Analysis of a Movement Artifact Draft

Madelynn Fretto

Dr. Stephanie Brown

ENGL 306

10 November 2016

Analysis of a Movement Artifact Draft

            An artifact that summarizes the events that occurred in the Birmingham Campaign is the photo shown above, which was taken by white journalist Charles Moore and was first published in Life magazine (Moore). Moore was considered the photographer of the Civil Rights Movement and his photos were often published throughout the 1960s, since he protested Jim Crow discrimination through photography (O’Neill). The image shows black high school students being sprayed with a high-pressure fire hose during what was supposed to be a nonviolent protest in Birmingham, AL. The tactics of nonviolent protest that these students, and other protestors, used were lunch counter sit-ins, boycotts of stores and merchants, and marches at City Hall (“The Birmingham Campaign”). Unfortunately, the police department found any act of protest against their authority as a threat and acted accordingly, as the photograph clearly shows.

This powerful photo encapsulates numerous aspects of this movement in one image that was distributed widely and seen across America. The identities articulated through this photograph are the African American people in the United States that were affected by segregation laws. Project C, with the nonviolent sit-ins and boycotts, was this segregated population’s way of protesting the way of life that was the norm. This protest was one of many during the civil rights movement, but it was pivotal because of the violent interactions that occurred between the black population and the police. This photograph depicts the relationship between the black population and the Birmingham Police Department, who counteracted the nonviolent protests with tactics such as fire hoses and police dogs, attempting to silence the voices that were trying so hard to be heard. This image is a powerful representation of how high tensions were during this time and how much opposition the Birmingham protestors faced, even from the police who were supposed to protect the citizens of the city, as it was their duty. The publishing of this photograph, among others, in Life magazine allowed people who were not near Birmingham to see what was occurring.

This photograph is a form of protest because the photographer wanted to document the inequality firsthand. This image is especially powerful because the Birmingham Campaign was ultimately successful, since it was a starting point for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and desegregation. The protestors paid the ultimate sacrifice by physically putting themselves in harm’s way using body rhetoric, which is intimidating since the law enforcement officers were powerful figures. Though the protestors were often faced with this type of opposition, the photography captured and published across the country opened up a dialogue and showed the federal government, including President John F. Kennedy, that action needed to be taken and segregation was no longer to be ignored.

            The moment in the movement that this photograph is displaying occurred during early May 1963. At this time in the movement, James Bevel, a member of the SCLC and an organizer of the movement, decided to recruit a younger population to participate in the various demonstrations. His reasoning for this decision “was that young people represented an untapped source of freedom fighters without the prohibitive responsibilities of older activists” ("Birmingham Campaign (1963)"). On May 2^nd, 1963, over 1,000 black students planned a march, and many were arrested. The following day, when more students attempted to march again, the police and fire departments were told to stop the protestors with force. After this direction from the public safety commissioner, Eugene “Bull” Connor, the following days were filled with protestors being attacked with fire hoses and police dogs, as well as beaten by the police officers. These occurrences were nationally broadcasted via newspapers and television, and the image from Charles Brown was one of these ("Birmingham Campaign (1963)"). An eyewitness account describes how fire engines arrived at the scene, which was the 16^th St. Baptist Church, and set up their fire hoses. These fire hoses had “the powerful water stripping bark off trees and tearing bricks from the walls as the firemen knocked Negroes down” (Holt 796). These hoses were used to attack anyone that was African American, regardless of whether or not they were actually participating in the protest. The eyewitness also noted how the violence that had occurred in these demonstrations, up until the point when fire hoses were used, was from the police officers, not the demonstrators (Holt 799-800). This photograph showed the nonviolent protesting of young black high school students being oppressed, yet again, but this time in a deplorable manner.

This artifact displays the identities articulated in this protest and how these protestors were challenged. Before this movement, the black population in general, but especially in Birmingham, was a voiceless group that did not have equal rights compared to their white counterparts. The Birmingham Campaign brought these people to the forefront of America’s minds, and this was enhanced by the media attention that came to the protests. Media attention was high because of the dangerous situation that was unraveling in Birmingham as women, men, and even children were challenged with force (“The Birmingham Campaign”).   

            Visuals, especially photographs, are a powerful tool to make a statement, and this picture evokes a variety of emotions, since these students look helpless and in pain. The rhetorical aspects of this photograph employ pathos and kairos. Pathos is the first aspect that comes to mind when viewing this photograph. When this image was published, it undoubtedly stirred up various emotions from those viewing it. One of the emotions evoked is empathy, because most human beings have the capacity to empathize with people in dire and painful situations, such as this one. Anyone viewing this photograph can picture themselves being sprayed with a powerful fire hose and the amount of anguish that would cause, which brings up emotions of pity and great sadness that a human being would be subjected to this inhumane treatment. Another emotion is anger towards the law enforcement that is abusing their authority to prey on those who cannot defend themselves. The organizers of this protest were Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR), and they wanted a direct action protest that was specifically nonviolent. In fact, those who participated in the protest were taught the philosophies of nonviolence, and how to have a nonviolent march ("Birmingham Campaign (1963)"). With this notion of nonviolence in mind, the image becomes even more powerful and invokes even more anger towards those who were suppressing this movement. Kairos was employed by the effective timeliness of the Birmingham Campaign in the context of the entire black civil rights struggle. 1963 was a time when segregation was pervasive, especially in Birmingham. Black people had been subjected to discrimination and segregation for years and it was finally the time to put an end to all the hurt and discrimination. The Birmingham Campaign had the right support from organizations and leaders, including the SCLC and Martin Luther King Jr., that the movement was able to take off. It ultimately caused great change, including legislative changes that affected the nation with the passage of The Civil Rights Act of 1964. The nation was ready for change and it was finally time for black people to have the rights they had deserved for so many years. 

Works Cited

"Birmingham Campaign (1963)." Martin Luther King Jr. And The Global Freedom Struggle.

Stanford University. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

Holt, Len. "Eyewitness: The Police Terror at Birmingham." Story of the Week. Literary Classics

of the United States, Inc. 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.

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.

Questions from the writer:

1. Is my artifact strong and complex enough to write an entire section of my paper on it?

2. Does my artifact involve protest and is it concerned with a specific identity? Do I explain how it does this?

3. Is the section clear and easy to understand? Do I need to rearrange it at all?