May 2, 1963 – The Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963

Let’s take a moment and applaud these teenagers and even those a bit younger who are out here making their voices heard; not only in Florida, but around the country. Enough with the talk about they’re too young, they aren’t old enough to vote, etc. This is a totally different time even from twenty plus years ago when I was their age. They know what’s going on in the world. Look at what all they’ve had to be a witness to. They’re growing up in a time where racism, sexism, homophobia and blatant ignorance is all around them. All of this is out in the open. There’s no hiding With what this generation is doing with their voices and actions is what’s going to “Make America Great Again.” These disrespectful ass children don’t care about who you are. They don’t care about nary title you may have. Nope…not anymore. They’re fed up and rightfully so. I will say that every generation has to go through things. But I couldn’t imagine being born into a generation where school shootings are more common than not. I couldn’t imagine being born into a post 9/11 world where suicide killings are common. Child trafficking is a well known issue. A social media post that any fool can make and close school for the day. It’s crazy and I couldn’t imagine it…everyday. In the 90’s when I was a teenager, we didn’t have those worries. Yes they happened, but it wasn’t common. If there would’ve been a school shooting everyone would’ve lost it. Now it’s so common that you hear about it and you aren’t even surprised. These kids have been exposed to so much in their short lives that they’re fed up and rightfully so. They’re had to grow up fast because of what they’re exposed to on a daily basis. Trump sis…you have definitely met his match in the world of Twitter and social media period! Everything that they’re doing I am here for. The marches, the speeches, the walk-outs, speaking on the news. This is what we need. Truth be told, these teenagers are better well-spoken, more intelligent, more articulate and have more sense than many of these adults who they’re going against and/or who are against them.

In saying all of that…let’s not forget that this isn’t the first time a movement created by high school students has happened in this country and was much needed to spark change. Let’s keep it real…like many of protests for rights, they began on the backs on black people. On May 2, 1963, black high school students in Birmingham, Alabama staged “The Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963,” where in early 1963, Civil Rights leaders in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and other civil rights groups developed a plan to desegregate Birmingham. During this time, Birmingham was well known for discrimination in employment as well as in the public; including the schools. Segregation was all over the city and black people were only allowed to go certain places like the fairgrounds on “colored days.” The goal of the plan was to use tactics of non-violent protest to provoke the Birmingham civic and business leaders to agree to desegregate the city. The demonstrations began in April 1963 where leaders such as: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Reverend Ralph Abernathy, and Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth led thousands of African-American protestors in Birmingham. The first phase of the campaign resulted in many arrests, including Dr. King. This is where he wrote the legendary “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” on April 16th. A judge issued an injunction against protest, picketing, demonstrating and boycotting, providing the legal grounds for mass arrests. (See how this plays into us protesting today) Now, while all of this is going, these teenagers had faced discrimination and violence that we will never know. They had to go through this their whole lives. Even though it appears that we’re retracting back to this time in some ways…it’s still nothing like it was. The people involved in these protests were these kids parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles, friends of the family, church members, etc. They saw this happening to the people they loved and admired.

As the campaign continued on, SCLC leader James Bevel started to enact plans for a “Children’s Crusade” that he and other leaders believed might help turn the tide in Birmingham. For some reason he had faith that they wouldn’t turn on these young people. Yeah…okay! They trained thousands of children non-violence tactics. On May 2nd, they left the 16th Street Baptist Church in groups, heading throughout the city to protest segregation peacefully. The main thing they wanted was to talk to the mayor of Birmingham Albert Boutwell about segregation in their city. Of course, in typical racist pig fashion they were met with Birmingham’s finest and it turned from peaceful to terrifying in minutes. On the first day of the protest, hundreds of children were arrested. THEY WERE ARRESTED! By the second day of the protest, Commissioner of Public Safety Bull O’Connor ordered police to spray the children with powerful water hoses, hit them with batons, and threaten them with police dogs. I mean!!! Despite the violent treatment, children continued to participate in the demonstrations over the next few days. Footage and photographs of the violent crackdown in Birmingham circulated throughout the nation and the world making Birmingham look worse than they already did. Businesses in downtown Birmingham were feeling the pressure. (All about the money) On May 5th, protestors marched to the city jail where many of the teenagers were still being held. They sang protest songs and continued their non-violent demonstration. Finally, local officials agreed to meet with civil rights leaders and work out a plan to end the protests. On May 10th, they reached an agreement. The city leaders agreed to desegregate businesses and to free all who had been jailed during these demonstrations. However, weeks later, the Birmingham board of education announced that all students who had been involved in the “Birmingham Children’s Crusade” would be expelled. This decision was ultimately overturned by the court of appeals. It’s a damn shame that after all that happened, the board of education still wanted them expelled.

The “Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963” put the city was in the world spotlight for all the wrong reasons. With this, Birmingham city officials knew they could no longer ignore the Civil Rights Movement. Yet and still, Birmingham was still Birmingham and the south was still the south. The struggle for equality continued. Later that year, in September 1963, four little girls were killed by bombs planted by white supremacists at the 16th St. Baptist Church, and over 20 more were injured. Once again, shock waves were sent through the nation, yet…the struggle for Civil Rights continued. Despite this violent reaction to the movement for equality and justice, everyday people in Birmingham continued their efforts to end segregation and racism. In the end, children, some of them as young as 7 or 8 years old, had kept the momentum of the struggle going.