Editing Nat King Cole (section)

====1956 Birmingham assault====
{{Further|Original Ku Klux Klan of the Confederacy#Rock music and Cole assault}}

Cole was assaulted during a concert on April 10, 1956, in Birmingham, Alabama, while singing the song "Little Girl" on stage with the [[Ted Heath (bandleader)|Ted Heath]] Band. After photographs of Cole with white female fans were circulated bearing such incendiary, boldface captions as "Cole and His White Women" and "Cole and Your Daughter",<ref name="Burford">{{cite journal |last1=Burford |first1=Mark |title=Sam Cooke as Pop Album Artist—A Reinvention in Three Songs |journal=Journal of the American Musicological Society |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=113–178 |doi=10.1525/jams.2012.65.1.113 |date=April 2012|jstor=10.1525/jams.2012.65.1.113 }}</ref> three men belonging to the [[Original Ku Klux Klan of the Confederacy|North Alabama Citizens Council]] attacked Cole in an apparent attempt to kidnap him.

The three assailants ran down the aisles of the auditorium towards Cole. Local law enforcement quickly ended their invasion of the stage, but not until Cole was toppled from his piano bench and received a slight injury to his back. He did not finish the concert.<ref name="eyewitness">Eyewitness account published in the ''[[The Birmingham News|Birmingham News]]''. Felts, Jim. Letter to the editor. December 15, 2007.</ref> Police later found rifles, a [[Baton (law enforcement)#Blackjacks and saps|blackjack]], and [[brass knuckles]], in a car outside the venue.<ref>[https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/apr/10 On this day (Apr 10, 1956) - White Men Attack Nat King Cole During Performance in Birmingham, Alabama], from the [[Equal Justice Initiative]]</ref> A fourth member of the group was later arrested. All were tried and convicted.<ref name="eyewitness" />

Six men, including 23-year-old Willie Richard Vinson, were formally charged with assault with intent to murder Cole, but the charges against four of them was later changed to conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor. The original plan to attack Cole included 150 men from Birmingham and nearby towns.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/12/nat-king-cole-attacked-on-stage-archive-1956|title=Nat 'King' Cole attacked on stage – archive, 12 April 1956|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=April 12, 2018|access-date=September 17, 2019|archive-date=September 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927035913/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/12/nat-king-cole-attacked-on-stage-archive-1956|url-status=live}}</ref>

"I can't understand it," Cole said afterwards. "I have not taken part in any protests. Nor have I joined an organization fighting segregation. Why should they attack me?" Cole wanted to forget the incident and continued to play for segregated audiences in the American South. He said he could not change the situation in a day. He contributed money to the [[Montgomery bus boycott]] and previously sued Northern hotels that had hired him but refused to serve him.