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'''Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor''' was born in Selma, Alabama, on July 11th, 1897. Alabama was a hard-core Confederate state which was still coming to terms with the end of the American Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves. The [[KKK]] was strong in the state and the ‘[[Jim Crow]]’ laws were rigidly enforced. [[Lynching]] was a common way of keeping the [[African-American]] community ‘in their place’ and those responsible invariably simply got away with their crime.  Connor is most associated with the civil rights demonstrations in [[Birmingham, Alabama]] where to many the very public role of Connor and what took place in Birmingham seemed to epitomise the racial problems that existed in [[the South]].

'''Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor''' was born in Selma, Alabama, on July 11th, 1897. Alabama was a hard-core Confederate state which was still coming to terms with the end of the American Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves. The [[Ku Klux Klan]] was strong in the state and the ‘[[Jim Crow]]’ laws were rigidly enforced. [[Lynching]] was a common way of keeping the [[African-American]] community ‘in their place’ and those responsible invariably simply got away with their crime.  Connor is most associated with the civil rights demonstrations in [[Birmingham, Alabama]] where to many the very public role of Connor and what took place in Birmingham seemed to epitomise the racial problems that existed in [[the South]].

 

Connor was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives as a [[Democrat]] in 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/connor.html|title=The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Connor|first=Lawrence|last=Kestenbaum|website=politicalgraveyard.com}}</ref>  Connor remained a Democrat throughout his career and life.  In 1936 he was elected Commissioner of Public Safety of Birmingham, Alabama and served in that position for the better part of three decades.  A [[white supremacist]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eugene "Bull" Connor|url=http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1091|access-date=2021-12-01|website=Encyclopedia of Alabama|language=en}}</ref> Connor enforced racial segregation laws passed by the [[Democratic party]]-controlled state legislature and denied [[civil rights]] to black citizens. He is notorious for directing the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights activists in the early 1960s, including against children supporting the protests.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Meet the Players: Other Figures {{!}} American Experience {{!}} PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/meet-players-other-figures/|access-date=|website=PBS|language=en}}</ref> National media broadcast these tactics on television, horrifying much of the world. The outrages served as catalysts for passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].

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