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Boatwright Memorial Library

Birmingham Movement/ Project C

"I knew that that two things would move Birmingham: mess with the money; and make it inconvenient for the white community. That was the way to make change come." - WTW

March on Washington

 

The March on Washington occurred in Washington D.C. on August 28th, 1963. The estimated attendance at the March was over 250,000. It was one of the first marches to have national television coverage. During that march, Dr. King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.

Funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Albany Movement

In 1961, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee conducted voter registration drives in Albany, GA. Upon arrival the members began a larger movement to enfranchise all black voters and integrate all public facilities. The movement was unsuccessful but strategies engaged in the movement were transferred to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Key figures in the Albany movement include William J. Anderson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albany Police Chief Laurie Pritchett. 

Freedom Rides

The Freedom Rides of 1961 were bus trips taken by activists through the South to test a new court order that prohibited segregation in interstate bus terminals. The riders were met with public violence and the rides played a role in politicizing the bloody opposition to equal rights.