By the early 1960s, the Civil Rights movement had gained national momentum, but Birmingham, Alabama, remained one of the most segregated cities in the South. Although African Americans made up more than 40 percent of the population, segregation ordinances prohibited them from sharing any public facility with whites, from movie theaters to restaurants. Mass meetings and demonstrations had mobilized the black community, but also activated white resistance. In 1961, civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth filed and won a lawsuit to desegregate the city's 67 public parks. Police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor retaliated by closing the city's parks.

In 1962, as part of a school project, Miles College student Frank Dukes conducted research through the Chamber of Commerce to track the buying power of Birmingham's black population. In an average week, African Americans spent $4 million in downtown stores. However, many stores refused to hire African Americans, let them try on clothes, or serve them at their lunch counters. Inspired by student protests in other cities and supported by Miles College president Dr. Lucius Pitts, Dukes and fellow students organized a selective buying campaign that targeted restaurants and stores in downtown Birmingham that discriminated against African Americans.

Hundreds of African Americans signed a petition demanding equal treatment and fair hiring practices, and the students presented it to the city commissioners. Connor responded with racial epithets and invited the students to leave Birmingham altogether. Because many of the students technically didn't live in Birmingham, initially the business owners didn't take them seriously.

The students then met with black women and asked them to boycott the stores until the demands were met. Despite segregation, weekend shopping in downtown stores represented an important cultural ritual for Birmingham's black population, and it was hard for many African Americans to forego those trips. Eventually the entire black community participated, using buying power to leverage for equal rights. In addition to boycotting, black women used their networks to distribute flyers and raise bail money for demonstrators who got arrested. Biblical terms on flyers reflected both the central role of the church in the black community and the seriousness of the campaign.

The boycott lasted for several weeks. Because stores operated on a 12 to 15 percent profit margin, and black dollars made up 25 percent of the gross revenue, the boycott created an economic crisis and forced white business owners to listen to the students' demands. The boycott resulted in the removal of "colored" signs in stores, helped set the stage for the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Birmingham campaign, and ultimately led to the desegregation of Birmingham.