Free
The Montgomery bus boycott made King famous—and busy. He helped form a new organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
It was dedicated to working for civil rights. He became its leader. He also wrote a book about the boycott. While he was signing copies of it in a New York City bookstore, a mentally ill woman stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener. His doctor told him that if he had sneezed, he could have died. The attack helped King see that he had many dangerous enemies.
While King was in the hospital, he received many letters. Here’s one he would never forget:
SIT-INS
▲ In 1960, four Black students sat at a Whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. They asked for coffee and doughnuts. They were told to leave but stayed until closing. The next day, they came back with more students. Soon, Black and White students all over the South were taking part in sit-ins. People yelled at them. Some dumped drinks or food on them. But the students had been trained to protest peacefully, so they did not fight back. In Atlanta, King joined the sit-ins and was again arrested.
“The children understood the stakes they were fighting for.”
FREEDOM RIDERS
▲ The Supreme Court had ruled that Black and White people could share the same facilities at bus terminals. In the South, that law was ignored. So in 1961, Black and Whites boarded buses in Washington, D.C. They became known as Freedom Riders. As they traveled into the South, they were beaten. One bus was bombed. In Montgomery, the Riders spent a scary night in Ralph Abernathy’s church as White people rioted outside. King spent the night with them. Above, National Guardsmen are protecting Riders.
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
◀In 1963, Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the U.S. King chose it for an important battle. Many lives were lost. But in the end, the fight was a success. In 1964, President Johnson signed into law a Civil Rights Bill. It made segregation illegal in all the U.S. Here, King is seen speaking to a crowd at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. It was the headquarters for the battle.
In Birmingham, Black demonstrators marched peacefully to protest segregation. Time and again, they were arrested. On Good Friday, April 12, 1963, King and Abernathy were arrested. King was thrown into solitary confinement. He was not even allowed to make a phone call. ▶
◀ On September 15, 1963, Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Sunday School was bombed. Four children were killed, and another 20 were injured, including Sarah Jean Collins (pictured). Flying glass hit her eyes. Her sister was one of the children who died. Rioting followed. Two Black people died, and many Black and White people were injured.
▲ Birmingham’s police commissioner, Eugene “Bull” Connor, lost patience with the demonstrators. He had policemen and firemen turn high-powered hoses on the marchers. They also set police dogs on them. Newspapers published pictures of this. People around the world were sickened. One Sunday afternoon, Connor ordered his men to turn the hoses on a group of Black people who were kneeling in prayer. The police officers and firefighters refused. The Black people stood up and bravely marched on. All Connor could do was watch.
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!”
