Good Friday march

The Good Friday march was a Civil Rights demonstration organized by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as part of their "Birmingham Campaign" to desegregate Birmingham businesses, parks and hiring practices. It took place on Good Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday, on April 12, 1963.

King had arrived on April 2 to join the planned campaign of nonviolent public demonstrations. The ACMHR's applications for parade permits had been unilaterally denied by Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor, subjecting participants to arrest. King pledged at mass meetings to join in, saying that it was "better to go to jail in dignity than to accept segregation". He announced at a mass meeting on April 10 that in two days, "Ralph Abernathy and I will make our move. I can't think of a better day than Good Friday to for a move to freedom."

That same Wednesday as King's announcement, an order was obtained from Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Wiliam Jenkins enjoining the movement from "sponsoring, encouraging or participating in mass demonstrations" without securing a permit from the city. The injunction was served at the Gaston Motel at 1:00 AM on Thursday. The organizers had already planned to defy any court orders that they interpreted as denying them their constitutional rights. Wyatt Walker prepared a formal response.

Participants gathered Friday morning at St Paul United Methodist Church where speakers such as Andrew Young and Dorothy Cotton addressed the crowd. In the church office, Martin Luther King was on the telephone with President John Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who were both urging him to call off the demonstrations in favor of a negotiated truce. At 1:00 PM King announced from the pulpit that the march would take place.

From the front of the church at 1500 6th Avenue North the group proceeded east to the end of the block in front of 16th Street Baptist Church, and turned south on 16th Street to 5th Avenue North alongside Kelly Ingram Park. They proceeded eastward on 5th Avenue until they were met by a Birmingham Police officer on a motorcycle just past 18th Street in front of the Robert S. Vance Federal Courthouse.

When the officer yelled at the group to "halt", the leaders dropped to their knees and began to pray. The site of the nonviolent confrontation is marked on the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail.

The marchers were arrested for parading without a permit, loaded into a paddy wagon, and taken to Birmingham City Jail. King was isolated in solitary confinement while the other marchers kept their spirits up by singing freedom songs. Most were bailed out the next morning. King was kept in prison and used the time to compose his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to detail the reasoning, strategy, and moral context for the public demonstrations.

Participants

• Martin Luther King Jr
• Fred Shuttlesworth
• Ralph Abernathy
• Ralph Galt
• Nathaniel Lindsey
• Andrew Young
• Dorothy Cotton

References

• Huntley, Horace and John W. McKerley, eds. (2009) Foot Soldiers for Democracy: The Men, Women, and Children of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press ISBN 9780252076688