April 1963

After being arrested on April 12 for defying an injunction against demonstrations, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to eight white Alabama clergymen who called the protests 'unwise and untimely.' The letter argued the moral necessity of nonviolent direct action against unjust laws.

The SCLC launched 'Project C' (for Confrontation) in Birmingham, Alabama — targeting the most segregated large city in America. Organizers Wyatt Tee Walker and Fred Shuttlesworth coordinated sit-ins, marches, and economic boycotts of downtown businesses. Bull Connor's violent response was part of the calculated strategy to force national attention.