Civil Rights Leaders.

Since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday is just around the corner, and Black History Month is fast approaching I feel it’s necessary to drop a fact or two on you people, particularly, those of you that have never visited Alabama, let alone Birmingham. These days it seems to be a popular trend amongst us black folks to make disrespectful comments about certain prominant black people in history when in this day in age of such popularity in hip hop that people such as Tupac and Biggie can die pointless deaths, yet, still carry just as much, if not more respect in the after life than black men that actually had a purpose for risking and or sacrificing their lives for the betterment of society - everyone from Martin Luther King to Malcolm X to Thurgood Marshall had a different role to play. They all used their individual talents to push black America forward to the best of their ability. 

All of those men had their flaws, nevertheless, they contributed their part to society to make this world a better place not only for blacks but for society in general. No race or nationality of human being should be held back for any prejudiced reason -  this country was built by people of every race and nationality - many of them sacrificed themselves whether it be through the armed forces, non-violent protest or simply working in adverse, demeaning positions, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, so that  blacks can can have the luxury employing the same inalienable rights that every other citizen, particularly, white citizens, have had and always will have the luxury of enjoying.

No one should be so ignorant, irresponsible, and shiftless to think the leaders of the past should have been some perfect superhuman beings by any stretch of the imagination even though they accomplished more as individuals than any other black person will ever hope to accomplish quite possibly for the rest of the existence of the human race, yet some black people out there feel the civil rights leaders of the past failed us. Even back then it wasn’t their job to save black America but they took on the responsibility of doing so anyway. That’s just the kind of integrity, determination, selflessness, and intestinal fortitude many blacks had back in that time. None of these men such as  Medgar Evers (pictured right), Dr. Martin Luther Kind Jr, and Malcolm X, among many other prominent black men of the civil rights era where Gods. They weren’t superhuman, they weren’t trained, combat-hardened soldiers. They were simply citizens - married men with families. They could have simply withdrawn at the face of adversity - reprioritized their lives and focus on raising their families. But they chose instead to make the ultimate sacrifice, These men knew what their fate would be if they continued the path they chose yet they chose that path anyway.

As for Birmingham, there are some people that are naturally born citizens of the United States that can’t even point to the state of Alabama on a map much less know where Birmingham is, let alone having actually been to Birmingham. Many people over the decades chose to buy into the same warped truths that 60’s white media wanted you to believe. Mainstream media circulated press images of black people - adults - being hosed down in the streets by firemen, ripped to shreds by police dogs, and being clubbed about the head and body by policemen. In effect, it was the same type of situation as with Hurricane Katrina where the media portrayed blacks as being violent theives whereas the whites were portrayed as being helpless and vulnerable. They wanted to plant the seed in America’s mind that black people were running all over greater Birmingham killing, stealing and raping during the fifties and sixties. Let me tell you what happened as a black citizen born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama on the famous “Dynamite Hill” only four houses down from where Angela Davis lived.

Many of Birmingham’s adult citizens didn’t want to have any part of the riots because they didn’t want to lose their jobs. In fact, many of the women worked as maids in the homes of rich white people in the Mountain Brooke, Vestavia, and Homewood areas. It was the black children from the various elementary, middle schools and high schools of greater Birmingham that marched on downtown Birmingham. Absent from the media were pictures of these children being ripped to shreds by police dogs and hosed down by the Birmingham Fire Department and Jailed by the Birmingham Police. But in truth 98% of those that participated in the riots and were jailed were black children between the ages of 9 to 16.

Imagine being 9-years-old, thrown in a police wagon, booked like a common criminal, and sitting in jail for days at a time. Imagine being 9-years-old and having a terrible cold - you ask the jailer if you could call your mama to tell her you’re okay but all the jailer does is give you a toothbrush and some soap and water and tells you to clean the toilet in your cell. Y’all don’t know nothing about that calamity do you?

It was the black children of greater Birmingham that skipped school day after day and was thrown in jail over and over again until the Birmingham City Jail finally gave up and released all of the children because they simply couldn’t keep up with the sheer numbers of black children coming from cities in the metro area to storm on Birmingham. It was Bull Conner (pictured bottom right) that allowed the riots to go on - allow the white citizens of Birmingham to relentlessly attack blacks that were non-violently protesting  before he finally decided to blow the whistle and let the Birmingham City Police storm the scene in a nick of time - utter garbage. Those in power over the media didn’t want it to be known then and still don’t want it to be known now that the Birmingham Police, The Birmingham Fire Department and white citizens of the Birmingham area where fighting black children. They were throwing children in jail. They was unleashing police dogs named nigger (the police actually thought that sh!t was funny back then) on children. They was hosing children with dangerously high pressured hoses that could easily injure or even kill a human being.

Martin Luther King was a great man despite his flaws. He knowingly put himself in harms way ultimately losing his life trying to make the world a little better for his people. You can live for the rest of your life and you’ll never see another black man like him or Malcolm or Evers sacrifice their lives the way those men did. You need to search deeper for your information. You need to ask people that know about the Civil Rights era and what happened in Birmingham and Montgomery. If you want to know the truth you need to read a little deeper and find out what was truly going on instead of depending on what has been circulating out there in the mainstream media for all these years.