Chapter 5, Birmingham and the March on Washington, 1963 Summary and Analysis

King began planning the Birmingham protests by setting a timeline that would begin after the elections. King and other black leaders were hoping that the Public Safety Commissioner, Connor, who was running for mayor, would be defeated, since Connor had been behind much of the violence during past protests. King also visited many wealthy supporters in order to raise money for possible bail money. It was King's intention to focus the Birmingham protests on three major department stores and their lunch counters, rather than to spread the protests wide as with the Albany Movement. During the planning of these protests, King also found himself having to deal with further disgruntlement between the SNCC and the VEP program, his own safety issues, and the rumors of Communist connections among his...