Among the black community, involving children in the front lines of the national Civil Rights Movement raised a controversial topic. As most parents intend to do, African American parents, particularly in the South, were very protective of their children and had to educate them on the realities of racism from an early age. Thus, allowing their children to be in the front lines of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade was certainly a barrier for young people to overcome. Despite this familial challenge, thousands turned out over the next week in protest.