Stories from Civil Rights Foot Soldiers

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. captured headlines during the civil rights movement, but ordinary men and women -- the foot soldiers - also helped ignite the movement. Some foot soldiers are now telling their stories to a new generation. Thirteen UAB students are interviewing foot soldiers with a special emphasis on those who were active in 1963. "That was the year of the children's marches and the Sixteenth Street Church bombing," said UAB sociologist Michele Wilson, Ph.D. "It was a pivotal year, not just for the movement, but for the character of the country as well. This course will provide students with a living laboratory to study the movement and to get the untold stories of those who risked so much to do so much."