In 1963, as shared in Voices of Alabama, the crowd gathered here at St. Paul to protest for the rights due them as citizens of the United States. 

Rev. N. H. Smith,   Rev. A. D. King (M. L. King’s brother), and Rev. John T. Porter led a march for equality, a march for the right to sit anywhere on the bus and not be relegated to the back of the bus, and a march for freedom. 

Reverends N. H. Smith, A. D. King, and John Porter, dressed in robes, led the procession eastward on 6th Avenue toward City Hall. (more at Bhamwiki)

“The Birmingham police used dogs and clubs to disperse a crowd of Negro onlookers.” (more at Harvard Crimson)

Birmingham has come a long way since that march, even though Birmingham and the nation still have some distance to travel.

You may also want to take a look at the historical article by Margaret Treanor, “Three Kneeling Ministers Statue at Kelly Ingram Park”