Today In History: The Children's Crusade Against Segregation
On May 2, 1963 over 1,000 African American schoolchildren skipped class to march through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama in support of desegregation, inspired and guided by the leadership of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in the fight for civil rights. The "Children's March" or "Children's Crusade" led to the arrest of nearly 800 demonstrators, as teachers and students sang hymns in peace. The following day, peaceful demonstrations continued, while high pressure water hoses, snarling dogs, and wooden clubs were deployed as a means to control the movement -- sparking outrage across the nation and throughout the world. With intervention by the United States Department of Justice, the crusade ended and the Civil Rights Act would become legislation the next year; passed on July 2, 1964, this legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.
- 500 Negroes In New Clash At Alabama Jail: Children's March To Jail. (1963, May 07). Newsday (1940-)
- Ramsey P., et al. (1963, May 10). Letters to the Times: Using Children In Alabama Presence In Protests While Court Ruling Is Awaited. New York Times (1923-)
- Flander, J. (1987, Feb 11). Fine Moments, Shames Of the '60s Are Recalled In 'Eyes On the Prize': TV Tonight. The Hartford Courant (1923-)
- Jenkins, R. (1988, Nov 27). A Masterly Summing Up Of the Civil Rights Movement. The Sun (1837-)
- Langford, D. L. (1993, Sep 12). Return To Birmingham Finds City Transformed By Civil Rights: Alabama: Today a Monument Memorializes What Many Have Forgotten, the Children's Crusade That Defied Police Dogs and Fire Hoses To Crusade For An End To Segregation. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995)
- Smith, W. (1997, Jul 11). Revisiting a Vicious Crime: Four Black Girls Were Killed In Church That Sunday In 1963. Chicago Tribune (1997-)
- Bragg, R. (2002, May 12). Alabama Faces Old Wound In One Last Trial: In One Last trial, Alabama Scrutinizes the Shame of 1963. New York Times (1923-)
- Weber, B. (2008, Dec 23). James L. Bevel, 72, An Adviser To Dr. King. New York Times (1923-)
- Cotter, H. (2018, Apr 01). Where the Dream Is Always Alive: Where Do We Go From There? New York Times (1923-)
- Saul, S., & Hartocollis, A. (2018, Mar 14). Too Young To Protest? 10-Year-Olds Beg To Differ. New York Times (1923-)
Tips:
- Burow, Rufus. A Child Shall Lead Them Forth: Martin Luther King Jr., Young People, and the Movement. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, [2014]. Butler Offsite E185.96 .B87 2014
- Eskew, Glenn T. But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements In the Civil Rights Struggle. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. Butler F334.B69 N435 1997
- Franklin, V.P. The Young Crusaders: The Untold Story Of the Children and Teenagers Who Galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. Boston, Massachusetts : Beacon Press, [2021]. Barnard LB3610.F73 Y68 2021
- Santoli, Susan P. Paige Vitulli, & Rebecca M. Giles. (2015). Equality in Black and White: A Photographic Exploration of the 1963 Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Black History Bulletin, 78(1), 17–22.
Images:
- Birmingham Children's Crusade, Courtesy Flickr, CC By 2.0
- Special News Slide, forthcoming, Courtesy of the Gottesman Libraries
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