Children's March (teaching)

Today, I learned about a truly amazing part of the history of our country. I watched a documentary called the Children's March, produced by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In 1963, thousands of children marched in Birmingham for their freedom. They marched because their parents feared for their lives. They marched in the face of danger because, as one woman said, to be born black in Alabama meant you were never free from danger. They were told not to by many (their parents, Dr. King, other leaders). But, they did. They jumped out of their school windows to gather in a church in downtown Birmingham. The gathered at the same church 4 little girls were killed in a few months later. They gathered knowing they would be arrested.













High school students stood next to eight-year-olds as fire hoses and dogs were turned on them. A four-year-old was one of the thousands of children put into the jails. So many children faced harm in effort to change their world.

As I watched and learned, I realized I had never heard this story. I knew small bits. I had seen the images of the fire hoses. But I never knew the hoses were turned on children. And, I never knew the same children showed up the next day in bathing suits...courage mixed with actions only a child would take. I knew there was a church that was bombed. But, I did not know that same church was targeted because it was the place were actual steps were taken to bring Birmingham to it's knees. I never saw the pictures of children singing in the jails and huddled in the animal pens that acted as de facto prisons.

None of these things had ever been woven together to show me the whole story. I have grown up learning about the Civil Rights Movement...this was an overwhelming hole. I am reminded that to teach I need to be a student.