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| | The Alabama Democratic Party, like its counterparts in other [[Deep South]] states, was split. At the [[Democratic National Convention]], Connor was instrumental in leading the walkout of Alabama "Dixiecrats" who opposed Truman and supported the SRP's nominee, [[South Carolina]] senator [[Strom Thurmond]].<ref name=alencyclopediabio/> At the convention, Connor unsuccessfully attempted to garner the attention of House Democratic leader [[Sam Rayburn]]:<ref>"The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South," p. 130.</ref> | | The Alabama Democratic Party, like its counterparts in other [[Deep South]] states, was split. At the [[Democratic National Convention]], Connor was instrumental in leading the walkout of Alabama "Dixiecrats" who opposed Truman and supported the SRP's nominee, [[South Carolina]] senator [[Strom Thurmond]].<ref name=alencyclopediabio/> At the convention, Connor unsuccessfully attempted to garner the attention of House Democratic leader [[Sam Rayburn]]:<ref>"The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South," p. 130.</ref> |
| | {{cquote|I've always admired Sam Rayburn. I've always thought of him as a great statesman. But I hollered for five minutes. People heard me all over the hall. And when a gentleman from Texas will not recognize a delegate from Alabama—well, I just can't understand it. No, sir!|||Eugene "Bull" Connor, 1948}} | | {{cquote|I've always admired Sam Rayburn. I've always thought of him as a great statesman. But I hollered for five minutes. People heard me all over the hall. And when a gentleman from Texas will not recognize a delegate from Alabama—well, I just can't understand it. No, sir!|||Eugene "Bull" Connor, 1948}} |
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| | + | However, as a result of Truman's victory, control of the Alabama Democratic Party within two years was already wrested from the Dixiecrats by the national Democrat–affiliated political machine of the more "mainstream" liberal-populist U.S. senator [[Lister Hill]]; one author notes:<ref>McWhorter, Diane (2001). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Carry_Me_Home/7jnr8GdvSZcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bull+connor+christina+brown&pg=PT84&printsec=frontcover Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution], pp. 85–86. ''Google Books''. Retrieved October 4, 2023.</ref> |
| | + | {{cquote|That revolt had turned out to be more than a failure. Truman's 1948 victory despite the South's opposition had proved that the national party didn't have to pander to its southern wing, any more than the Brooklyn Dodgers had humored Birmingham's Dixie Walker when he stormed off the team that year rather than play in the same uniform as Robinson.|||Carry Me Home, pp. 85–86}} |
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| | ==Extramarital affair== | | ==Extramarital affair== |
| − | On December 26, 1951, the day following [[Christmas]], Connor was arrested in a hotel room for adultery with Christina Brown, his secretary.<ref name=politicalgraveyard/> As a result of a falling-out with police chief Marcus Hancock and detective Henry Darnell, who Connor placed on sick leave and sought to fire, Darnell exposed Connor's illicit relationship with Brown, violating a very ordinance suggested and instituted years prior by none other than Connor himself.<ref name=affairinfo>Eskew, Glenn T. (1997). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/But_for_Birmingham/n6jqCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bull+connor+christina+brown&pg=PT99&printsec=frontcover But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle]. ''Google Books''. Retrieved October 4, 2023.</ref> Suddenly desperate, the commissioner pleaded Darnell to take into consideration his "poor, sick wife," adding, "Think of me, Henry. You are crucifying me. You're ruining me politically." | + | On December 26, 1951, the day following [[Christmas]], Connor was arrested in a hotel room for adultery with Christina Brown, his secretary.<ref name=politicalgraveyard/> As a result of a falling-out with police chief Marcus Hancock and detective Henry Darnell, who Connor placed on sick leave and sought to fire, Darnell exposed Connor's illicit relationship with Brown, violating a very ordinance, against the joint occupancy of a hotel room by an unmarried couple,<ref>University of Wisconsin-Madison (2005). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Southern_Historian/Y-77MP2JJSYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=bull+connor+christina+brown&dq=bull+connor+christina+brown&printsec=frontcover The Southern Historian: Vols. 26–29], p. 36. ''Google Books''. Retrieved October 4, 2023.</ref> [[Liberal hypocrisy|suggested and instituted years prior by none other than Connor himself]].<ref name=affairinfo>Eskew, Glenn T. (1997). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/But_for_Birmingham/n6jqCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bull+connor+christina+brown&pg=PT99&printsec=frontcover But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle]. ''Google Books''. Retrieved October 4, 2023.</ref> Suddenly desperate, the commissioner pleaded Darnell to take into consideration his "poor, sick wife," adding, "Think of me, Henry. You are crucifying me. You're ruining me politically."<ref name=affairinfo/> |
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| | + | Ever since public knowledge of the sex scandal, the local media in Birmingham began to increasingly criticize Connor.<ref name=speaktruthtopower>Patrick Dorsey, Mignette Y. (June 20, 2010). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Speak_Truth_to_Power/weMy0Cgej7MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bull+connor+christina+brown&pg=PA23&printsec=frontcover Speak Truth to Power: The Story of Charles Patrick, a Civil Rights Pioneer], pp. 23–24. ''Google Books''. Retrieved October 4, 2023.</ref> The ''Birmingham News'' demanded a swift resignation: "Mr. Connor cannot do the kind of job that is needed in his high office. Conditions within his department cannot be what they should be so long as he continues in office." Another paper commented:<ref name=speaktruthtopower/> |
| | + | {{cquote|If complete reorganization of the police department, after necessary firings or resignations, is required to restore public confidence and lift the morale of the honest, hard-working officers remaining, then the sooner that job is done the better.|||''Post-Herald'', cir. Dec. 1951}} |
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| | Although fined, convicted, and sentenced to prison, the verdict was overturned the following year. However, as a result of the affair, Connor declined to seek reelection to another commissioner term in 1953, only voted back to his post four years later.<ref name=alencyclopediabio/> | | Although fined, convicted, and sentenced to prison, the verdict was overturned the following year. However, as a result of the affair, Connor declined to seek reelection to another commissioner term in 1953, only voted back to his post four years later.<ref name=alencyclopediabio/> |
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| | ==Tirade against civil rights activists== | | ==Tirade against civil rights activists== |
| − | [[File:Democratic voter suppression.jpg|right|320px|thumb|Democratic voter suppression in the Bull Connor era.]]
| + | Although Connor was not a recorded member of the third incarnation of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], he directly enabled Klan violence in Alabama, refusing to take actions against Klansmen responsible for bombings.<ref name=alencyclopediabio/> When Klansmen viciously assaulted the Freedom Riders, Connor ordered Birmingham city police to refrain from restoring order. The Birmingham police department was "infiltrated" by the Klan, with whom "Connor maintained a close relationship with":<ref name=speaktruthtopower/> |
| − | Although Connor was not a recorded member of the third incarnation of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], he directly enabled Klan violence in Alabama, refusing to take actions against Klansmen responsible for bombings.<ref name=alencyclopediabio/> When Klansmen viciously assaulted the Freedom Riders, Connor ordered Birmingham city police to refrain from restoring order. | + | {{cquote|Without question he knew Klansmen, associated with them, sought and accepted their support, and habitually let them have their way with people of color in Birmingham.|||"Speak Truth to Power," p. 24}} |
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| | In the early 1960s, Connor directed the use of fire hoses and police dogs against peaceful civil rights activists, including against children supporting the protests.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/meet-players-other-figures/ Meet the Players: Other Figures]. ''PBS''. Retrieved October 3, 2023.</ref> National media broadcast these tactics on television, horrifying much of the world; the outrages served as catalysts for congressional passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. | | In the early 1960s, Connor directed the use of fire hoses and police dogs against peaceful civil rights activists, including against children supporting the protests.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/meet-players-other-figures/ Meet the Players: Other Figures]. ''PBS''. Retrieved October 3, 2023.</ref> National media broadcast these tactics on television, horrifying much of the world; the outrages served as catalysts for congressional passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. |