On May 7, 1963, thousands of Black schoolchildren in Birmingham, Alabama, continued to march for civil rights, following the first mass arrests the day before. The Children’s Crusade — orchestrated by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and leaders like James Bevel — saw young activists filling the jails and overwhelming the city’s segregationist defenses. Their courage in facing fire hoses, police dogs, and brutal arrests captured the nation’s attention and created momentum that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The events of May 7, specifically, showed the power of youth in forcing moral reckonings around civil rights.
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