Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution
Encyclopedia
Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution, written by Diane McWhorter
and published by Simon & Schuster
in 2001, won the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
.
McWhorter grew up in Birmingham, Alabama
, and recounts being about the same age as the girls killed in the September 1963 bombing
of the 16th Street Baptist Church
, though she "was growing up on the wrong side of the revolution". While four black girls were murdered in that day's bombing, McWhorter recalls that the only repercussion of the killings on her white high school was the cancellation of a play rehearsal. Carry Me Home describes how bigotry was prevalent among whites and her interviews and reviews of documents from the civil rights era showed "the long tradition of enmeshment between law enforcers and Klansmen
", ranging from local and state police to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
.
She describes how local political leaders and newspaper editors supporting segregation exercised consistently poor judgment, with police chief Bull Connor
consistently rescuing the cause of civil rights demonstrators, responding to peaceful protests from local teenagers with high-pressure fire hose and police dogs. Wyatt Tee Walker
of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
recounted how "Birmingham would have been lost if Bull had let us go down to the city hall and pray".'
McWhorter notes the May 3, 1963, photo by Associated Press
photographer Bill Hudson
of Walter Gadsden, an African-American bystander who had been grabbed by a sunglasses-wearing police officer, while a German Shepherd
lunged at his chest. The photo appeared above the fold
, covering three columns in the next day's issue of The New York Times
, as well as in other newspapers nationwide. McWhorter wrote that Hudson's photo that day drove "international opinion to the side of the civil rights revolution".
In his review of the book in The New York Times
, David K. Shipler
credits McWhorter as being "impressive at gathering facts and sourcing them precisely", though he notes that "[a]t times, the themes are lost in dizzying detail, the trees overwhelm the forest".
The book won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
.
Diane McWhorter
Rebecca Diane McWhorter is an American journalist, commentator and author who has written extensively about race and the history of civil rights. Her book, Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution , was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General...
and published by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
in 2001, won the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
The J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize is an annual award in the amount of $10,000 given to a book that exemplifies, "literary grace, a commitment to serious research and social concern.” The prize is given by the Nieman Foundation and by the Columbia University School of Journalism. The prize is named...
and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in another category.-1960s:...
.
McWhorter grew up in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, and recounts being about the same age as the girls killed in the September 1963 bombing
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed on Sunday, September 15, 1963. The explosion at the African-American church, which killed four girls, marked a turning point in the U.S...
of the 16th Street Baptist Church
16th Street Baptist Church
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama which is frequented predominately by African Americans. In September 1963, it was the target of the racially motivated 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls in the midst of the American Civil Rights...
, though she "was growing up on the wrong side of the revolution". While four black girls were murdered in that day's bombing, McWhorter recalls that the only repercussion of the killings on her white high school was the cancellation of a play rehearsal. Carry Me Home describes how bigotry was prevalent among whites and her interviews and reviews of documents from the civil rights era showed "the long tradition of enmeshment between law enforcers and Klansmen
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
", ranging from local and state police to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
.
She describes how local political leaders and newspaper editors supporting segregation exercised consistently poor judgment, with police chief Bull Connor
Bull Connor
Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, during the American Civil Rights Movement...
consistently rescuing the cause of civil rights demonstrators, responding to peaceful protests from local teenagers with high-pressure fire hose and police dogs. Wyatt Tee Walker
Wyatt Tee Walker
Wyatt Tee Walker is a United States black pastor, national civil rights leader, theologian, and cultural historian. He was a Chief of Staff for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1958 became an early board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference . He helped found the Congress for...
of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
recounted how "Birmingham would have been lost if Bull had let us go down to the city hall and pray".'
McWhorter notes the May 3, 1963, photo by Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
photographer Bill Hudson
Bill Hudson (photographer)
Bill Hudson was an American photojournalist for the Associated Press who was best known for his photographs taken in the Southern United States during the civil rights era...
of Walter Gadsden, an African-American bystander who had been grabbed by a sunglasses-wearing police officer, while a German Shepherd
German Shepherd Dog
The German Shepherd Dog , also known as an Alsatian or just the German Shepherd, is a breed of large-sized dog that originated in Germany. The German Shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, with its origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, the German Shepherd is a working dog...
lunged at his chest. The photo appeared above the fold
Above the fold
"Above the fold" is a graphic design concept that refers to the location of an important news story or a visually appealing photograph on the upper half of the front page of a newspaper, or in case of webpages, the part of a page that's visible without scrolling. Most papers are delivered and...
, covering three columns in the next day's issue of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, as well as in other newspapers nationwide. McWhorter wrote that Hudson's photo that day drove "international opinion to the side of the civil rights revolution".
In his review of the book in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, David K. Shipler
David K. Shipler
David K. Shipler is an American author who won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1987 for Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land...
credits McWhorter as being "impressive at gathering facts and sourcing them precisely", though he notes that "[a]t times, the themes are lost in dizzying detail, the trees overwhelm the forest".
The book won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in another category.-1960s:...
.