Civil Rights Project 2024

The Voices of freedom museum

Birmingham

A Matthew C. and Ishaan V. Creation

MLK Assasination

Civil Rights Legislation

Look around to learn some cool stuff about the Civil Rights Movement!

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Artifacts

MLK Assasination

Tradgedy Strikes

On Wednesday, April 3rd, 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived in Memphis to prepare to lead a march on the following Monday on behalf of striking Memphis sanitation workers. He sat down and had dinner with his colleagues. Little did he know this would be his last. As he prepared to leave the Lorraine Motel where he was staying, to have dinner with a local Memphis minister, he stepped out onto his balcony to speak with some fellow SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) members. There, at 6:05 p.m. on his room 306 balcony, he was shot by an assassin. He was cradled by his friends until the ambulance arrived. But an hour later at 7:05 p.m. the doctors pronounced him dead.

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Artifacts of MLK's Assassination

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Artifact #1- The Incident

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The picture above is the moment right after the gunshots were fired at Martin Luther King Jr. on the hotel balconey.

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Artifact #2 "The Reaction"

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The picture above is of the "Holy Week Uprising" which occurred after the shooting of Martin Luther King Jr.

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Artifact #3- "The impact"

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This photo is President Johnson addressing the nation in a broadcast after Martin Luther King Jr. died.

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Legislation

At Last, Change

Finally, 99 years after the "Plessy vs. Ferguson" ruling on segregation, Congress passed the Civil Rights Laws. This included the 24th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In January, the 24th Amendment to the Constitution was added. It made requiring people to pay a tax in order to vote illegal. On June 19th of the same year, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, saying," outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." This finally ended segregation and discrimination by federal law. Finally, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was put into action. This again, protected and secured the voting rights of African Americans by outlawing the use of tests to determine voting eligibility.It took a very long time to get here, through lots of sacrifices, suffering, and enduring, but this was a monumental milestone in the Civil Rights Movement. It was not entirely peaceful, but people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks fought peacefully to bring about positive change through non-violence. When the people came together for something they think is right, is is so powerful. Powerful enough to change a country.

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Artifacts of Civil Rights Legislation

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Artifact 1 - "A New Era in Voting" (Voting Rights Act)

The picture on the left is a horde of new black voters in line to be registered to vote. This is the same year of the Voting Rights Act being passed. (1965)

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Artifact 2- " The Signing" (Civil Rights Act of 1964)

The picture on the right President Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Standing directly behind him, is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself

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Artifact 3 - "Poll Tax? Who ever heard of that!" (24th Amendment)

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This image shows protestors protesting against the poll tax, and the inequality that came black people's voting rights.

Birmingham, Alambama - The Childrens' Crusade

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"They would never hurt the children, right?"

1n 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the most heavily segregated cities in the US. Martin Luther King Jr, wanted to bring the Civil Rights Movement to the heart of segregation itself. He was arrested by Bull Connor after joining in on the ongoing marches, and spent 8 days in jail. This is when he wrote the famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to share the goals of the Civil Rights Movement. Once released, Martin Luther King realized that many adults were to afraid of arrest to march, and turned to children. He organized thousands of children to leave school and march in Birmingham, under the belief that the police wouldn't harm the children. He was wrong. Thousands of children were arrested, and many were also hosed by firehoses and bitten by police dogs. News of the violence horrified the countyy, and president Kennedy had to send in 3,000 troops to restore the peace. Business owners eventually gave in and Birmingham desegregated, finally serving everyone. Even though the law changed, the deep-seated gate in Birmingham remained in the community. Martin Luther King's old headquarters was bombed, killing four girls after the changes. "Changing the law is easy, changing minds and attitudes is a much more difficult task"

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Artifacts of Birmingham, Alabama (1963)

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Artifact 1 - "Is it Raining?"

The picture on the left is of machers in the 'Childrens march' being hosed down by Birmingham police.

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This fire hose (non interactive) is one of the many which blasted the peaceful protesters in Birmingham.

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Artifact 2- " Juvenile Arrests"

The picture of a teenager being arrested by the Birmingham Police during the Children's Crusade.

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Artifact 3 "Aftershocks"

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This image shows a newspaper from the 1960's which occured shortly after the desegregation of the Birmingham, when Dr. King's old headquarters, the 16th Baptist Church was bombed

Artifact 2

This image really shows the extent of the arrests by the police. Imagine how she must have felt protesting peacefully (which is allowed by the Constitution) and being arrested. She must have been only a few years older than an 8th grader when she protested. It's truly mind-blowing how different and unfair life was back then. It's also important to recognize brave people like her who fought for equality and don't get remembered like Martin Luther King Jr.

Artifact 1- "A New Era in Voting"

Voting rights have always been unfair up to this point in history. In the past, states could put in laws to prevent certain people from voting, and one of them was literacy tests.(Tests that former slaves couldn't pass) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned the literacy tests and ensured voting rights to everyone, especially African-Americans. After this, everyone was guaranteed the right to vote, regardless of whether they could pass a test or not. This was a huge win for the Civil Rights Movement.

Holy Week Uprisings

The news that Dr. Martin Luther King jr. traveled fast. While those who supported segregation rejoiced, many others were in shock and horror. To them, Dr. Martin Luther King jr. was the light, their savior! When news of Dr. Martin Luther King jr.'s death reached heavily populated black parts of Memphis, Tennessee, violent riots broke out. Governor Buford Ellington sent 4,000 national guardsmen to help diffuse the situation, but not before hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage occured.

Artifact 3

After Martin Luther King Jr.'s sudden death was so shocking and surprising that President Johnson made an address to the country right after it happened. (April 8th, 1968) He described how brutal and unjustified the death was, and he asked the citizens to "reject the blind violence that has struck Dr.King" If the President had to say something so quickly, just imagine how important this event was!

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Artifact 2 "The Signing"

The Civil Rights Act was a huge step for anti-segregation efforts in the US. Finally, there was federal legislation banning segregation and discrimination. The Act stated, "outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." The bill was originally proposed by President John F. Kennedy, but was signed by President Lyndon Johnson, and finally became a reality. The major goals of Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellow activists were finally achieved! It was a long and treacherous road to get here, but Martin Luther King Jr. never gave up, and was finally seeing success after all of the hard work he and put in.

Artifact 1

Martin Luther King Jr.'s death was a very significant event for the Civil Rights Movement and black community. In 1968, this is the place where Martin Luther King was shot, and it shows him lying down on the floor while his fellow Civil Rights activists pointed toward the assassin. This event shocked the entire country. It turned out to be slightly ironic for the country's most non-violent protestor to be killed the way he was.

The 24th Amendment

By 1964, America was becoming more of a union again. Civil Rights were becoming a huge issue across the country, and there was even talk of a Civil Rights Bill passing through Congress. Many protests erupted because black people still had to pay poll taxes. Paying money to vote for people to represent them was absurd! This was one thing that many people could agree on. So on January 23, the 24th Amendment was passed. It abolished and forbids all Federal and State governments from imposing any sort of tax on voters during elections. This image shows one of the protests that lead to the passing of the 24th Amendment.

Artifact 1

In Birmingham, people started to lose the will to stand up for what's right after many failed marches. When MLK saw this happening, he said "Let the children march." Soon thousands of children were marching, and what did "Bull" Connor do about it? He brought out the hoses, high-power hoses. He used these on teens, and they were beaten by the immense power of the water. The picture outside is one of the many that shocked the nation during the Birmingham marches. These kids (like the ones in the photo) and many more suffered for so much for change when they were young enough to be in school. That's incredibly brave for elementary to high schoolers.

Artifact 3

Birmingham was finally desegregated. The mayor grudgingly had to open all public facilities. Unfortunately, changing the law is easy, and changing peoples minds is very difficult. Shortly after Birmingham was desegregated Dr. Martin Luther King's old headquarters, The 16th Baptist Church was bombed, and 4 young black girls were killed. The country was horrified. President Kennedy himself publicly announced his concerns and grief for the event. The nation was outraged, and public opinion for the success of civil rights skyrocketed. Although Birmingham was a great tragedy in many ways, overall it was a success.