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On Saturday, May 5, thousands of people marched through the streets of Birmingham commemorating the historic Children's Crusade of 1963.
Jack and Jill of America and the Children’s Defense Fund partnered to sponsor the event honoring the march’s 55th anniversary. Three days of anniversary events drew in over 2,000 children and adults from across the country and locally to Birmingham.
In 1963, a series of marches was conducted by Birmingham’s youth to peacefully protest racism, discrimination and segregation evident in their communities. African-American students from across Birmingham left their classrooms to meet near Sixteenth Baptist Church and then marched through the streets of Birmingham.
The children were met with police dogs and fire hose attacks at the orders of Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor. The violence that ensued incited nationwide outcry and hastened integration in one of the most segregated cities in America.
Not only did the anniversary event commemorate the past, but the march serves to remind the community of the power of children to make a difference.
Marian Wright Edelman, the founder and president of The Children’s Defense Fund, said, “This Children’s Crusade is a new chance to remember, honor and follow the example of the children who were the frontline soldiers and transforming catalysts in America’s greatest moral movement of the twentieth century. ... It will also remind today’s children that they are not just citizens in waiting, but at this critical national time they have their own stake in freedom and justice, and they too can be transforming agents for change.”
Joli Cooper Elson, Jack and Jill of America's national president, said, “When you see young people marching for March for Our Lives, ... it seems as if young people are embracing the power of their voice. But from a historical perspective, young people led the change in our country during the 1963 Children’s Crusade and so showing them the role, influence and power of children was invaluable.”
