You’d imagine that if given the chance, anyone with a criminal record would gladly allow the charges to be expunged, right? Not exactly. Mayor Larry Langford of Birmingham, Ala., recently extended a blanket pardon for anyone who participated in the culture-shaping civil rights protests of the 1960s. But the men and women who bravely endured police violence — replete with fire hoses and attack dogs — in retaliation for their non-violent actions say, no thank you.
Seemingly, accepting a pardon holds some implication of guilt, and the freedom fighters stand by the belief that the demonstrations were never criminal. In fact, they take pride in their actions, like pastor Gwendolyn C. Webb-Happling. In 1963, the then 14-year-old was arrested in Birmingham and spent a week in custody at the city fairgrounds on charges of with demonstrating without a permit.
“We went to jail for a purpose — to be free,” she tells the Associated Press. “Not just us but our children and our children’s children. We are proud of what we did.”
Alabama has never extended a formal invitation similar to Langford’s, but three years ago the state passed The Rosa Parks Act. The legislature allows all those, including the eponymous icon, to be cleared of all civil disobedience arrest charges incurred during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Interestingly, although perhaps not surprising, the state has received nary a pardon application.
Civil rights leader Bishop Calvin Woods accepted the pardon on behalf of thousands. And although many feel Langford’s move may be driven by politics, the overall message is not lost. Rev. Joseph Lowery, an Atlanta resident who has been arrested countless times for civil disobedience since the 1950s, tells the AP, “It vindicates the people who went to jail and says that what they did was a good thing. It shows that the city has grown to recognize the jail-ins as spiritual acts, not criminal acts. They didn’t violate the law; they helped fulfill the law.
While exact figures still elude court employees, estimates suggest that at the height of the movement’s activity in 1963, some 2,500 equal rights activists were arrested, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It was during this time he wrote the famed “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” a powerful declaration not only of civil rights but of the moral responsibility we have to disobey unjust laws.”
Kings message continues to live long after his death. In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono made very public display of their private protest with their famous Bed-In. This year marks the event’s 40th anniversary, and The World March for Peace and Non-Violence will commemorate the couples’ global plea for non-violence this Saturday in NYC’s Central Park, just east of Strawberry Fields. Should be a nice day to exercise your freedom.
Photos by discoverblackheritage, courtesy Creative Commons via Flickr
