The Birmingham Riots - as seen through photographs

In order to understand the context of photographs from the Birmingham Riots of 1963 it is important to know the background of the events. Birmingham was one of the biggest segregated cities in the South and racism was so bad that it was nicknamed ‘Bombingham’. This made it a prime place for King’s organisation and the local civil rights movement to begin a campaign to desegregate the city. The purpose as stated by King himself was for ‘Our direct action programme to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation’.[1] It was an economic boycott, illegal marches, sit-ins, picketing and an effort to ‘fill the jails’.  

Before discussing the individual photographs, it is crucial to consider that each image can be used in so many different ways, it is dependent on which view you take. There is no one tale for the photographs as it is directly linked with your perspective of the riots and the civil rights movement. 

There are positives to this photograph as it suggests that there was no-one causing any violence and there is a sense of union with them holding hands, an idea of being stronger together with unity across the genders. On the other hand, there are negatives as against the large crowd they look defenceless. It looks disorganised, therefore the white supremacists would be happy as there are only three of them which makes them look weak. 

This photograph suggests that the attempt to fill the jails was successful and they look relaxed and innocent. Because of their smiles it is not immediately obvious that they were in jail (the jails became so full that they had to use the schools), you have to know the context. They are smiling because they have done their job. Nevertheless, there are negatives because it is a posed photograph because there is a purpose behind it. They wanted to show everyone that they are not weakened by being arrested, it was all part of their plan. From a white supremacist perspective it makes a mockery of the justice system, a negative for them. 

This is very different to the previous two images as it suggests the violence of the Birmingham Riots. The white supremacists would be able to use this to their advantage and manipulate the situation in the media, by saying ‘Look what they look like, they’re animals, biting people, and they're monsters’. However it is important to look at the opposite perspective. The woman biting could be protecting herself. She looks defenceless and she must have been very desperate to resort to biting. 

This is a positive photograph for the civil rights movement as the young guy looks calm and sure of his position, with the police having to use violence against this strong man. However the white supremacists could have used this to their advantage by saying no-one in the background is looking at them so are they really that strong? There are several perspectives to this photograph as on the one hand it looks as though the police are using the dogs for violence but on the other they could be attempting to pull the dog off of the guy. Also this photograph does not capture a possible situation going on to the left of the image.

Photographs are an effective source as they are able to capture specific moments in time but this is also a disadvantage as they are only a snapshot. These images add to our understanding of the Birmingham Riots and add different points to our perspectives based purely just on the facts of the events.

 

By Alethea Coalwood

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[1] Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963.