The Birmingham Campaign

Who/what: This image was photographed by Charles Moore and was printed in Life magazine. It shows high school students being sprayed with a high-pressure firehose during a peaceful walk in Birmingham, Alabama. Moore was considered the photographer of the Civil Rights Movement and his photos were often published in Life magazine in the 1960s. He was a white journalist who was protesting against Jim Crow discrimination by taking pictures and documenting the inequality firsthand.

Where: This image is from the Birmingham Campaign that occurred in Birmingham, Alabama. This was a campaign of the Civil Rights Movement: Project C that consisted of a series of lunch counter sit-ins, marches, and boycotting merchants downtown to protest the segregation law in Birmingham. These peaceful demonstrations were counteracted by attacks with firehoses and police dogs, and this campaign is considered a major turning point for the Civil Rights Movement.

When: The Birmingham Campaign lasted from April 3^rd-May 10^th, 1963.

Why (is it interesting/relevant): This image is a powerful representation of how high tensions were during the time when segregation was the norm. The publishing of this photograph, among others, in Life magazine allowed people who were not near the demonstrations to actually see what was occurring. This photograph is a form of protest because the photographer, Charles Moore, wanted to document the inequality and shed light on what was actually occurring. The identity he is articulating is African Americans that were affected by the segregation laws. This photograph is especially relevant because the Birmingham Campaign was ultimately successful as it was a starting point for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as desegregation in Birmingham. This image opened up a dialogue and brought attention to racial segregation.

Proof of identity: The identities that are articulated through this photo and the Birmingham Campaign as a whole are the African Americans in the United States that were affected by segregation laws. Project C, with the sit-ins and boycotts, was the African American’s way of protesting the way of life that was the norm up until that point in America. This protest was just one of the many during the Civil Rights Movement, but it was a pivotal one because of the tensions that occurred between the blacks and the police.

Works Cited:

O’Neill, Claire. “Charles Moore, Photographer Of The Civil Rights Movement, Dies At 79.” NPR. 16 Mar. 2010. Web. 1 Sept. 2016.

“The Birmingham Campaign.” PBS.org. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Web. 1 Sept. 2016.