 Modeled on the Montgomery Bus Boycott , protest actions in Birmingham began in 1962 , when students from local colleges arranged for a year of staggered boycotts . They caused downtown business to decline by as much as 40 percent , which attracted attention from Chamber of Commerce president Sidney Smyer , who commented that the " racial incidents have given us a black eye that we 'll be a long time trying to forget " . In response to the boycott , the City Commission of Birmingham punished the black community by withdrawing $ 45 @,@ 000 ( $ 350 @,@ 000 in 2016 ) from a surplus @-@ food program used primarily by low @-@ income blacks . The result , however , was a black community more motivated to resist . 
