The Birmingham campaign was a strategic movement in the spring of 1963
organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to draw
attention to the unequal treatment of black Americans in Birmingham,
Alabama. Organizers, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. (pictured) used
nonviolent direct action tactics, beginning with a boycott of
businesses. Sit-ins and marches followed, intended to provoke mass
arrests. After the campaign ran low on adult volunteers, high school,
college, and elementary students were trained to participate, resulting
in hundreds of arrests and greater media attention. To dissuade
demonstrators and control the protests the local police used water jets
and dogs on children and bystanders. In some cases, bystanders attacked
the police, who responded with force. Scenes of the ensuing mayhem
caused an international outcry, leading to intervention by the Kennedy
administration. By the end of the campaign, King's reputation surged,
the "Jim Crow" signs in Birmingham came down, and public places became
more open to blacks. The campaign brought national force to bear on the
issue of racial segregation and was a major factor in the push towards
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Mount Tambora in Indonesia began one of the most violent
volcanic eruptions in recorded history, killing at least 71,000 people,
and affecting worldwide temperatures for the next two years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tambora>
1868:
A British military expedition to Abyssinia culminated in a rout
of Ethiopians and the later suicide of Emperor Tewodros II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Expedition_to_Abyssinia>
1925:
The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first
published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby>
1970:
In the midst of business disagreements with his bandmates, Paul
McCartney announced his departure from The Beatles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney>
1992:
Nagorno-Karabakh War: At least 40 Armenian civilians were
massacred in Maraga, Azerbaijan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraga_Massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
popliteal:
(anatomy) Of the area behind the knee.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/popliteal>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I know now that it was meant to be this way. Sometimes, we have
to look beyond what we want and do what's best. This is the path that
I've chosen. Let's talk about something else. …You've become a truly
great warrior … yet, you've remained humble. You've shown me that
power is nothing if not guided by love. And watching you grow has helped
me grow … That's why I'm here. in
--Dragon Ball GT
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball_GT:_Season_2#Piccolo.27s_Decision>