Shelley’s Plumbline
In construction, a plumbline is a weight suspended from a string used as a tool to find the true reference line. A plumbline will always find the vertical axis pointing to the center of gravity, ensuring everything is right, justified, and centered.
Pulling from a library of more than 3,000 shows from his storied career in broadcasting, Shelley's Plumbline leads us in a search for the truth, opening the channels of communication and understanding on tough social topics that are as relevant today as they were 40 years ago.
Join us as we explore the past, compare it to today, and craft a better future.
Shelley’s Plumbline
Shelley's Role in The Children's March
In this episode, Shelley and Ricky discuss the key role that Shelley played in the Children's March. The scene is Birmingham, Alabama, April and May of 1963.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s advisors had deliberately chosen the city to confront the notoriously violent Police Commissioner, Bull Connor. Shelley recounts advising King to leave the pulpit and engage directly with the people on the street, which helped build community support. The planning for the march was highly secretive, with Shelley devising a strategy to communicate with children across schools, by playing Joe Turner’s record, “Shake, Rattle and Roll" during Shelley's radio show. He would follow up the song by saying there's going to be a “picnic in the park,” as the signal for the children to gather.
The execution of the March quickly escalated into a national crisis. On May 2, 1963, the first day of the march, over 600 children were arrested. On the second day, Bull Connor’s decision to use fire hoses and police dogs against more than 1,000 children provoked an overwhelming response from the parents, who then joined the movement. Shelley shares that Bull Connor was entirely overwhelmed, leading to the situation being “too far gone,” which ultimately prompted the intervention of President John F. Kennedy. The group emphasized the importance of preserving this history, particularly the role of the "foot soldiers" who are often forgotten in the crusade for human rights.
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