"In May 1956 Alabama politicians stood on the beach of history and tried to hold back the tide. They outlawed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), in a desperate attempt to halt the movement for Negro equality. It turned out their action had the opposite effect- it backfired. Almost immediately the Negroes of Birmingham came together to form a movement which shook Birmingham and the rest of America." (Clayborne Carson, When the …showed first 75 words of 1408 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1408 total…he said. "We're going on in spite of dogs and fire hoses. We've gone too far to turn back." He was right. That night, television news programs carried scenes of police dogs growling at children and women sprawled helpless under the force of a fire hose. The pictures and stories of what had happened in Birmingham shocked America and the rest of the world. Many consider this the turning point of the Civil Rights Movement.