The Children's Crusade

The Birmingham Campaign of 1963 had been preceeded by more than 7 years of petitions and law suits to end racial segration in the city. The period was punctuated by beatings and bombings by the segregational forces, backed by the city's notorious police chief Eugene "Bulll" Conner.

In April-May the movement sought to end racial segregation in public facilities such as schools, lunch counters, rest rooms, parks and drinking fountains, as well as end employment discrimination. Through mass direct action initiatives it was hoped that inevitable confrontation with white authorities would gain federal government attention with the media coverage of the violent reaction.

Initial tactics failed to get results; realizing that many demonstartors would be arrested, a new tactic aimed to fill the city's jail was born. However, when volunteers for arrest ran low, a crucial point in the campaign was reached. Either a means would be found to keep the crisis at a boiling point and break the city’s capacity to jail arrestees, or the campaign would simply fizzle out.

A controversial plan was hatched.

The Children's Crusade of 1963 was a pivotal moment in the US Civil Rights movement, which opened the eyes of a nation through the courageous activism of some of its youngest citizens.

This webquest is designed so that you can appraise the role and power of individuals and of youth in changing the course of history. In addition, you will be provided with resources to evaluate the role of the media in shaping public opinion and influencing government intervention and policy during the Children's Crusade and the Civil Rights Movement.

Your task is to assimilate this information to produce a first hand account of a Children's Crusade participant, including an assessment of the role of the media and how your life changed in the years after. You may use photographs, drawings, cartoons, annotations etc. to emphasise or elaborate on any part of your story.

Individuals making a difference is one of the key concepts of this unit. Explore Janice Kelsey's story to see how she has instigated change.

http://www.al.com/bhammag/index.ssf/soul/revolution_in_the_day-to-day.h…

http://www.fox10tv.com/story/28101320/resolution-from-1963-nyc-firefigh…

http://kidsinbirmingham1963.org/

Remember, the media is often in a position to portray a particular point of view or convey an opinion. Question every source, and make sure you can identify any possible bias or underlying motivations the author may have. A lot of the stories are also retropsective: how could this influence the portaryl of the truth?

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/06/18/193128475/how-the-civ…

https://wiki.leeds.ac.uk/index.php/The_Media's_Role_in_the_Birmingham_C…

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/remembering-a-photographer-whose-images…

For more information,watch this video to get some scope on the sitaution and 'set the scene' for your character.

http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/civil-rights-movement-birmingh…