<P> On May 8 at 4 a.m., white business leaders agreed to most of the protesters' demands . Political leaders held fast, however . The rift between the businessmen and the politicians became clear when business leaders admitted they could not guarantee the protesters' release from jail . On May 10, Fred Shuttlesworth and Martin Luther King Jr. told reporters that they had an agreement from the City of Birmingham to desegregate lunch counters, restrooms, drinking fountains and fitting rooms within 90 days, and to hire blacks in stores as salesmen and clerks . Those in jail would be released on bond or their own recognizance . Urged by Kennedy, the United Auto Workers, National Maritime Union, United Steelworkers Union, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL - CIO) raised $237,000 in bail money ($1,890,000 in 2018) to free the demonstrators . Commissioner Connor and the outgoing mayor condemned the resolution . </P> <P> On the night of May 11, a bomb heavily damaged the Gaston Motel where King had been staying--and had left only hours before--and another damaged the house of A.D. King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s brother . When police went to inspect the motel, they were met with rocks and bottles from neighborhood blacks . The arrival of state troopers only further angered the crowd; in the early hours of the morning, thousands of blacks rioted, numerous buildings and vehicles were burned, and several people, including a police officer, were stabbed . By May 13, three thousand federal troops were deployed to Birmingham to restore order, even though Alabama Governor George Wallace told President Kennedy that state and local forces were sufficient . Martin Luther King Jr. returned to Birmingham to stress nonviolence . </P> <P> Outgoing mayor Art Hanes left office after the Alabama State Supreme Court ruled that Albert Boutwell could take office on May 21, 1963 . Upon picking up his last paycheck, Bull Connor remarked tearfully, "This is the worst day of my life ." In June 1963, the Jim Crow signs regulating segregated public places in Birmingham were taken down . </P> <P> Desegregation in Birmingham took place slowly after the demonstrations . King and the SCLC were criticized by some for ending the campaign with promises that were too vague and "settling for a lot less than even moderate demands". In fact, Sydney Smyer, president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, re-interpreted the terms of the agreement . Shuttlesworth and King had announced that desegregation would take place 90 days from May 15 . Smyer then said that a single black clerk hired 90 days from when the new city government took office would be sufficient . By July, most of the city's segregation ordinances had been overturned . Some of the lunch counters in department stores complied with the new rules . City parks and golf courses were opened again to black and white citizens . Mayor Boutwell appointed a biracial committee to discuss further changes . However, no hiring of black clerks, police officers, and firefighters had yet been completed and the Birmingham Bar Association rejected membership by black attorneys . </P>

What was the significance of the birmingham protest and what was the ultimate result