 IWBAT analyze the Birmingham Church Bombing and the Civil Rights Act

 Lasted one year  Sit ins at businesses  Boycotts of businesses  Kneel ins at churches

 A box of dynamite with a time delay was placed under the steps of the church

 26 students were walking into the church when the bomb went off  22 Injured  4 Dead

 Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin in public places

 Encouraged the desegregation of public schools and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to file suits to enforce the act.

 /videos/jfk.htm /videos/jfk.htm

 Background : In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. and his organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), targeted Birmingham, Alabama, with a series of peaceful demonstrations aimed at ending segregation. The police reacted violently with attack dogs and high- pressure fire hoses. Hundreds of protesters, including King, were jailed. At first, King was criticized for taking on Birmingham; 8 white clergymen published a letter calling his actions “unwise and untimely.” But he responded with his own letter citing philosophers, religious scholars, and biblical figures to justify his actions. 

 Summary :  In this excerpt from his letter responding to the criticism of white clergymen, Martin Luther King, Jr. justifies his direct-action approach to ending segregation in the South. He alludes to religious and philosophical leaders and events to legitimize the campaign’s methods and goals. Recalling the deplorable conditions that led to the direct-action campaigns, King stresses that the goal is to force negotiation. He argues, relying on the ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas and others for support, that people have a moral obligation to disobey unjust laws, and he invites the clergymen to support his efforts

 What was the Civil Rights Act?  What was the 16 th Street Church Bombing?