Equality for All

Equality for All. March Route to Retail. Constant mistreatment by a brutal police force, a racist state government and a White community that was either hostile or unconcerned pushed many Blacks in Birmingham to the breaking point. Many were stuck in low-paying, low-level jobs. Most could not compete with Whites for better jobs. Therefore, in the late 1950s, Rev. Shuttlesworth and other Black Birmingham citizens began to demand change. They insisted that the City hire qualified Blacks as police officers and government workers. They also wanted local department stores to hire Blacks as clerks and salespersons, not just as janitors. Thus, the Birmingham Movement was about securing equal jobs and equal pay as a basic American right., Paired marker , April 1963 , People of many races and religions work on the front lines and behind the scenes to support Black Birmingham's fight for civil rights and equal pay. Here, a White woman joins the picket lines with others outside Loveman's department store. Birmingham protestors in the 1962 student boycotts and in the 1963 "Project C” demonstrations carry protest signs like these. Some signs demand fair hiring practices. Other signs encourage people not to shop at stores that use “Whites Only” signs to discriminate because of race. , "The greatness of a community is measured by actions of all its members." , Coretta Scott King , Civil rights activist and wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from her February 15, 2000, speech at Georgia State University , Lesson B13: Discuss ways that picketing and boycotting can each be an effective means of protest.