’s Commissioner of Public Safety. Connor was a firm segregationist. Reportedly, he threatened merchants who were willing to take down “colored” and “white” signs. Dr. King was determined those signs would be removed. His goal was for Black people to eat in restaurants next to white people, and organize a biracial commission to end segregation, before he ended the project.
In the interim, Bull Connor was running to be the mayor of Birmingham. Dr. King decided to delay the start of the demonstrations. He did not want any negative reaction by the white residents to help Connor win the election. Neither candidate won the majority of the vote. After a run-off election the next month, candidate Albert Boutwell defeated Bull Connor.
After a brief delay, Dr. King, his team, and supporters were ready to move into the streets. On Saturday, April 6, 1963, a group of carefully selected demonstrators marched on City Hall. They marched silently, two by two, through the streets of Birmingham. A row of policemen blocked their path before they reached City Hall. The police ordered them to disperse, but they refused. They were escorted into police wagons. Connor tried to end the demonstrations through a court order. He knew Dr. King had never disobeyed a court order. On April 10th, a court injunction ordered the demonstrations to cease. After praying for guidance and meeting with his team, Dr.King decided they would disobey this order. He believed the court was using its power to maintain an unjust system of segregation. He told his followers, “A man is required to obey a law only when the law is just and right.”
On Good Friday, Dr. King, Dr. Ralph Abernathy, and other civil rights leaders dressed in gray work shirts and blue jeans and lead about 40 demonstrators into the street. They knew they would be arrested. As the marchers headed for the downtown area, thousands of Black people lined the streets singing “We Shall Overcome.” It was not long after when Bull Connor intervened and arrested Dr. King, Dr. Abernathy, and 53 other demonstrators. Dr. King was separated from the others in jail. He was not able to call home to tell his worried wife he was okay.
Since she had not heard from her husband, Dr. King’s wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King contacted President John Kennedy. She was not able to reach him directly. A few minutes later, his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy called her. He promised to find out what was happening in Birmingham. The next morning, President Kennedy called her after speaking to officials in Birmingham. He sent the FBI to check on Dr. King’s safety, and he was allowed to call home.
While he was in jail, Dr. King learned he had been severely criticized by a group of white religious leaders in Birmingham. They called him a troublemaker and an outsider. While sitting in jail, he wrote them a letter. The letter was dated April 16, 1963. He outlined the philosophy behind the nonviolent movement and the civil rights struggle. He described what it was like to be a Negro in America. He wrote, “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say “wait.” His famous letter cited the Bible and the U.S. Constitution, among other texts.
He went on to write, “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law.” He went on to express his deep disappointment with the white religious community. He told them, “I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause, and with deep moral concern, would serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed.”
The Birmingham demonstrations were the most massive civil rights protest that had occurred up until that point and were aimed at grabbing the nation’s ear. Televised images of police using dogs and fire hoses against the protesters generated a national outcry against segregation leaders in Birmingham. His letter is the most important written document of the civil rights era. The letter and demonstrations eventually prompted President Kennedy to introduce major civil rights legislation.
Francie Mae. January 12, 2023.
References
Letter from Birmingham Jail. Bill of Rights Institute. Web. Accessed January 12, 2023.
Bleiweiss, Robert M. 1968. Marching to Freedom: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Middletown, Connecticut. American Education Publications.