NATIONAL BRIEFING / ALABAMA
- Share via
Birmingham’s mayor offered a blanket pardon to thousands of demonstrators charged in this caldron of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, a mostly symbolic gesture he acknowledged few might actually want.
Many blacks who braved police dogs and fire hoses four decades ago say they carry their misdemeanor record as a badge of honor.
Mayor Larry Langford said he expected many would reject the mass pardon, but he thought it was important to offer.
Gwendolyn C. Webb-Happling was 14 when she was arrested in Birmingham in 1963 and spent a week in custody, charged with demonstrating without a permit.
Now a pastor, she said: “We went to jail for a purpose -- to be free. We are proud of what we did.”
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
