the four little girls

The government of Alabama presented the biggest challenge to African-Americans in Birmingham. It allowed segregation that prevented blacks from shopping, going to school and even using the same public bathrooms and drinking fountains as whites. Another problem was that many whites, including the Ku Klux Klan, used violence against blacks who spoke up for their rights. They put bombs outside houses, including the house of Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. Even though these people were not part of the government, most blacks believed that the police were sympathetic to whites. "One third of the police was active in the Klan," said Reverend Shuttlesworth in the film. And when large protests began, it was the police who used firehoses and dogs to attack the demonstrators, and it was the police who put children in jail. These are the most serious challenges that African-Americans faced