Acclaimed Historian John Giggie Unveils “Bloody Tuesday” at Off Square Books

On Thursday, June 13, an engaging lecture and book signing event took place at the well-known Off Square Books, featuring the acclaimed historian, Professor John Giggie. The event, which began at 5:30 pm, saw Giggie discuss and sign his recent release, “Bloody Tuesday.”

The Story of “Bloody Tuesday”

In his book, Giggie unveils the vivid story of one of the darkest, yet lesser-known episodes in the history of the civil rights movement, an incident perfectly christened ‘Bloody Tuesday’. On June 9, 1964, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a horde of law enforcement officers, bolstered by hundreds of deputized white citizens and Klansmen, launched a brutal attack on a group of more than 600 Black men, women, and children shielding within the First African Baptist Church.

The congregation had gathered in response to Reverend Martin Luther King’s call for integration three months prior. The police vandalized the historic church, breaking its stained-glass windows with fierce sprays from water hoses, introducing the chaos of tear gas and thereafter ferociously beating the emerging, bewildered protestors.

The book’s portrayal of Bloody Tuesday

The book narrates the disturbing event through the experiences of several locals, including a charismatic Black preacher trained by Reverend King, an aging police chief, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and, notably, the Black women who served as the backbone of the protests.

John Giggie: Unearthing History

John Giggie is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Alabama and serves as the Director of the Summersell Center for the Study of the South. He brings forth the dramatic chronicle of racial injustice with his proficient historical analysis and compelling storytelling.

However, Giggie’s works are not confined to academics and literature. He is also the brain behind the ‘History of Us,’ a significant achievement being the first daily Black history lesson taught in an Alabama public school. Mr. Giggie also leads the Alabama Memory Project, which aims to memorialize the over 650 lives cruelly ended due to lynching in Alabama.

The Impact of “Bloody Tuesday”

“Bloody Tuesday” unearths a neglected narrative of the civil rights movement and its critical role in America’s ongoing struggle for racial justice, shedding light on Tuscaloosa’s historic defiance against racial control and Klan brutality. The desperate resistance was only quelled through the intervention of armed Black self-defense groups, a bus boycott, and federal government forces.

Professor Giggie’s book signing and lecture at Off Square Books was a significant event in the city, providing a platform for engaging in vital conversation on a long-forgotten but significant confrontation in American history.

Related Remarks

This reading follows closely after another noteworthy event at Square Books featuring author Greg Iles discussing his novel “Southern Man” on May 29, 2024.