Nestled in a valley at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Birmingham, Alabama owes its origin to abundant deposits of iron ore, coal and limestone, the essential ingredients for iron and steel making. Ambitious industrialists and land speculators began developing natural resources immediately after the Civil War, or as many southerners called it the War Between the States. A labor force of native white and Black Alabamians, white immigrants from Europe, and prison convicts mined the minerals for capital-intensive corporations.

Birmingham was described by social workers of the era as the city hardest hit by the Great Depression, which dealt its heaviest blow to the Black population. The social disorder of the 1930's resulted in increased unionization, and with the shift to wartime production the city began its bounce back as civic leaders diversified the economic base. Yet, despite the returning prosperity, Blacks who then stood at forty percent of the total population, received unequal opportunity, and substandard municipal services. Having fought for freedom abroad, returning Black veterans grew incensed at the dismal living standards in the Black community.

The owners and managers of Birmingham's businesses showed indifference to entreaties from the Black community, while elected officials responded with hostility and repression to Black demands for municipal services. The civic and economic elite tended to reside outside Birmingham's city limit. Postwar prosperity allowed some workers to move to newly developed suburbs.