Public Library Desegregated

Public Library Desegregated. March Route to Government. Some of the marchers in the Movement also went to the main Birmingham Public Library, where Blacks were not allowed to go. As always, separate did not mean equal in Birmingham. Its Black citizens had a small library located in rented space at the Colored Masonic Temple on 4th Avenue North, but it was inadequate for the community's needs. The city had built four library branches for Blacks by 1961, but they were not as good as the branches for Whites. Mayor Art Hanes vowed never to integrate the public libraries. Young African-American students responded by targeting the main library, where they staged a very quiet sit-in., Paired marker , April 11, 1963 , As part of “Project C's” first organized attempt to integrate a segregated public facility, Black students from Miles College enter the main Birmingham Public Library. Here, one of the young protestors asks the puzzled librarians for a library card. Other students stage a 'sit-in' as they sit down to read books and magazine articles before they quietly leave without further incident. Later that day, the Birmingham Library Board calls a special meeting and votes to desegregate this public library, 36 years to the day after it originally opened. , "After the movement we were able to walk in doors that we never would have." , Lola Hendricks , Corresponding Secretary for the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, Lesson A11: Visit the Southern History Department of the Birmingham Public Library and read actual documents from the Birmingham Movement.