They were sprayed by fire hoses, attacked by dogs, thrown in jail—and they were only kids.
Referred to as the “most segregated city in America,” Birmingham, Alabama, became a hotbed for civil rights activity in the early 1960s. Great African-American leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, helped lead the civil rights movement in the city. In Birmingham, African-American youth marched, sang, and spoke out against segregation. Although they faced police dogs and fire hoses, they offered non-violent resistance and did not back down.
“… a well-researched, well-written, balanced … account of the role young people played in the adult struggle for social justice in the Deep South.”
About the Author
Robert H. Mayer is professor of education and chair of the Education Department at Moravian College. Previous to that, he served as a high school social studies teacher. Dr. Mayer is editor of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, for which he received the 2005 Carter G. Woodson Book Award.