Birmingham Jail Research Paper

On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis while preparing for a march on behalf of striking sanitation workers in the city. After Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in 1968, riots and violence ensued in many cities and states across the United States of America. His death caused a media firestorm that portrayed African Americans in a violent and negative light. While there were many cities affected by his death, Greensboro, North Carolina had the most varied reactions due to its college students. Although these people responded in different ways to the tragedy, they reinforced the need for more representation and unification of students and rioters across the country.
After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, the city of Greensboro immediately erupted. Charles Bombeld and Carolyn Moran responded by writing an article in Greensboro College’s Collegian. In his article, Bombeld advocated for a change of the individual ideologies and the expulsion of racism. David Greenfield, also a writer for the Collegian, took to the paper to

write about his lack of belief in support from white people and the end of white racism. The Guilfordian covered the events following Martin Luther King’s death and the range of emotion that occurred on Guildford College’s campus. It is reported in the article that most people were sympathetic while there were the occasional cries of victory from select students. According to the article, a peaceful demonstration at Guilford College organized in the fashion of the Quaker groups.
While Guilford College had varying reactions, the African American students of A&T University in Greensboro rioted in the streets.

Mere hours after the news of his assassination reached the city, hundreds of students from A & T University organized a peaceful demonstration in the streets. The students also marched to the Guilford County courthouse and had a moment of silence for the fallen civil rights hero. Other incidents occurred at A &T, three police officers were shot down by a sniper. Due to this incident and others, The Guilfordian reported about the curfew was imposed by the mayor. While the curfew was put in place, the governor called for the restrictions of alcohol, firearms, and demonstrations, according to The Guilfordian. National guardsmen were placed in front of the universities, and those that broke the curfew were subjected to a fifty dollar fine and a possible thirty-day jail

sentence.
The actions of students in Greensboro reflect the very mindsets and actions of those across the United States. While the national media reported the incidents of the riots with a bias against African American protesters, the reports from student-written newspaper allow special insight. The articles written by the students gave a view into the real, honest reactions of the people why still maintaining a factual basis. When the student writers pleaded for peace and a change of mindset, it stemmed from firsthand knowledge about the lack of equality and peace within the campuses. It is important to use these accounts in order to gain a real awareness of the emotions that ran through the students at such a volatile time. These articles also reinforce the occurrences of the age and how difficult it was to remain strong and advocate for more equality and unification of students of different races.
After Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, riots and demonstrations took place across the United States. Although many communities participated in such events, those that organized in Greensboro, North Carolina gave the world a different perspective into their rallies and civil unrest. The use of student written newspapers created an unbiased perspective into the struggle for equality and remembrance of a monumental figure of Civil Rights. The articles written in these papers called for the action of people around Greensboro and across the United States. With the factual renderings of these students, it directly contrasts the words of national media and proves their biases to be contrived.