Photo credits: Resonance Records/Charlie Mihn Courtesy of LaBudde Special Collections/UMKC University Libraries

On April 10, 1956, African American singer and pianist Nat King Cole (pictured) was performing before an all-white audience of 4,000 at the Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama. During that performance, he was attacked and knocked down by a group of white men. Before the attack, a drunk man near the front row jeered at Mr. Cole, yelling: “Negro, go home!”

Nat King Cole was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919 and moved with his family to Chicago as a child. Mr. Cole was a popular national entertainer when he performed in Birmingham in 1956. Due to the city’s racial segregation laws, he was required to schedule separate shows for white and Black audiences.

The night before the attack, he performed before a segregated audience in Mobile, Alabama, and was booed by scattered members of the crowd.

Police were present at the Birmingham concert in case of trouble, and apprehended Cole’s attackers quickly; four men were charged with inciting a riot while two others were held for questioning. Outside the arena, officers later found a car containing rifles, a blackjack, and brass knuckles.

After the attack, during the segregated “white only” Birmingham show, Mr. Cole returned to the stage. The remaining audience gave him a 10-minute standing ovation, but he did not finish the concert.

“I just came here to entertain you. That was what I thought you wanted. I was born in Alabama. Those folks hurt my back. I cannot continue, because I need to see a doctor,” Cole told the crowd.

After being examined by a physician, Mr. Cole went on to perform at the show scheduled for a Black audience later that night.

Reference: The Equal Justice Initiative. (n/d) White Men Attack Nat King Cole During Performance in Birmingham, Alabama. Retrieved from https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/apr/10?fbclid=IwAR2hbt7KghZa8bOC4Nmw4XWkJ6VvShwbteX4NjPQ4J5HRjfzPDDjog2sWNM

*BlackThen.com writer/historian Victor Trammell edited and contributed to this report.