Civil Rights Movement in Alabama
Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Alabama was the main stage for the civil rights movement’s actions. During the 1950s and 60s, civil rights activists fought for racial justice across the South. Today, many of those battlegrounds have evolved into state-of-the-art museums that explain the stories within the movement.
The Alabama Tourism Department's Civil Rights Trail App is launching multimedia updates to commemorate Black History Month. The mobile application allows users to walk in the footsteps of the Civil Rights Movement by exploring the people, places and events that brought Alabama into the international spotlight and changed the course of history. The app allows you to discover civil rights landmarks across the state, plan visits to pivotal cities like Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma and Tuskegee, explore interactive timelines and browse biographies of famous figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
“We took what was already an invaluable resource and made it even better,” said Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Tourism Department. “The importance of educating yourself on the Civil Rights Movement cannot be stressed enough and this app is an excellent tool for doing so.”
This update also comes after President Obama has designated multiple sites in Alabama as national monuments including the site of the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed four girls and injured 22 other people, as well as the A.G. Gaston Motel, where segregation opponents organised in the 1960s.
Some of the updates to the app includes content, a design refresh, a new “media” section with audio and video files of key figures and updated bios and timelines. The app is available for both iOS and Android. For more information and links to download the Civil Rights Trail App please see alabama.travel.
Civil Rights in Selma, Alabama
Alabama Cities such as Selma and Birmingham all staged headline-grabbing freedom marches and rallies. Midway along the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail on U.S. Highway 80 in Hayneville lies the Lowndes County Interpretive Center. This National Park Service facility commemorates the location where marchers camped after being forced from their homes for attempting to register to vote. In Selma, you can also walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where marchers were attacked in 1965 and then step inside the National Voting Rights Museum to learn about the movement's "foot soldiers."
Civil Rights in Montgomery, Alabama
The Civil Rights Memorial Center in Alabama’s Capital City, Montgomery, contains exhibits depicting momentous events that occurred there. It explains how 40 activists died in the South between 1955 and 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. A Wall of Tolerance allows visitors to sign a pledge to promote racial justice. Montgomery is also home to the Rosa Parks Museum, the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where King preached and the Dexter Parsonage Museum. All are within a few blocks of the visitors center.
Civil Rights in Birmingham, Alabama
Alabama’s largest city, Birmingham, also played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights movement and 2013 will see numerous events commemorating this. Birmingham's Civil Rights District includes Kelly Ingram Park where marches were formed, and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where four young girls were killed by a racist's bomb. Across the street is the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the nation's finest civil rights museum. It has 58,000 square feet of archives, galleries, community meeting rooms and exhibit spaces.
Civil Rights in Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center tells previously untold civil rights stories about the first African American U.S. military pilots known as the ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ who flew with distinction during World War II. The blockbuster film by George Lucas called 'Red Tails' tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen starring Cuba Gooding Jr and available on DVD.
For Additional Information:
Civil Rights Memorial Center
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau
Rosa Parks Library and Museum
Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce
Alabama Atrractions
