Civil Rights

Peaceful protests and their impact, 1963–65

King and the peace marches of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, and Washington

On 3 April 1963, King, together with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led a campaign
against racial discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. Known as the Birmingham campaign, it was a
nonviolent protest with tactics developed with the help of Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker. African-American
students also participated in the campaign wherein they occupied public spaces, engaged in sit-ins, and
violated laws that were racially unjust.
Birmingham Campaign
The Birmingham campaign drew much controversy as the Birmingham Police Department, led by Eugene
"Bull" Connor, responded with force by using high-pressure water jets and police dogs. It lasted until 10
May 1963 and King along with other African-Americans were was arrested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uet4dTIVSIo
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
On 28 August 1963, one of the biggest campaigns that King participated in was the March on Washington
for Jobs and Freedom. For the march, he was the representative of the SCLC together with other civil rights
organisations such as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Congress of Racial Equality, National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Urban League, and the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wDU-oYQN04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q_I_2m5TbA
Freedom summer and the Mississippi murders
-On June 1964, the Mississippi Summer Project, also known as the Freedom Summer, was launched. The
project aimed to register African-American voters in Mississippi as they fight against the repression of
African-American suffrage.

-However, in the same month, three of its volunteers: James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael
Schwerner, were kidnapped and murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi. The three of them were
volunteering for the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) and the Congress of Racial Equality
(CORE).
Freedom summer and the Mississippi murders
●They travelled to Longdale from Meridian, Mississippi to coordinate with the local congregation whose
church was burned down.

●They were arrested in the city of Philadelphia, Mississippi, for speeding. They were sent to jail and
imprisoned for a few hours. When they were released, they were followed by local law enforcers.

●Their car was pulled over before they left Neshoba County. They were abducted and driven to
another location where they were shot.
Freedom summer and the Mississippi murders
●Their bodies were buried in an earthen dam and they were only discovered two months after their
disappearance.
●Based on the investigation, their disappearance involved the Neshoba County Sheriff's Office, the
Philadelphia, Mississippi Police Department, and the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
●The Mississippi state government refused to handle the case. Hence, the US federal government charged
and prosecuted eighteen individuals for civil rights violations.

As the murders sparked public outrage, it helped in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQcMmRkRkiw