The Children's March
by Antoinette Winstead
Feb. 03, 2023
Friday
Set in May 1963, the day before Birmingham, Alabama's historic black student walkout, The Children's March tells the story of eight brave students as they prepare to march, each grappling with their decision to participate or not, each acutely aware of the consequences for themselves, their families, and community, all having to weigh fear against hope.
A short one-act written By Antoinette F. Winstead for The Carver's Youth Matinee Series
From the National Museum of African-American History:
On May 2, 1963, more than one thousand students skipped classes and gathered at Sixth Street Baptist Church to march to downtown Birmingham, Alabama. As they approached police lines, hundreds were arrested and carried off to jail in paddy wagons and school buses. When hundreds more young people gathered the following day for another march, white commissioner, Bull Connor, directed the local police and fire departments to use force to halt the demonstration. Images of children being blasted by high-pressure fire hoses, being clubbed by police officers, and being attacked by police dogs appeared on television and in newspapers, and triggered outrage throughout the world.
Despite the violence, children continued to march and protest in an organizing action now known as the Children’s Crusade.
The crusade ended after intervention from the U.S. Department of Justice. The event moved President John F. Kennedy’s to express support for federal civil rights legislation and the eventual passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
[photograph (C) Charles Moore, via the National Museum of African-American History]
The Children's March
by Antoinette Winstead
Antoinette Winstead
February 03, 2023
Friday, February 3, 2023 @ 11 a.m.
The Jo Long Theatre, Carver Community Cultural Center, San Antonio
