Origins of the Movement and the Development of Protest: The Birmingham Campaign, 1963

Author

James Munro, Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

2-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Political Science

Advisor

Frances F. Piven

Subject Categories

Political Science

Abstract

Social movement theory in the late twentieth century has offered competing explanations for the origins and development of protest. In an attempt to explain the American Civil Rights Movement, scholars from the resource mobilization (RM) and political process theory (PPT) schools have provided somewhat mechanistic and formulaic explanations for how the black protest developed in the southern states. This study takes the emergence and development of protest in Birmingham, Alabama, culminating in the Birmingham Campaign of 1963, as a case study to examine the claims of RM and PPT. An evaluation of the Birmingham Campaign suggests the emergence of protest is less dependent on the receipt of outside resources than RM and PPT suggest. Similarly, the Birmingham Campaign shows us that the development of protest proceeds in a far more unpredictable and spontaneous manner than either theory would lead us to believe.

Recommended Citation

Munro, James, "Origins of the Movement and the Development of Protest: The Birmingham Campaign, 1963" (2014). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/147