Birmingham+Children's+Crusade+Notes

"Children’s Crusade ." //Martain Luther King Jr. and the Golobal Freedom Struggle//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2011. .

- 1963 attempt to desegregate Birmingham Alabama - Children were recruited for demonstrations. - Adults were scared of participating in demonstrations and losing their jobs while children had nothing to lose. - Trained high school children the tactics of nonviolent direct action - On May 2nd thousands of African American Children skipped classes - Gathered at Sixth Street Baptist Church to march to downtown Birmingham. - Hundreds were immediately arrested - Gathered the next day to march again - Bull Conner directed the local police to stop the demonstration - Children were blasted by high pressure water hoses - Clubbed by police officers - And attacked by police dogs - On the night of May 3rd Martin Luther King offered encouragement to the parents of the young protesters with a speech... “Don’t worry about your children; they are going to be alright. Don’t hold them back if they want to go to jail, for they are not only doing a job for themselves, but for all of America and for all of mankind.” - Ended on May 10th when SCLC agreed to desegregate downtown stores and release all protesters from jail. - Birmingham Board of Education said that all children who participated in the movement were to be expelled. - NAACP took this to court
 * EVENT**

- The success in Birmingham provided momentum for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and paved the way for passage of the Civil Rights act.
 * IMPACT**