1963

1963 was the 92nd year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

A watershed in the Civil Rights Movement occurred in 1963 when Birmingham Civil Rights Movement leader Fred Shuttlesworth requested that Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) come to Birmingham to help end segregation (see below). Together they launched "Project C" (for "Confrontation"), a massive assault on the Jim Crow system. During April and May daily sit-ins and mass marches were met with police repression, tear gas, attack dogs, and arrests. More than 3,000 people were arrested during these protests, many of the children. These protests were ultimately successful, leading not only to desegregation of public accommodations in Birmingham but also the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

While imprisoned for having taken part in a nonviolent protest, Dr. King wrote the now famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, a defining treatise in his cause against segregation. Birmingham is also known for a bombing which occurred later that year, in which four black girls were killed by a bomb planted at the 16th Street Baptist Church. The event would inspire the African-American poet Dudley Randall's opus, The Ballad of Birmingham, as well as jazz musician John Coltrane's song, "Alabama."

Events

• The first railroad cars in the collection of the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum were put on display at the site of the future Railroad Reservation Park.
• Homewood bought the land for Spring Park.
• Pilgrim Congregational Church established a day school.
• The long-running "Sunday School Hour" radio program debuted on WFHK-AM.
• Laura Knox founded the Birmingham Creative Dance Group.
• January 26–27: 1963 March of Dimes Auto Show at Municipal Auditorium.
• March 31–April 26: The 1963 Birmingham Transit strike.
• July 24: Major storms left thousands without power.
• December 23: The 1963 Collegeville fire resulted in the deaths of six children.
• December 31: A rare snowfall brought 8 inches to Birmingham.

Business

• January 23: Western Supermarkets opened a location in Leeds.
• July 2: The Bank for Savings and Trust and Birmingham Trust National Bank approved their merger.
• September 3: The Birmingham Transit Company was sold to the American Transit Company of St Louis, Missouri.
• Edgewood Hardware opened.
• Fob James founded Diversified Products Inc.
• Kenneth Daniel became President of American Cast Iron Pipe Company.
• The Chapman Radio and Television Company began petitioning the FCC to allow them to broadcast on Channel 21.
• The Homewood Theatre closed for good.
• Larry Striplin, Jr bought the Nelson–Brantley Glass Company.
• Ruby Ansley founded Ruby Ansley Interiors
• Steiner Bank moved from the 1890 Steiner Building to modern offices at 1920 3rd Avenue North.
• City Federal Savings & Loan moved into the former Comer Building.

Civil Rights Movement

• January 18: Governor George Wallace made his first inauguration speech, calling for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever".
• April 3-May 10: The Birmingham campaign of peaceful protest was carried out in downtown Birmingham.
  • April 3: The "Birmingham Manifesto" was issued and the first organized sit-ins took place at downtown lunch counters.
  • April 7 (Palm Sunday): Ministers John Thomas Porter, Nelson H. Smith and A. D. King led a group of 2,000 marchers to protest the jailing of Civil Rights Movement leaders.
  • April 11: The Birmingham Public Library board voted to desegregate the city's public libraries.
  • April 12 (Good Friday): Martin Luther King, Jr was arrested for parading without a permit. White clergymen issue "A Call for Unity", urging an end to demonstrations as a show of support for the incoming city council.
  • May 2: The Children's Crusade began.
  • May 3: Police dogs and firehoses marked the second day of the Children's Crusade.
  • May 10: A truce was announced, ending the Birmingham Campaign.
• May 11: A. D. King's residence and the A. G. Gaston Motel were hit by devastating bombs. Rioting spread across the city.
• June 11: Governor George Wallace made his "stand in the schoolhouse door" to prevent integration of the University of Alabama. Vivian Malone and James Hood registered later that day.

July 12: The Fifth U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that Birmingham City Schools must be desegregated, beginning that fall.

• July 23: The Birmingham City Council repealed its segregation ordinances and reopened city parks.
• September 10: Birmingham City Schools were integrated by National Guardsmen under orders from President Kennedy.
• September 15: 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed in an act of terror. (See also Bombingham)

Government

George Wallace in 1968

• January 14: George Wallace was sworn in as Governor of Alabama.
• March 5: The 1963 Birmingham mayoral election, the first held under the Mayor-Council Act, results in a runoff between Albert Boutwell and Bull Connor. (See also: 1963 Birmingham City Council election)
• April 2: Albert Boutwell defeated Bull Connor to become Mayor of Birmingham.
• April 17: The newly-sworn in Birmingham City Council attempted to assume power, but the Birmingham City Commission members refused to cede their positions.
• April 23: Judge J. Edgar Bowron ruled that Mayor Boutwell and the City Council are the legal government of Birmingham.
• May 23: The Alabama Supreme Court upheld Bowron's ruling in favor of the Mayor-Council government.
• August 7: The Birmingham City Council approved Mayor Albert Boutwell's $15 million 1964 Birmingham budget.
• The 9th Congressional District of Alabama was eliminated, with George Huddleston, Jr serving the last term as representative.
• The Regional Planning Commission was created.

Sports

• January 1: The Alabama Crimson Tide beat Oklahoma 17-0 in the Orange Bowl.
• The Birmingham Black Barons played their final season.
• 1963 Birmingham Barons
• Auburn won the 1963 Iron Bowl.
• Tommie Reynolds began his Major League career with the Kansas City Athletics.
• Billy Joe earned AFL Rookie of the Year honors with the Denver Broncos.
• Coach Ray Woodard introduced soccer to Alabama with his first boys' team at Indian Springs School.

Works

• January 16: An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense
• April 12: A Call For Unity
• April 16: Letter from Birmingham Jail
• September 30: Newsweek issue on the 1963 church bombing with cover photo by John Friedel
• Hal Lynch starred in the Broadway production of Spoon River Anthology
• Austin 3-manual, 44-rank organ (Opus 2386) at McCoy United Methodist Church

Music

• Angels and Demons at Play, Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra
• When Sun Comes Out, Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

Buildings

Fritz Woehle residence

• Hueytown City Hall
• 3349 Brookwood Road
• Fritz Woehle residence
• Milo's Hamburgers second location on 10th Avenue North
• Pratt City Library on 2nd Street Pratt City
• A large, electrically-lit cross was mounted to the tower of Third Presbyterian Church
• New classrooms at Minor High School
• 6-story, 50 room addition to the Guest House Motor Inn
• First contracts were signed for construction of the Red Mountain Expressway

People

Births

Charles Barkley

A. C. Roper

• February 17: Michael Jordan, basketball legend and one-time Birmingham Baron
• February 20: Charles Barkley
• March 12: Tim Hollis, author and historian
• March 28: Chuck Jaeger, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office sergeant
• April 19: Wendy Holcombe, banjo player
• May 16: Jon Coffelt, artist
• June 6: Claude Estes IV, CPA
• July 6: Shelia Smoot, television reporter and politician
• August 28: Al Sutton, Baptist minister
• September 5: Jeff Brantley, baseball player
• September 8: David Lee Smith, actor
• September 8: Phillip Griffith, photographer
• October 24: Joe DeCamillis, artist
• November 6: A. C. Roper, Birmingham Police Department chief
• Brett Blackledge, reporter
• Bret Bradford, sculptor
• John Hallum, actor
• Edith Mayomi, former Jefferson State Community College employee
• David Meeks, Associated Press editor
• Artis Murphy, literacy advocate
• Jennifer Trammell, civic leader
• Victorine, Birmingham Zoo gorilla
• Nikita Williams, superintendent of Midfield City Schools

Marriages

• June 20: Charles Gaines and Patricia Ellison

Albert Boutwell. courtesy BPL Archives

Offices

• January 14: George Wallace succeeded John Patterson as Governor of Alabama
• Albert Boutwell succeeded Art Hanes as Mayor of Birmingham.
• Mel Bailey succeeded Holt McDowell as Jefferson County Sheriff
• Howard M. Phillips succeeded Henry Stanford as President of Birmingham-Southern College
• Clarke Stallworth became city editor for the Birmingham Post-Herald.
• John Grenier became chair of the Alabama Republican Party.
• Patrick Sullivan was assigned to priestly duties in North Alabama.
• Paul Bailey left Alabama College for Birmingham-Southern College
• Delos Culp succeeded Howard Phillips as President of Alabama College.
• Harvie Branscomb retired from the Chancellorship of Vanderbilt University.

Awards

• Miss Alabama: Judy Short
• Mr Crestwood: Joe Weeks

Graduations

• Ben Saxon graduated from Bessemer High School.
• Charles Gaines earned his bachelor's degree at Birmingham-Southern College.
• Cleveland Hammonds earned his master's in guidance and counseling from Southern Illinois University.
• Bev Head earned a bachelor's in economics from Yale College.
• William Cobb earned a master's in creative writing at Vanderbilt University.

Collins, McNair, Robertson, and Wesley

Deaths

• September 15: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley died in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Teenagers Johnnie Robinson and Virgil Ware were killed in the bombing's aftermath.
• October 19: Walter McAdory, former Jefferson County Sheriff
• December 14: Dinah Washington, blues singer
• December 25: A 14-year-old Woodlawn High School student was found dead from injuries sustained during a fall and exposure to the cold near Eastwood Mall.

See also List of Birmingham homicides in 1963

Context

In 1963, the Vietnam War continued. Travel and financial transactions by U.S. citizens with Cuba were prohibited. The Beatles recorded and release their debut album, Please Please Me. Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashed in the Florida Everglades killing all 43 persons aboard. Country music superstar Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash. The Alcatraz Island federal penitentiary in San Francisco Bay closed. The Coca-Cola Company introduced its first diet drink, Tab cola. NASA flew the final Mercury program mission. Vostok 6 carried Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman, into space. The Supreme Court ruled in Abington School District v. Schempp that state-mandated Bible reading in public schools is unconstitutional. Pope Paul VI succeeded Pope John XXIII.

Also in 1963, ZIP Codes were introduced. Hurricane Flora hit Hispaniola and Cuba killing nearly 7,000 people. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th President. Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin was later shot dead by Jack Ruby on live national television. A lightning strike caused the crash of Pan Am Flight 214 near Elkton, Maryland, killing 81 people. Kenya and Zanzibar became independent from Great Britain. The cruise ship Lakonia burned 180 miles north of Madeira, killing 128.

Films released in 1963 included From Russia With Love and The Sword in the Stone.

Television premieres in 1963 included General Hospital. The first episode of the BBC television series Doctor Who was broadcast in the United Kingdom.

Notable births in 1963 included entertainer Conan O'Brien. Notable deaths included country singer Patsy Cline, Pope John XXIII, civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois, and President John F. Kennedy.

1960s

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