 Birmingham 's black population began to organize to effect change . After Alabama banned the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) in 1956 , Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth formed the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights ( ACMHR ) the same year to challenge the city 's segregation policies through lawsuits and protests . When the courts overturned the segregation of the city 's parks , the city responded by closing them . Shuttlesworth 's home was repeatedly bombed , as was Bethel Baptist Church , where he was pastor . After Shuttlesworth was arrested and jailed for violating the city 's segregation rules in 1962 , he sent a petition to Mayor Art Hanes ' office asking that public facilities be desegregated . Hanes responded with a letter informing Shuttlesworth that his petition had been thrown in the garbage . Looking for outside help , Shuttlesworth invited Martin Luther King and the SCLC to Birmingham , saying , " If you come to Birmingham , you will not only gain prestige , but really shake the country . If you win in Birmingham , as Birmingham goes , so goes the nation . " 
