60 years since 'The Children's Crusade' changed Birmingham and the nation

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/31/ [login to see] /birmingham-childrens-crusade-civil-rights-60th-anniversary
On a sunny, breezy afternoon Paulette Roby shows visitors the way to Kelly Ingram Park, proudly pointing out Black-owned businesses along the way, including barber shops and restaurants.

The downtown streets are dotted with markers for the Birmingham Civil Rights District – designated a National Monument by President Obama.

"This is a very sacred place for me," says Roby as she arrives at the park. The site is where students peacefully marched in the Spring of 1963 to demand an end to segregation. It became known as "The Children's Crusade."

Roby chairs the Civil Rights Activist Committee – which has an office in the district that's jam-packed with historic memorabilia. The group documents the stories of the thousands of children known as foot soldiers, including Roby, who participated in the Birmingham movement with the Revs. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fred Shuttlesworth and James Bevel with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).