Birmingham 1963

How a Photograph Rallied Civil Rights Support

By: Shelley Tougas, Alexa Sandmann, Kathleen Baxter

Narrated by: anonymous

In May 1963, news photographer Charles Moore was on hand to document the Children’s Crusade, a civil rights protest. But the photographs he took that day did more than document an event; they helped change history.

His photograph of a trio of African-American teenagers being slammed against a building by a blast of water from a fire hose was especially powerful. The image of this brutal treatment turned Americans into witnesses at a time when hate and prejudice were on trial. It helped rally the civil rights movement and energized the public, making civil rights a national problem needing a national solution. And it paved the way for Congress to finally pass laws to give citizens equal rights regardless of the color of their skin.

©2010 Shelley Tougas, Alexa Sandmann, Kathleen Baxter (P)2013 Capstone Publishers, Inc.

Great resource to find photos

Grateful for the names of photogs and back stories of its subjects. Harder to follow in audio format, since it breaks the narration to describe photos, but the subject matter is important.