Birmingham Blues

Hooker recorded "Birmingham Blues" in response to events which occurred in Birmingham during the series of civil rights protest demonstrations which took place in the spring of 1963. Known as the Birmingham Campaign, the protests included marches, lunch counter sit-ins, kneel-ins at white churches, and boycotts of local merchants. The protests and the clashes between the white authorities and black protestors were widely publicized by the news media, and images of dogs and powerful high-pressure fire hoses being used to subdue protestors garnered them worldwide sympathy.

'Social (racial) protest in the blues – Steve Hoffman Music Forums'