The Birmingham Children's March: A Play About the 1963 Children's Crusade for Civil Rights: Civil Rights Arts Project, #1

By Alan Marshall

Thirteen-year-old Freida McCarter woke up wanting nothing to do with the freedom marches and civil rights demonstrations being planned in her Birmingham neighborhood, especially after learning that she would have to remain nonviolent if attacked.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me. Ain't nobody gonna put their hands on me and there is no way I'm sittin' in jail for the freedom I should have had when I was born."

Despite her intention to stay away from the marches, unforeseen circumstances lead Freida to make a fateful decision that places her in harm's way. While peacefully marching into downtown Birmingham, Freida and the other young demonstrators will be attacked by cops accompanied by bloodthirsty police dogs, and firemen armed with high-pressure water hoses before being arrested and carted off to jail. If Freida is going to overcome this crisis, she must summon the will to control her temper, the courage to overcome her fear and the resilience to face the consequences of her actions.

Alan Marshall's Birmingham Children's March is a dramatization of the events in Birmingham, Alabama during the spring of 1963 when the peaceful marches led by school children rescued Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s faltering civil rights campaign and moved a reluctant President Kennedy to introduce a landmark civil rights bill to Congress. This interactive, mass meeting production featuring freedom songs, speeches, testimonies, and character-driven drama, all happening around the audience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: 3MB Publishing
• Release date: Aug 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393352006

Book preview

ALAN MARSHALL

3MB PUBLISHING COMPANY

Chicago, IL

Please direct all requests for performance rights or to schedule a performance at your school to

Alan Marshall

773.609.2794

[e-mail]

or

visit

http://www.CivilRightsArtsProject.com

The Birmingham Children’s March (Stage Play)

Copyright © 2013 Alan Marshall

The Birmingham Children’s March: A Play about the 1963 Children’s Crusade for Civil Rights

Copyright © 2019 Alan Marshall

PRAISE FOR THE

CIVIL RIGHTS ARTS PROJECT

This unique performance is unlike anything else Urban Gateways offers, and has made a huge impression on Chicago area schools.

Tarah Ortiz Durnbaugh

Performance Programs Manager

Urban Gateways

"This was a riveting performance that evoked emotions I hadn't felt

for fifty years. Prelude to a Dream was true to the values we in

SNCC held for our work."

Joyce Ladner

SNCC Legacy Project

We support projects like the Civil Rights Arts Project  that reflect the spirit of 1960's civil rights movement.

Julian Bond, Vice President

SNCC Legacy Project

"Actors were phenomenal...performance exceptional...songs inspiring

and entire performance was thought provoking." 

Brenda Browder, Principal

Kellman Corporate Community Elementary School 

Alan's script captured not only the story specific to 1963, but the dynamics of every struggle for human dignity and justice. 

Reverend Julie Ryan 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

"The cast [of Freedom Summer] was remarkably well-prepared

and committed to presenting the story of the Mississippi Summer Project."

Lisa Anderson Todd, Author

For a Voice and the Vote: My Journey with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

"A wonderfully rich experience that teaches, moves, and

inspires an audience."

Doug Tanner, Founder and Senior Adviser

The Faith & Politics Institute

"Prelude to a Dream was a wonderful event.

There was a power in this performance." 

Willa J. Taylor, Director. of Education

Goodman Theatre

"The performance was overwhelming...The Civil Rights Arts Project

never fails to bring new insights and profound lessons out of those

crucial days in our nation's history."

Pastor Mark Nilson

Evangelical Covenant Church

DEDICATION

For

Carmen, Henry & A.J.

THE CAST

James Bevel, activist SCLC

Ruth Greenberg, activist SNCC

Freida McCarter, middle