Annotated Bibliography: The Birmingham Campaign

Madelynn Fretto

Dr. Stephanie Brown

ENGL 306

26 October 2016

Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources

Holt, Len. "Eyewitness: The Police Terror at Birmingham." Story of the Week. Literary Classics of the United States, Inc. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." The Atlantic Monthly 212.2 (1963): 78-88. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Moore, Charles. Birmingham. Digital Image. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 15 March 2010. Web. 26 October 2016.

Secondary Sources

Andrews, Kenneth T., and Sarah Gaby. "Local Protest and Federal Policy: The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the 1964 Civil Rights Act." Sociological Forum 30.S1 (2015): 509-27. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Historical context, protest context

Local Protest and Federal Policy: The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the 1964 Civil Rights Act is written by Kenneth T. Andrews and Sarah Gaby and was published in the “Sociological Forum” in 2015. The authors’ thesis is focused on how social movements affect policy change within the government, particularly what caused the 1964 Civil Rights Act to be passed. The authors develop this thesis by describing the relationship between local protests to desegregate public places, such as hotels and restaurants, and how the federal government responded to these protests. The purpose of this article is to research how the civil rights movement mattered in this civil rights legislation, as the authors describe the influence of the movement as indirect. This is because the protests were occurring locally, yet their influence was on politics at the national level. The intended audience for this article seems to be historians and those interested in public policy and how protests can shape the federal government’s legislative decisions.

Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo. What is African American History? Oxford: Wiley, 2015. Ebook Library. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Community/identity

What is African American History is written by Pero Gaglo Dagbovie and was published by Polity Press in 2015. The author’s thesis discusses the breadth of African American history and the author develops this thesis by including information on black history pertaining to a scholarly discipline and necessary for appreciating black culture and the black freedom struggle. The author develops this thesis by including the ideas, thoughts, and findings of black history historians and professional scholars that are experts in all aspects of African American studies. The author’s purpose is to provide a comprehensive overview and introduction to African American history of the past, present, and future. The intended audience is undergraduate students who are lacking in knowledge regarding black history, graduate students to expand their knowledge, and people interested in African American history as a whole. He offers a wealth of knowledge in this field that specifically caters to the intellectual enhancement of these groups.

Eskew, Glenn T. But For Birmingham: The Local And National Movements In The Civil Rights Struggle. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

            Source: Protest context

But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle is written by Glenn T. Eskew and was published by University of North Carolina Press in 1997. The author’s thesis focuses on the development of nonviolent protests in Birmingham, since it was one of the most important cities in the civil rights movement. He discusses the nonviolent protests that specifically focused on desegregation in the early 1960s and the importance of 1963, when the national movement occurred in Birmingham. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was partly passed because of the treatment of the demonstrators in the Birmingham Campaign by police. The author develops this thesis through a very descriptive narrative that provides the details of these historical events. The author’s purpose of this book is to provide a narrative for the various nonviolent protests that occurred in Birmingham, since it was such a pivotal place for the civil rights movement. He also discusses how there were problems when local and national movements crossed in the city. The intended audience seems to be any American interested in the importance of Birmingham in the movement, as the book is dense and filled with fine details of all aspects of the Birmingham movement.

Ezra, Michael. Civil Rights Movement: People And Perspectives. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Historical context

Civil Rights Movement: People and Perspectives is written by Michael Ezra and was published by ABC-CLIO in 2009. Ezra’s thesis is to explore the equality struggle of African Americans from the past centuries and discuss the predecessors and legacy of this struggle. The author develops this thesis by exploring events that contributed to the black struggle, such as Brown v. Board of Education and the numerous protests for black power. Ezra wants to debut a new perspective of the movement by employing statements from people who lived during the struggle and essays that discuss important events and people. The author’s purpose is to explore not only the civil rights movement, but also the history preceding this time because there has been a long struggle to gain equal rights and citizenship. The goal of the book strives to go beyond traditional civil rights narratives because he feels that these accounts do not cover the scope of the entire story and he aims to give a thorough analysis of the black freedom struggle. The intended audience is all Americans, regardless of their race, because he wants readers to understand the importance of the movement that still permeates American culture. He establishes this relationship by providing engaging essays and accounts that makes the reader think critically.

Friedman, Barbara G., and John D. Richardson. "A National Disgrace." Journalism History 33.4 (2008): 224-232. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

            Source: Protest context, community/identity

A National Disgrace is written by Barbara G. Friedman and John D. Richardson and was published in “Journalism History” in 2008. The author’s thesis focuses on the media coverage of the Birmingham Campaign in 1963, since there was obvious lack of fair and adequate media coverage during the civil rights movement. The author explores this by looking at survey data that describes the various regional views regarding civil rights and that media coverage was not aligning with the views of the readership. There was a discrepancy between media coverage in different regions of the United States, with newspapers in the South favoring law enforcement over the black protestors, and on the other hand, newspapers of the western and northern regions tended to favor the black protestors and sympathize with their cause. The authors also develop this thesis but looking at a specific case of one newspaper that was against the civil rights movement. The purpose of this study was to highlight how important news media coverage is in protests and race relations in regards to affecting public opinion and attitudes, as well as the bias of various newspapers during the civil rights movement. I think this is important to consider in my research because the public attitude toward Birmingham largely affected how successful and accepted these demonstrations were. The intended audience of this study seems to be anyone interested in the media’s affects on societal opinions, as well as those interested in the national attitudes towards the Birmingham Campaign at the time it occurred.

Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd. "The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past." The Journal of American History 91.4 (2005): 1233-1263. Oxford University Press. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Historical context, community/identity

The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past is written by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and was published by Oxford University Press in 2005. The author’s thesis discusses how the civil rights movement has been confined to a narrow description, without looking at the broad implications it had. She develops this thesis by chronicling the “long civil rights movement” from the late 1930s to the 1970s and heavily focusing on racial narratives and dilemmas. She divides this article into sections, such as southern strategies and the classical phase of the movement, while giving historical details in each section. Her purpose is to create a more realistic and true story without confining the details to a small time frame and one location, the South. She wants to lengthen the time period and geographic frame of the movement to show that it affects the entire nation, not just a few states. This shows the true dramatic effect this movement had on history can be fully understood. Her intended audience is the general American public so that they can gain the full, accurate picture of the movement we so often hear about, yet only know a distorted version, according to Hall.

Hanc, John. "Birmingham’s Civil Rights Institute Personalizes a Struggle." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Serious news article

The newspaper article “Birmingham’s Civil Rights Institute Personalizes a Struggle” is written by John Hanc and was published in The New York Times in 2012. The article discusses the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and gives background information on what occurred in Birmingham that led up to the creation of the institute. The purpose of the article is to show how what occurred during the civil rights movement is still being talked about and displayed in modern-day society. The civil rights movement is something that still needs to be discussed and not forgotten about, and this institute keeps the legacy alive. I want to include this article because of the historical background, but also to show how the effects of what occurred in Birmingham are long-lasting, showing the importance and value of researching this movement. The intended audience is the readers of this newspaper, particularly those who are interested in the civil rights movement and the institute in Birmingham. 

Jasper, James M. Protest: A Cultural Introduction to Social Movements. Chicester: Wiley, 2014. Ebook Library. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Theoretical source

Protest: A Cultural Introduction to Social Movements is written by James M. Jasper and was published by Polity Press in 2014. The author’s thesis is to provide an introduction to protests and social movements in terms of action, intention, structure, and constraints. He discusses how prevalent protesting is around the world and how social movements allow people to exercise their basic human rights. The author develops this thesis by presenting a case, such as the women’s movement and Occupy Wall Street, which he then expands upon to demonstrate his various themes in terms of protests and social movements. He develops these themes by bolding important terminology that is used to define these movements. He uses terms that can specifically define the civil rights movement and Birmingham Campaign, including a citizenship movement and civil rights definitions. The author’s purpose is to help people better understand all that goes into a protest/social movement, including infrastructure, recruiting, and sustaining the movement. His intended audience seems to be students, as he describes in the preface that he intends for this book to be classroom-friendly, which he why he bolds and italicizes key terms. HE intentionally uses a writing style that any reader is able to comprehend, so it is for anyone that is interested in protests and social movements.

Jenkins, J. Craig, David Jacobs, and Jon Agnone. "Political Opportunities and African‐American Protest, 1948–1997." American Journal of Sociology 109.2 (2003): 277-303. The University of Chicago Press. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Historical context, protest context
Political Opportunities and African‐American Protest, 1948–1997 is written by J. Craig Jenkins, David Jacobs and Jon Agnone and was published by The University of Chicago Press in 2003. The authors’ thesis focuses on how political opportunities affect how often protests by the black community occurred from 1948-1997. The authors also explore the effects of collective grievances and group organization, which have not been studied as much in the past. The authors develop this thesis by providing explanations for protest and research about the frequency of these protests within the time period. They want to analyze a longer time period than most other studies because the protests that occurred before and after the civil rights era that is so often heard about is rarely researched. The purpose of this research is to determine how opportunity, threat, collective grievances, and group organization contributes to the frequency of protest. This can explain some of the reasons why the African American protests occurred when they did. The intended audience seems to be scholarly people who can understand and appreciate the data and results from the authors’ research on protest. The authors present data, such as tables and statistics, that back up their claims, which allows the reader to better understand their purpose.

Krock, Arthur. "In The Nation." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 3 July 1964. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

            Source: Serious news article

The newspaper article “In The Nation” is written by Arthur Krock and was published in The New York Times in 1964. I am including this in my secondary sources because even though this article was written in the year following the Birmingham Campaign, it is discussing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and not a firsthand account of the movement itself. I am including it to provide context for what occurred in Birmingham and the effects it has on society even after the movement technically ended. This article was written the day after it was enacted, so it gives context on what the political climate was like at the time and the importance of this legislation being passed. The intended audience is all of America, as the Civil Rights Act affected every American citizen from that point on.  

Loder-Jackson, Tondra L. Schoolhouse Activists: African American Educators And The Long Birmingham Civil Rights Movement. Albany: SUNY Press, 2015. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Historical context

Schoolhouse Activists: African American Educators and the Long Birmingham Civil Rights Movement is written by Tondra L. Loder-Jackson and was published by SUNY Press in 2015. The author’s thesis focuses on examining the role that black educators had in the Birmingham civil rights movement. She focuses particularly on educators because one of the facets of the Birmingham Campaign was to provide equal and quality public education to black students that the white students were receiving by desegregating the schools. She also wanted to explore whether or not black educators positively or negatively impacted the movement in the South. The author develops this thesis with a historical account that emphasizes the accounts of black educators that work in Birmingham schools. She has one part that discusses the history of education in Birmingham and the other part focuses on the black educators that taught before, during, and after the civil rights movement, particularly equal education. The author’s purpose is to be the first book to focus solely on the multigenerational views of black educators and their role in the movement. She wants to discuss an aspect of the movement that has previously not received much attention and tie it into modern Birmingham education. The author’s intended audience is people that are interested in public education, particularly the disadvantage of black students, as well as civil rights historians and community activists, among others and she reaches this audience with interesting firsthand accounts from Birmingham educators.

McWhorter, Diane. "Good and Evil in Birmingham." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

            Source: Serious news article

The newspaper article “Good and Evil in Birmingham” is written by Diane McWhorter and was published in The New York Times in 2013. The article discusses societal attitudes at the time of the civil rights movement during the “Year of Birmingham.” It discusses how there was a conflict between good and normal, with the normal being blatant racism against black people. The purpose of this article is to not only discuss these attitudes, but also call people out for living their life under the guise of being blameless in terms of racism. This article provides a description of the attitudes white people had towards the civil rights movement and its leaders in a more personal manner, since the writing is less formal than the scholarly articles I am including. The intended audience is the readers of the newspaper, and those interested in the civil rights movement.

Salem Press. The Civil Rights Movement. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Source: Historical context

The Civil Rights Movement is written by the Salem Press and was also published by the Salem Press in 2000. It is part of a series called Magill’s Choice that was created by the publisher. The thesis focuses on surveying the civil rights movement in the United States by examining racial issues and exploring the strong role the black community had in this movement. This thesis is developed through the 319 essays that are compiled into this one book. Each one of these essays is unique in what they are discussing in regards to the movement, ranging from lynching to the Ku Klux Klan. Naturally, these essays will be narrowed down to what is imperative for providing the historical context in the research paper. The essays also explore the history that led up to the 1950s movement and the discrimination the black community dealt with. The purpose of this book is to display all facets of the civil rights movement so that the reader is more knowledgeable. The intended audience is all Americans so that they can have a well-rounded view of this crucial part of history through its many dimensions.

Sullivan, Jas M.; Cross, William E. Meaning-Making, Internalized Racism, and African American Identity. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2016. Ebook Library. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

            Source: Community/identity

Meaning-Making, Internalized Racism, and African American Identity is written by Jas M. Sullivan and William E. Cross and was published by SUNY Press in 2016. The author’s thesis focuses on the racial self-concept of the black community affects their sense of self and oppression they feel internally. The author develops this thesis by describing psychological research on racial identity and how black people cope with their minority race, since they have been silenced throughout history by bigotry and stigmatization. The book explores various aspects of identity, including appearance, gender, and stereotypes, among others. The purpose of the book, particularly the research, is to help the readers better understand the identity of the black community and internalized racism, and includes mental health aspects as well. The intended audience is I think both those of the African American race who can better come to terms with their identity, but also those who are not black so they can better understand and empathize with oppression that they do not experience themselves.

Widell, Jr., Robert W. Contemporary Black History: Birmingham and the Long Black Freedom Struggle. New York, US: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 26 October 2016.

Source: Protest context

Birmingham and the Long Black Freedom Struggle is written by Robert W. Widell, Jr. and was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2013.  The author’s thesis focuses on the role of Birmingham in the black freedom struggle and the evolution of this struggle into the 1970s. This thesis is developed by telling the stories of four movements that occurred locally, which focused on equal employment, welfare recipients, forming unions, and the Alabama Liberation Front. He intends to describe the various efforts by activists post-1963. The details of these stories are derived from police documents and court records. The author’s purpose is to detail the black freedom struggle after the pivotal year of 1963, since there is a lack of information about this time period. He wants to complete the story of the civil rights movement in Birmingham. Though I am using this book to explore the context of the 1963 protest, I think it is important to also highlight the results this protest had in the years afterwards in Birmingham and the protests the occurred afterwards. The intended audience is people interested in gaining in-depth knowledge of the entire Birmingham movement and not simply what popular media displayed.