Different Voices
There is more than one side to every story. Imagine that you could hear the voices of Birmingham in May 1963. This is what they might have said.
My heart is fluttering in my chest. All around me kids chatter nervously. Many look around my age, 14, but a lot are younger, too. This morning we met at the 16th Street Baptist Church. Before we marched right into the area with all of the whites-only stores, I talked to one of my classmates from school.
"You skipping school today, too?" he asked.
I nodded yes.
"You scared?" he asked.
I nodded again.
"Me too."
Now we're looking across the street. We see firemen standing there with hoses, aimed right at us. Suddenly, water explodes from the nozzles. Some kids fall down. Others sit right down in the street. The firemen turn up their hoses even higher. I press myself against the side of a building to keep from getting swept away. Water beats my back and shoulders and pins me against the building. It feels like I'm being punched and kicked. The water tears my sweater. I'll be bruised and in big trouble when I get home, but I know I'm doing the right thing.
There's a crowd gathering at the church. A lot of them are kids, but they still need to be kept under control. We have to protect our citizens-our white citizens, that is. This city is segregated. Whites and blacks are separate. Always has been that way, and, I hope, always will be. It's my job to use whatever force is needed to keep the peace.
The crowd is beginning to march, straight toward the white shopping area.
"Halt!" I yell, and no one will get hurt."
They don't stop. Then I see Commissioner Connor signal to the firemen.
The firemen turn their hoses on the crowd and start to spray. The water's power is strong enough to tear the bark off a tree. I hope this will teach these people a lesson!
I'm watching history being made. I am in Birmingham to take pictures for my job. As I snap pictures of the black children gathered for their march, I see firemen cross the street toward them. "Bull" Connor is there yelling commands. The firemen blast the kids with water. I can't believe my eyes, seeing such violence against children. I see a teenage girl and two boys holding onto the side of a building to try to keep from getting swept away by the blasts of water. It looks like the water is really hurting them as it hits them in the back. I snap a picture of them. I hope this picture makes it into the newspaper. This picture will make the world pay attention to what is happening here.
~~~~~~~~
By Anna GratzCockerille
ILLUSTRATED BY Mark Mitchell