Eugene "Bull" Connor - Villainy Among Us - Episode #6 (Podcast Hosted by Randy Jaye)

Описание: Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor was born on July 11, 1897, in Selma, Alabama. He was a high school dropout who became a prominent radio sportscaster. In the mid-1930s, he entered politics and served in the Alabama state legislature. In 1937, he became Birmingham, Alabama’s public safety commissioner. Two stories tell how he obtained the nickname of “Bull.” One claims he gained it during his sports casting career due to his booming voice, and the other claims he gained it from a comic character named Dr. B.U.L. Conner who appeared in cartoons as a small man with a large nose. The moniker of “Bull” surely fit him well as he was an ultra-segregationist and White supremacist who maintained close relationships with the Ku Klux Klan. In the early 1960s, he infamously waged a boisterous and violent public battle against the Civil Rights Movement which attracted national and international despise and criticism.

Hello and Welcome to this HistorySpeak.com PodCast. My name is Randy Jaye.

This is one of a series of PodCasts that are exploring Villainy Among Us. This particular PodCast is Episode #6 and it features Eugene “Bull” Connor who was a White supremacist who instigated violence to oppose the Civil Rights Movement, capturing the attention of the nation.

“Bull” Connor was a Southern Democrat who was a staunch supporter of Jim Crow racial segregation policies. During the 1948 Democratic National Convention he was part of the faction who walked out in protest of the party’s civil rights platforms. He became associated with the short-lived States' Rights Democratic Party (popularly known as the Dixiecrats) which opposed the national Democratic Party. The Dixiecrats wanted states to have the ability to legislate and enforce racial segregation laws despite federal legislation and oversite.

“Bull” Connor refused to provide police protection for the Freedom Riders (who were groups of White and Black civil rights activists who participated in bus trips through the Deep South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals). When the first Freedom Riders bus arrived in Birmingham all of the riders were arrested for defying segregation laws. The second Freedom Riders bus to arrive in Birmingham was attacked by a White mob and Ku Klux Klan members encouraged by local police under the orders of “Bull” Connor. Many Freedom Riders were beaten with baseball bats, bicycle chains and iron pipes. Connor intentionally allowed the White mob to beat the Freedom Riders for 15 minutes before sending police to the scene of the melee. He publicly said, “No policemen were in sight as the buses arrived, because they were visiting their mothers on Mother’s Day.”

In 1962, Connor defied a federal court order to desegregate public facilities by ordering the closing of 60 Birmingham parks.

In 1963, a Civil Rights non-violent protest to end segregation in Birmingham was led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and resulted in the arrests and jailing of hundreds of student protesters who were part of the Children’s Crusade. Most were teenagers and some were as young as 6 years old. Connor villainously ordered police to assault peaceful protesters, including the children. Police used nightsticks, high-powered water hoses and attack dogs to intimidate and disband protesters causing numerous injuries to children and adults. More than 600 students were arrested, and Connor commandeered several school buses to transport them to jails in Birmingham.

Martin Luther King, Jr. participated in sit-ins and boycotts and was eventually arrested and jailed for leading a demonstration. During his incarceration he wrote his now-famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which expressed his philosophy of non-violent direct action against racial segregation and a universal quest for civil rights for everyone.

The violence in Birmingham against civil rights protesters instigated by “Bull” Connor’s brutal tactics drew national attention and the hyperawareness of President John F. Kennedy. These incidents actually accelerated the desegregation of the city of Birmingham and assisted in setting into motion the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This progress of the civil rights movement was exactly what “Bull” Connor did not want, and ironically, his bigotry, violence and hatred expedited social progress nationwide.

In 1963, “Bull” Connor was forced out of public office by the Alabama Supreme Court.

To the chagrin of many, Connor found himself back in public office as he was elected president of the Alabama Public Service Commission on June 3, 1964.

In 1966, he suffered a stroke and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Connor was elected to another term in 1968 but was defeated in 1972.
In February 1973, Connor suffered another stroke and remained unconscious until he died on March 10, 1973.

Many have wondered if anyone felt any grief over the death of “Bull” Connor.