Chapter 6, The Alabama Project, St. Augustine, and the Nobel Peace Prize, 1963-1964 Summary and Analysis

Shortly after the March on Washington, while King and his fellow leaders were looking for a new focus for the civil rights march, tensions again began to heat up in Birmingham. On September 15, a bomb exploded at Birmingham's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, killing four young girls. After the funerals, Diane Bevel, a long-time SNCC leader, presented a Proposal for Action in Montgomery to develop an army of sorts to begin massive protests. Kennedy became involved by meeting with white leaders from Birmingham at the White House. However, Kennedy was deeply concerned about Bevel's plan due to the SNCC's history of violence. At the SCLC convention there was much discussion over where the organization should concentrate their actions next. King...