Birmingham Children's March: The Backstory

Poet Thomas Gardner was raised in segregated Birmingham, Ala. While his family insulated him from the intensity of the racism and violence that permeated the city, Gardner recalls how personal conversations with the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth inspired him to get involved in the movement. Gardner details the backstory of how Shuttlesworth, SCLC leader James Bevel and fellow leaders transformed America’s fight for racial equality by empowering black youth to march.