Word: birminghams
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...with a crisis of conscience; his emotions say "never" to integration, his civil instincts say "perhaps some day," but his cash registers say "now." The dominant sentiment is expressed by Real Estate Executive Sidney Smyer, chairman of the businessmen's committee that negotiated a truce of sorts in Birmingham: "I'm not an integrationist, but I'm not a damn fool either...
Integration demonstrations, and redneck resistance to them, are alike bad for business. Sales of Birmingham's downtown stores dropped 10% when Negroes began boycotts and picketing, fell another 15% when the city brought out the fire hoses and police dogs. Birmingham's pass-through tourist trade is off 40%, and New Orleans lost an American Legion convention with 70,000 potential customers because that city's hotels are segregated (the Legion shifted to Miami Beach, which began to cross the color line in 1958). Sales of Southern school-bond issues are sluggish. Businessmen are also aware that...
...past fortnight some kind of desegregation has taken place in 98 Southern cities-and predominantly business groups have done most of the local nudging. Says Birmingham Real Estate Man William P. Engel: "You cannot depend on the politicians or the extremists. The businessman must take the leadership...
Perhaps you can appreciate the resulting confusion in the minds of many Africans upon their consideration of a nation of people that will allow such violations of human dignity and conscience as Birmingham and at the same time enthusiastically support such a program as the Peace Corps, which has sent thousands like myself throughout the world in the name of freedom, justice, and a deep respect for human rights. An African said to me this week in all sincerity, "What is all this nonsense about your country being the land of the free and home of the brave? America acts...
King came back this past April, when he organized civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham. Since then, S.C.L.C. has been just about the hottest organization in the civil rights field-much to the discomfiture of other groups. "King," complains the leader of one, "is getting all the money." Yet as an organization, S.C.L.C. would probably fold tomorrow were King to leave...