Bookhounds YA

Books, Gardens, and Dogs

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Giveaways
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Review Policy

#Giveaway WE ARE THE POWER: Martin Luther King Jr. and “Project C” by Todd Hasak-Lowy @nonviolence11 Ends 5.16

May 5, 2020 By Mary

by Todd Hasak-Lowy



Welcome to the We Are Power Blog Tour!

 
To celebrate the release of We Are Power by Todd Hasak-Lowy, blogs across the web are featuring original content from Todd and profiles of key figures in social activism history from We Are Power, as well as 5 chances to win a finished copy!
 
 
Martin Luther King Jr. and “Project C”
by Todd Hasak-Lowy

The 1963 Birmingham campaign was a turning point for the civil rights movement, as Martin Luther King, Jr., and his deputies coordinated an action in advance for the first time.  This short snippet from my book explains the planning behind “Project C,” as well as the life-threatening dangers these brave activists chose to confront head on.

On January 10, 1963, King and ten others gathered in secrecy at a retreat in Dorchester, Georgia. They were there to fine tune their plans for Project C. 

“C” stood for “confrontation.” 

The first lesson these activists took from Albany was the need to be in charge from the very beginning. They would no longer join a campaign already underway. The Dorchester group—which included King; his right-hand man, Ralph Abernathy; James Lawson, an expert in training nonviolent activists; and Wyatt Walker, who drafted the blueprint for the coming campaign—would choose not just the place, Birmingham, but the exact timing and the specific tactics as well. 

Nonviolent resistance had a reputation as a spontaneous phenomenon, something as unpredictable as the weather. A bunch of people would grow outraged and suddenly take to the streets. The aim of Project C was not merely to overturn segregation in Birmingham, but also to demonstrate that different methods of nonviolent direct action could be coordinated in advance to achieve maximum effect. 

Much like generals gathered in their headquarters and huddled over the map of a future battlefield, these leaders considered every tactic at their disposal and every obstacle they might face. Walker’s planning was so meticulous he knew precisely how long it would take activists of different ages and physical abilities to walk from the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Project C’s staging area, to various segregated lunch counters in downtown Birmingham. 

Project C was to have four phases: sit-ins, boycotts, mass marches, and, finally, an influx of outsiders who would reinforce the local activists. The ultimate aim was to “cripple the city under the combined pressure of publicity, economic boycott, and the burden of over- flowing jails.” The stages were to be timed in such a way as to steadily increase the force of the campaign, to create, in King’s words, “a situation so crisis-packed” that the “pus-flowing ugliness” of segregation would burst open for all to see. 

Project C wasn’t merely ambitious, it would be dangerous as well. The notorious Bull Connor had headed the Birmingham police force for most of the previous quarter century. Connor was a die-hard segregationist, determined to combat the civil rights movement no matter what it took. Two years earlier, in spring 1961, a group of white and black activists, known as the Freedom Riders, rode throughout the South to challenge the illegal segregation of interstate bus lines. As they reached the Birmingham bus terminal on May 14, Connor allowed local KKK members—who brought baseball bats, iron pipes, and chains with them—to have fifteen minutes alone with the riders before sending in the police. The violence spun out of control so quickly that seven innocent bystanders wound up in the hospital. 

When asked why the police were slow to arrive, Connor responded that they were honoring Mother’s Day with their mothers. 

King ended the Dorchester meeting by sharing a sober observation: “There are eleven people here assessing the type of enemy we’re going to face. I have to tell you that in my judgment, some of the people sitting here today will not come back alive from this campaign. And I want you to think about it.” 

*****
 
Blog Tour Schedule:
 
May 4th – The Fandom

May 5th – Big Shiny Robot

May 6th – BookHoundsYA
May 7th – Mundie Moms
May 8th – A Dream Within a Dream
★ “Hasak-Lowy’s writing gives life to both the people and issues involved, taking time to explain historical backgrounds and the ways the lessons from one movement affected future ones.” 
— Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
★ “Highly recommended for its outstanding treatment of the history of social justice. A good resource for student activists.” 
— School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
★ “There has never been a time when a book is more relevant than this one.” 
— School Library Connection, STARRED REVIEW
 
 



Buy: Amazon | Abrams | Bookshop | IndieBound

 
Add on Goodreads
 
Follow Todd: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
 

A stirring look at nonviolent activism, from American suffragists to Civil Rights to the Climate Change Movement

We Are Power brings to light the incredible individuals who have used nonviolent activism to change the world. The book explores questions such as what is nonviolent resistance and how does it work? In an age when armies are stronger than ever before, when guns seem to be everywhere, how can people confront their adversaries without resorting to violence themselves? Through key international movements as well as people such as Gandhi, Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, and Václav Havel, this book discusses the components of nonviolent resistance. It answers the question “Why nonviolence?” by showing how nonviolent movements have succeeded again and again in a variety of ways, in all sorts of places, and always in the face of overwhelming odds. The book includes endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.

 



About the Author

 

Todd Hasak-Lowy is the author of several books for young readers. He is a professor of creative writing and literature at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Hasak-Lowy lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife and two daughters. Visit toddhasaklowy.com.

 





GIVEAWAY

 
  • 1 winner will receive a finished copy of We Are Power. Check out the other tour stops for more chances to win.
  • US/Canada only
  • Ends 11:59pm ET on 5/16


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • More
  • TSU
  • Share on Tumblr

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
#Giveaway Excerpt CURSE UNDONE by Brandie June @brandiejune @CamCatBooks @RockstarBkTours Ends 11.22
#Giveaway Why STEM? by Valerie Tripp #Win Izzy Newton and the S.M.A.R.T. Squad #3: The Law of Cavities Ends 11.13 @mediamastersbks
#Giveaway How I Came to Write The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick #Win THE TILTERSMITH @AmyEHerrick @AlgonquinYR @mediamastersbks Ends 11.6
#Giveaway NO ADMISSIONS by Brittany Geragotelis @TheBookSlayer @PixelandInkBks @HolidayHouseBks @RockstarBkTours Ends 10.25
#Giveaway Excerpt ZARA’S RULES FOR FINDING HIDDEN TREASURE by Hena Khan @henakhanbooks @SalaamReads @SimonKIDS @RockstarBkTours Ends 10.18

Comments

  1. Danielle Hammelef says

    May 6, 2020 at 5:03 am

    Malala Yousafzai–because of her fight for girls’ education.

  2. DorothyJ Boucher says

    May 6, 2020 at 10:05 am

    I think they are all so wonderful! and so many other names that are not mentioned here but if I had to go with just one ,I would choose! Gandhi.
    @tisonlyme143

  3. Victoria Scott says

    May 6, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    Michelle Obama is an inspiration to me!

  4. Esperanza Gailliard says

    May 7, 2020 at 10:00 am

    I find Martin Luther King, Jr the most inspiring to me. Why? Because he addressed the corporate powers and was not afraid to do so.

  5. Penny Olson says

    May 8, 2020 at 1:07 pm

    I’m inspired by Malala Yousafzai and Harriet Tubman.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Goodreads
  • Email

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 29,786 other subscribers
You'd have to have, like, a lentil for a soul to hate wiener dogs. ~Zuzana from The Daughter of Smoke & Bones by Laini Taylor

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2023 ·Modern Blogger Pro · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · Design by Imagination Designs all images form the Future is Steampunk kit by Marta Van Eck WordPress · Log in