SCLC & Birmingham

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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

The SCLC was created by Martin Luther King.

The SCLC

King thought it important to have an organisation that was set up and remained purely in the Southern States.
King believed that a religious organisation would face less direct violence.

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King’s main aims were to challenge the deep-rooted Southern belief in segregation, to gain universal equal citizenship for black people in America, and to encourage them to vote.
King also believed in the power of non-violent methods (seen in the Montgomery Boycott).
King organised marches in Washington DC. His march in 1967 attracted nearly 20,000 people.

Birmingham, Alabama 1963

Martin Luther King organised a march in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963.

Birmingham, 1963

King saw Birmingham, Alabama as a place in which the SCLC could prove that their movement was effective in the fight for Civil Rights.
He thought he would gain support in Birmingham because many white people in Birmingham felt that the racial divide was preventing the city from becoming prosperous.
He also saw that limited campaign groups were active in Birmingham.

Racism in Birmingham

Campaigning in Birmingham was a brave move by King because Birmingham was a heavily racist city.
- White supremacists were at the time campaigning to end ‘Negro music’ and the sale of a book which showed black and white rabbits mixing.
King thought that in Birmingham, white opposition to black people would come out in force (under the direction of the racist Public Safety Commissioner ‘Bull Connor) which would, in turn, get the movement publicity and win national sympathy.
King was hoping to get the attention of President Kennedy.

Publicity

King needed press coverage of his movement so, he encouraged young people to march in Birmingham. Some 500 SNCC students marched.
Commissioner Connor ordered fire hoses to be aimed at the students, the force of the water tore off their clothes.
Conner then imprisoned the students on mass.
- The events received lots of media coverage.

Success in Birmingham

Despite bombings being carried out by the KKK on King's hotel and his brother’s house, an agreement was made to try and make conditions for black people better in Birmingham
The events in Birmingham were a big success for King. He successfully exploited the media by predicting how the Commissioner would react.
The exploitation of the media resulted in more Civil Rights activism across the United States and was very influential in the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77

1.1The Thirteenth Amendment

1.1.1The Civil War & The Thirteenth Amendment

1.1.2The Impact of the Civil War

1.1.3Economic, Political & Social Position of Ex-Slaves

1.1.4Political Settlement & Andrew Johnson

1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77

1.2.1The Fourteenth Amendment

1.2.2The Fifteenth Amendment & The Civil Rights Act

1.3The Backlash

1.3.1White Supremacy Groups

1.3.2The End of Reconstruction 1887

2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890

2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases

2.1.1Jim Crow Laws

2.1.2Voting Rights

2.1.3Scientific Racism

2.1.4Civil Rights Cases

2.2Resistance and Migration

2.2.1The Northern States & Black Resistance

2.2.2Early Migration

2.2.3The Great Migration

2.2.4Race Riots

2.2.5Migration Case Study: Harlem

3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41

3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances

3.1.1The Democrat Party & the Anti-Lynching Bill

3.2The New Deal

3.2.1The New Deal

3.2.2The Alphabet Agencies

3.2.3The PWA, WPA & the NYA

3.2.4Benefits

3.2.5Impact of the New Deal & Eleanor Roosevelt

3.2.6Gone With the Wind

3.3The Second World War

3.3.1The Experience of War

3.3.2The Home Front

3.3.3The White Flight

3.3.4Restrictive Covenants

4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68

4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63

4.1.1The Desegregation of Schools

4.1.2The Montgomery Bus Boycott

4.1.3SCLC & Birmingham

4.1.4SNCC

4.1.5CORE

4.2Civil Rights 1964-68

4.2.1Civil Rights Act 1964 & Voting Act 1965

4.2.2Ghettos & Poverty

4.2.31966 - 1968

4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers

4.3.1The Nation of Islam & Malcolm X

4.3.2Divisions in the Civil Rights Movement

4.3.3The Black Panthers

4.4Literature, Film & Television

4.4.1Racial Attitudes in Literature from 1850-2009

4.4.2Racial Attitudes in Film from 1850-2009

4.4.3Racial Attitudes in Television from 1850-2009

5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09

5.1The Late 20th Century

5.1.1Migration Back to the South in the 20th Century

5.1.2The Status of Black People 1968-2009

5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career

5.2.1Barack Obama's Life

5.2.2Senator for Illinois

5.2.3Running as Presidential Candidate

5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory

5.3.1Reasons for Vicotry

5.3.2The Significance of Obama's Victory

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