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Birmingham, Alabama was regarded as the most segregated city in America when it became the focus of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Author Laura Anderson on behalf of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, offers a photographic history, "Civil Rights in Birmingham" (2013) of local events of historic national significance. Opened in 1992, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is a museum and research institute that commemorates the civil rights struggles in Birmingham which led to change. It is located across the street from the historic 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park in the Civil Rights District of Birmingham.The book consists of 200 photographs primarily from the archives of the Civil Rights Institute. Although events in Birmingham received extensive media and photographic coverage, many of the photos in this book will be unfamiliar to most readers. The book includes an introductory text and running commentary to accompany the photos.The book offers an overview of segregation in Birmingham beginning with the early years of the city in the 1870s. Anderson offers extensive coverage of the segregation that prevailed through the mid-20th Century. She offers photographs of the African American community in Birmingham that portrays the community laying the groundwork for the later civil rights activism in the city. The book shows African American Birmingham's thriving professional and commercial district, its schools, newspapers, and community leaders. The photos and discussion of pre-1960's Birmingham probably constitute the portion of the book that many readers will find new. The background is integral to the events which followed.Anderson then presents information on many of the community leaders who played a role in the civil rights events of 1961 -- 1963. She focuses on the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth (1992 -- 2011), the pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church of Collegeville and founding president of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Shuttlesworth figures prominently throughout the book, which emphasizes the activities of the local African American community in Birmingham.The book proceeds to discuss the Freedom Riders in Birmingham and Anniston which resulted in violence, the burning of a bus, and international attention. The story then turns to the 1963 boycott of segregated merchants in 1963 and the invitation Shuttlesworth extended to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to join the movement and lead the boycott. The book recounts the story, including King's arrest and time in jail, followed by the Children's Crusade which resulted in large-scale police violence and the ultimate success of the movement. Success came at the price of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963, resulting in the deaths of four young girls.The book offers a moving photographic overview of the civil rights movement in Birmingham and of its aftermath. The book emphasizes local activity, particularly the leadership role of Shuttlesworth, and tends to downplay somewhat the role of Dr. King. It is valuable to remember that many individuals played heroic roles in the movement. Shuttlesworth's importance and contributions deserve emphasis, as given in this book.Much has been written about the Birmingham civil rights movement, but this short photographic history provides a good introduction and overview. It is particularly valuable for its depiction of pre-civil rights African American life in the city. Readers interested in an account of Dr. King's activities in Birmingham, including his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" might wish to read Jonathan Rieder's book, also published in 2013, "The Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle that Changed a Nation." Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation"Civil Rights in Birmingham" is an outstanding contribution to the photographic local histories of American neighborhoods, towns, and cities in the "Images of America" series of Arcadia Publishing.Robin Friedman
