Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Southern Resistance
March Route for Education
— Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail —
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
1. Southern Resistance Marker
Inscription.
Southern Resistance. March Route for Education. In Alabama, White parents used the 1956 Alabama Pupil Placement Act that let them “choose” which public schools their children would attend. When Black parents in Birmingham tried to use the same law to send their children to White schools, school board officials used procedural rules to stall the application process and turn them away. The first school desegregation lawsuit, filed in 1957 by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and his foot soldiers, against the school board failed. In 1960, barber James Armstrong, a lieutenant among Shuttlesworth's foot soldiers, sued the school board for operating a biracial school system that kept two of his four children from attending all-White Graymont Elementary. Armstrong's lawyers convinced judges that Birmingham school officials would not integrate public schools without a federal court order. By 1961, South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama were the last remaining Southern states with racially segregated school systems., Paired marker , September 1963 , In 1963, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Birmingham's separate school system violated the 1954 Brown rule. The federal judges ordered the Birmingham school board to submit a plan to begin integrating public schools by September 1963. This would allow parents to send children to their school of choice, regardless of race. Armstrong and a few other Black parents were the first to enroll their children in three all-White schools. Large crowds staged loud anti-integration demonstrations outside these schools. In this picture, parents and students hold picket signs to protest against Armstrong's sons Floyd and Dwight attending Graymont Elementary. Gov. George Wallace sent Alabama troopers to block the Armstrong boys and their supporters from entering Graymont on September 10, 1963. , "Something had to be done, so I asked myself,'Why not me?'" , James Armstrong , On why he stayed in the legal battles to integrate Birmingham city schools. , Lesson D10: What does the phrase "equal opportunity under the law" mean? Do you favor equal opportunity for all Americans? Why or why not?
In Alabama, White parents used the 1956 Alabama Pupil Placement Act that
let them “choose” which public schools their children would attend. When
Black parents in Birmingham tried to use the same law to send their children
to White schools, school board officials used procedural rules to stall the application process and turn them away. The first school desegregation lawsuit, filed in 1957 by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and his foot soldiers, against the school board failed. In 1960, barber James Armstrong, a lieutenant among Shuttlesworth's foot soldiers, sued the school board for operating a biracial school system that kept two of his four children from attending all-White Graymont Elementary. Armstrong's lawyers convinced judges that Birmingham school officials would not integrate public schools without a federal court order. By 1961, South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama were the last remaining Southern states with racially segregated school systems.
Paired marker
September 1963
In 1963, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that Birmingham's separate school system violated
the 1954 Brown rule. The federal judges ordered the
Birmingham school board to submit a plan to begin
integrating public schools by September 1963. This
would allow parents to send children to their school
of choice,
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regardless of race. Armstrong and a few
other Black parents were the first to enroll their children in three all-White schools. Large crowds staged
loud anti-integration demonstrations outside these
schools. In this picture, parents and students hold
picket signs to protest against Armstrong's sons Floyd
and Dwight attending Graymont Elementary. Gov.
George Wallace sent Alabama troopers to block the
Armstrong boys and their supporters from entering
Graymont on September 10, 1963.
"Something had to be done, so I asked myself,'Why not me?'"
James Armstrong
On why he stayed in the legal battles to integrate Birmingham city schools.
Lesson D10: What does the phrase "equal opportunity under the law" mean? Do you favor equal opportunity for all Americans? Why or why not?
Erected by the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. (Marker Number D10.)
Location. 33° 31.318′ N, 86° 48.399′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. Marker is on 7th Avenue
Photographed By Mark Hilton
2. Southern Resistance paired marker
North west of 23rd Street North, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Birmingham AL 35203, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regarding Southern Resistance. The Civil Rights Activist Committee “Home of the Foot Soldiers“ is the Information Center for the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
3. Southern Resistance Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 8, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 7, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 123 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on December 7, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.