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BCRI_Armstrong.flv
BCRI_Armstrong.mp4
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This podcast is part of the series: BCRI Oral History Project

James Armstrong

School/Organization:

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Overview:

James Armstrong was born in Orrville, Dallas County, Alabama in 1923.  After military service in Europe from 1943 to 1946, he returned to Alabama and worked in Selma and in Mobile, where he married.  Since 1953, Armstrong has been self-employed as a barber in Birmingham.   
 
Armstrong was a founding member of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR).  Beginning in 1957, the entire Armstrong family took a lead in Birmingham's efforts to end desegregation when Armstrong registered his children to attend school at Graymont Elementary, an all-White public school.  When the children were denied entry, Armstrong filed a lawsuit and a team of lawyers, including Arthur Shores and Constance Baker Motley, handled the case.  Six years later, Armstrong's youngest children entered and desegregated Graymont Elementary School.
 
Listen to Mr. Armstrong as he describes the day in September 1963 when his two youngest sons finally enrolled at Graymont Elementary. 

Length: 02:06

Content Areas: Social Studies

Alabama Course of Study Alignments and/or Professional Development Standard Alignments:

[T1] ALS (4) 14: Describe the social, political, and economic impact of the modern Civil Rights Movement on Alabama.
[T1] US4 (6) 13: Describe the role of major civil rights leaders and significant events occurring during the modern Civil Rights Movement.
[T1] UH4 (11) 12: Trace events of the modern Civil Rights Movement from post-World War II to 1970 that resulted in social and economic changes, including the Montgomery bus boycott, the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the march on Washington, and the Freedom Rides.