Birmingham Campaign Photo Signed by Gwendolyn Sanders Gamble 

A 20" x 16" black and white photograph of the fire hoses being used on a group of students, signed by Gwendolyn Sanders Gamble (b. 1947) who, at just 15 years old, led the famous student protest in the Birmingham Civil Rights campaign. Includes an image of Sanders signing photographs. In near fine condition.

Sanders pens her very powerful and lengthy testimony in black felt tip. It reads, in full, "I was only 15 years old on May 2, 1963, when the Birmingham firemen used these water hoses against us three or four times. Nobody can imagine how painful the force from that water was. We were protesting peacefully, practicing non-violence according to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but the white leaders chose to be violent. Dr. King had come to Birmingham and was speaking about the non-violent movement. This was something I wanted to be a part of, as the Black community was waking up and it started to feel like we could do something about the segregation laws, especially in Alabama. The struggle is still going on, but things are much better now. Do I feel like I made a difference? Yes, I do, but it wasn't just about me. It was about those thousands of children and men and women who all came together. One or two people alone couldn't have made a difference. But all of us, together, were able to change things for the better." She then signs the photo, "Gwendolyn Gamble Sanders / 10th grader who organized my classmates and hundreds of children from Parker High School down to 1st graders to do what became known as the Birmingham Campaign".

While at first criticized, for involving children in Birmingham, the campaign was ultimately deemed successful as it exposed the depth that white leaders would stoop to, even using very high-pressure fire hoses on the students, and arresting children as young as eight. The campaign gained the attention of the entire world, and galvanized support for the Civil Rights movement, leading directly to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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