Birmingham Children's Crusade activist to visit Wooster for MLK Day events

WOOSTER − The Rev. Gwendolyn Webb was arrested at 14 years of age when she attended the Birmingham Children's Crusade, a nonviolent protest that turned violent when police unleashed dogs, batons and water hoses on hundreds of children and teens.

Civil rights leaders hoped it would pressure city leaders to desegregate what was considered "one of the most racist cities in the county," said Denise Bostdorff, professor of communication studies at the College of Wooster.

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It was a risky decision at the time, and one that can be hard to understand, Bostdorff said, but for demonstrators like Webb, it was a necessary step toward equality during Jim Crow America.

Nearly 60 years after the events of 1963, Webb still talks about the crusade and the broader civil rights movement. That is what she will discuss in Wooster at three separate events starting Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Project C comes to Birmingham

In the years before the Children's Crusade, the civil rights movement had lost momentum.

Following the freedom rides in 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission banned segregated interstate transportation, Bostdorff said.

But subsequent campaigns, including one in Georgia, failed to garner much success while others were met with stiff and violent resistance, like the desegregation of the University of Mississippi.

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That's when civil rights leader Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference shifted the focus to Alabama.

"(He) called it Project C for confrontation because the movement planned to use nonviolent confrontation to achieve its goals," Bostdorff explained.

Nicknamed "Bombingham," Birmingham, Alabama, was a flashpoint in the civil rights movement where Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists set off nearly 50 bombs in the name of segregation between 1947 and 1965, she said.

Why did children march?

Five months before the Children's Crusade, Alabama Gov. George Wallace defended segregation in his inaugural address, declaring "... segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

Segregation meant everything from restrooms to lunch counters and drinking fountains were designated for separate use to keep Black people from using the same facilities as white people. That's what Project C aimed to disrupt and change, Bostdorff said.

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The campaign started with adults, she explained, but it lacked support because many Black citizens knew that protesting was dangerous.

"Bull Connor, as the commissioner of public safety, had control over the police and firemen, and he responded to a small demonstration by using police dogs and fire hoses," Bostdorff said. This attracted national attention when journalists reported on the violence.

In the short term, the news out of Birmingham caused outrage that encouraged citizens to act, but when leaders like King and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy were arrested, the campaign lost momentum.

A legal battle against the arrested leaders ensued because they violated a court injunction that denied them a permit to demonstrate, Bostdorff said.

"Birmingham adults in the movement also faced the threat of losing their jobs, which further decreased the number of protesters," she explained. "It looked like the Birmingham campaign was a failure, and some of the leaders of different civil rights groups involved urged King and the SCLC to leave."

That's when the Rev. James Bevel had an idea — get school-aged kids involved.

The Children's Crusade takes flight

It was a controversial idea but Bevel was adamant.

At first, many Black middleclass and movement leaders were opposed to the plan because it would put children in danger, she explained.

Despite parents and school principals voicing objections, King and other leaders agreed it could reignite a movement in decline.

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On Thursday, May 2, 1963, hundreds of children from the ages of 5 to 18 skipped school to protest, risking arrest and bodily safety.

The first day, according to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, lacked violence. Instead, Connor and police officers arrested dozens of children, putting them in jail before moving them to Kiddieland Park for the next few nights.

The next day, law enforcement changed tactics.

"On the second day, Connor used the same techniques he had used on adults earlier by calling out police dogs that attacked the kids and water hoses that sprayed with such pressure that they ripped clothing and broke skin," Bostdorff said.

The arrests continued. Kids were sent to jail for as long as a week without access to their parents.

Following the crusade, the Birmingham schools superintendent expelled or suspended those involved.

"This was scary because of how it would impact their futures," Bostdorff said. "However, the Fifth Circuit Court reversed that decision."

A nation reacts

While children marched and law enforcement made arrests and used violence to disperse the crowds, journalists documented what they saw using cameras and pens.

These stories circulated around the country as reporters from bureaus and newsrooms from every region were present.

"The general response was one of revulsion over the treatment of children and a newfound awareness by many of America's race problem," Bostdorff explained.

This negative press brought Birmingham business leaders to the negotiating table, she said. They finally agreed to desegregate restrooms, lunch counters and drinking fountains.

The previously inactive Kennedy administration was also moved to act resulting in the June 1963 speech where President Kennedy called for new civil rights legislation.

For King, Bevel and other civil rights leaders, the march reinvigorated the national movement. That moment, Bostdorff explained, led to King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech later that year.

With these changes came intense reactions.

In September 1963, white supremacists linked with the KKK bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church, which was involved in the Birmingham civil rights movement, she said.

Four young girls were killed in the attack.

By the end of 1963, the movement for equal rights had won many victories and experienced many setbacks, but one thing was clear — there was more work to be done.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day events

To learn more about the events of 1963 and to hear from a woman who experienced it firsthand, the Wooster-Orrville NAACP invited Webb to speak at three events.

The first is from 2 to 3 p.m. on Monday at the Wooster branch of the Wayne County Public Library.

Later that day at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, she is the keynote speaker for the NAACP's MLK Day of Service. Webb will announce the winners of the 12-student essay contest.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, she will speak at the College of Wooster's Gault Recital Hall, opening a week of racial justice talks.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Civil rights activist to be in Wooster for Martin Luther King Day