Children Under Pressure

Children Under Pressure. March Route to Retail. Rev. Bevel gave Birmingham children a chance to play important roles in the struggle for equality. As their field marshal, he turned hundreds of recruits into an effective non-violent army that “Project C" unleashed on the retail district. Images of young foot soldiers under attack by Birmingham's public safety officials turned worldwide public opinion against Southern racism as practiced by “Bull” Connor and like-minded Whites. People throughout the world began to sympathize with African Americans and their struggle for equality. Images portraying violence against non-violent schoolchildren turned the 1963 Birmingham demonstrations into an international protest movement. , Paired marker , May 1, 1963 , To stop hundreds of young protestors from reaching the retail district, "Bull” Connor orders Birmingham firefighters to unleash powerful streams of water from high-pressure hoses into crowds of children. From a distance of 100 feet, these hoses, equipped with special nozzles, could knock bricks loose from buildings. Today, the teenage girl shown here recalls that the force of the water pinned her and other children to the wall of a local business. They are barely able to move under the pressure and pain of the water that pounds their bodies., "We were trained to serve, trained to be non-violent soldiers." , Peggy Trainer , One of the teen girls hosed with this group of young foot soldiers , Lesson B6: Discuss the word "courage." and talk about the bravery of the young protestors during the Birmingham Movement.