Birmingham and MLK Demonstrations

The Birmingham Demonstrations
Museum

Located in Birmingham, Alabama.
By: Aidan M.

The Injustice of the Birmingham Demonstrations

The word Injustice means a violation of the right of others, or an unfair act. How an injustice plays
into the events of Birmingham during the time of segregation is that the mayor of Birmingham, Bull
Connor, decided to use extreme acts of violence to try and stop protesters from speaking their ideas.
Segregation is the separation of a race, class or ethnic group from the rest of society. Bull Connor
used policemen with nightsticks, firemen with high-pressured water hoses, and other tactics. The
protesters weren’t using acts of violence, they were just speaking for their equality, and not harming
anyone. Bull Connor violated the African Americans who protested, which connects back to an
injustice.

African Americans
being blasted by
high-pressure fire
hoses

MLK’s Legacy

The legacy of Dr. King is that he achieved a goal: he eased the tension between African Americans
and whites. He lowered the amount of racism and segregation in America too. He created peace and
equality for both races, which was good for people. How he connects to Birmingham is that Dr. King
organized some of the events in the Birmingham demonstrations, and protested with other African
Americans during a ton of protests along the streets of Birmingham. One big part of King’s legacy is
when he was thrown into jail for protesting without a permit, he wrote a letter in the margins of a
newspaper, stating the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, and became very famous after a while.
Civil Rights are the basic rights that every citizen has under the laws of the government.

Dr. King walking
along the streets
of Birmingham to
protest for equality

How MLK Made a Difference for Birmingham

At first, Dr. King didn’t want to come to Birmingham because he knew that it was such a bad place

with so much segregation and racism in it. However, he knew that he had to stop such bad actions

and behaviors that Birmingham was pulling off. He went to Birmingham, hoping people would want

to take a stand and join him in protesting for their equality. He was right, and African Americans

started to rebel and protest for their rights, causing a dysfunction in Birmingham City. Then those

were the events where Bull Connor used tactics to hurt the protesters, which was an injustice. After

a long time of this happening, President John F. Kennedy sent in soldiers to stop all of the chaos.

Bull Connor then grudgingly agreed to take down all of the segregation signs in the city, and

desegregated everything. Desegregate means to stop racial segregation in schools and other public

facilities. A white person taking
down a segregation sign

that says White Men

Primary Source: Dr. King Letter from the Jail

On April 12, 1963, Dr. King was thrown into jail for leading a big amount of protesters down
the street of Birmingham. While he was in jail serving his time, he wrote a letter using
materials scavenged to explain the goal of the Civil Rights Movement. The letter also explained
the racial problems in Birmingham, Alabama. This is a primary source because it shows actual
words that Dr. King wrote in his letter from Birmingham City Jail.

Dr. King’s
letter from the
jail

Secondary Source: Segregation Sign

This is an old segregation sign from Birmingham City. It is a secondary source because even
though it’s from Birmingham, it’s from 1934, and not 1963 when Dr. King was visiting to
help protest. This shows that only white women were only allowed to go to one place or do one
thing, but it doesn’t mention anything about African American women, which meant they
weren’t allowed in one place. This is technically Jim Crow Laws. The Jim Crow Laws were
laws common in the South which required African Americans to use separate public facilities.

A segregation sign from
Birmingham, Alabama, in
1934

Works Cited

About the 1963 Birmingham Bombing,
www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/randall/birmingham.htm.

Admin. “Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary.” How to Format a Cover Letter,
16 Sept. 2017,
www.fldefensivedrivingschool.com/letter-from-birmingham-jail-summary.html.

Birmingham Campaign.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Jan. 2018,
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign.

www.pinterest.com/pin/251216485440496393/.

Works Cited Continued

Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/4433299608866554/.