Protest began to swell in Birmingham began to swell the night Bonita Carter was killed, and it grew larger and larger in the days that followed. Black people, who had marched for voting power and integrated water fountains and lunch counters a decade and a half before, took to the streets to condemn police violence from a department built by Bull Connor. The killing of Bonita Carter seemed to be the last straw, especially when the mayor, a progressive named David Vann who had helped push Connor out in the ’60s, hesitated to discipline the police officer who shot her. The killing demanded change.

What was it about her that seemed to mobilize a city?

Show Notes:Guests: Solomon Crenshaw, Nathaniel Bagley, TK Thorne, Richard Mauk, Richard Arrington, Jr.

Creator: John ArchibaldHosts: John Archibald & Roy S. JohnsonExecutive Producer: John HammontreeProducer & Audio Engineer: Alexander RicheyProducers: Amy Yurkanin and Marsha Oglesby

Score: Thad Saajid, Austin Motlow, David Marsh, and Danny Ray Wilkerson, Jr. Additional music contributed by Jeremy Smith.

Music: "Hard to Stay Cool," by Cedric Burnside; Single Lock Records

Voice Acting: Nigel Thomas, Sheikilya Thomas, Alexander Richey, Barnett Wright and John Hammontree

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices