By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Denasha Williams, a senior at Huffman High School, read about the historic 1963 Children’s Crusade in Birmingham that helped lead to groundbreaking federal Civil Rights Legislation. On Friday, she got a chance to experience it.
Williams and more than 200 students from various Birmingham City Schools gathered in Kelly Ingram Park to re-enact the Children’s Crusade held 62 years ago this month.
“I feel great about [today’s re-enactment],” Williams said. “It’s like I’m understanding what [students in 1963] went through … I feel like I got the chance to understand the way that they felt and what it was like to have the pressure on them.”
Aniya Tolbert, a junior at Huffman High School, said she used to attend a school where “we would talk about Black history, but today just gave me a more in-depth look at the Children’s March, including the actual time frame in which these events happened,“ she said.
Birmingham’s historic Children’s Crusade, which took place May 2-10, 1963, involved more than 1,000 students walking downtown to talk to leadership at City Hall about segregation.
Many were arrested. They were also attacked by police dogs and sprayed with water hoses.
The event led to President John F. Kennedy to publicly support federal Civil Rights legislation, eventually led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
On Friday, students gathered in downtown Birmingham at Sixth Avenue North and 17th Street North and walked toward Birmingham City Hall. They ended their walk at Boutwell Auditorium, where they watched a 40-minute documentary.
John Banks, a freshman at Wenonah High School, said he understands the importance of what happened 62 years ago.
“By [the Foot Soldiers] going out there and marching, they made change. They got people’s attention, and it allowed them to actually get something done.”
The re-enactment also “opened my eyes to the significance of my city, our city, Birmingham,” he said. “… Times right now are scary, just like in the past, but if we preserve our history, we can learn from it to build a better future for everyone.”
