So many significant locations throughout the state, and people, that played a prominent role in the civil-right movement.
Published: January 29, 2024
By: Paige Townley
Alabama sits at the very heart of civil rights history, with its capital, Montgomery, commonly referred to as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. This February, bring Black History Month to life by exploring the many significant locations throughout the state that either played a prominent role in the movement or seek to shine a light on the important people from this powerful moment in time.
NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
One of Alabama’s newer attractions is the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Located in downtown Montgomery, the memorial, which opened in 2018, is the first of its kind dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people in the United States. The six-acre memorial guides visitors throughout a journey of slavery in America to the civil rights era and even lingering modern-day issues as well. Each stop along the way features eye-catching sculptures, artwork and displays from notable figures including Toni Morrison, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Hank Willis Thomas.
BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE
Situated in the heart of downtown Birmingham is the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. A Smithsonian affiliate, the institute features an incredibly extensive collection of items, documents and memorabilia related to the Civil Rights Movement. Through its many permanent exhibits, visitors can learn about what life was like under segregation and check out significant pieces of history such as actual 1950s-era pews and windows from Movement churches in Birmingham to the bars from behind which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham is a historic spot in not only Birmingham but the Civil Rights Movement. The church was organized in 1873 as the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham, and it was the first Black church in the city. The church was further engrained in history on Sunday, September 15, 1963, when at 10:22 am a bomb exploded, killing four little girls attending Sunday School and injuring dozens of others.
ROSA PARKS MUSEUM
troy.edu/student-life-resources/arts-culture/rosa-parks-museum
Troy University’s Montgomery campus is home to the country’s only museum dedicated to Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks became a Civil Rights Movement icon when she refused to give up her seat on a public bus, and the Rosa Parks Museum seeks to celebrate her life and the work she did to further the movement. Located at the site in downtown Montgomery where she was arrested, the museum’s collection includes a plethora of historical artifacts, including Rosa Parks’ original fingerprint arrest record, a 1950s-era Montgomery city bus and a variety of other items relevant to her life and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. When visiting the museum, be sure to check out the Rosa Parks Statue, which the city unveiled five years ago on Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery where she got on the bus the day she was arrested.
CIVIL RIGHTS MEMORIAL CENTER
splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial
The Civil Rights Memorial Center sits in downtown Montgomery and aims to educate visitors all about the Civil Rights Movement and share the stories of the movement’s martyrs. One way it does so is through the memorial, which was designed by Maya Lin and dedicated in 1989. Inspired by MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech, the quote,”We will not be satisfied until until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” Lin created a circular black granite table with water flowing across a timeline, which gives an account of significant moments in the Civil Rights Movement and lists the names of 40 who were killed during the struggle.
DEXTER AVENUE MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church was originally founded in 1877 in a slave trader’s pen in Montgomery. Though originally named the Second Colored Baptist Church, the name was eventually changed after the street it was on was renamed to Dexter Avenue, in honor of the city’s founder, Andrew Dexter, before again changing to its current name in 1978 to honor its previous pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the church from 1954 to 1960. Adding to the church’s historical significance is that King planned numerous Civil Rights Movement activities from his office in the church, including the 1956 Bus Boycott.
DEXTER PARSONAGE MUSEUM
Located near Dexter Avenue Memorial Baptist Church is the Dexter Parsonage Museum, which served as the home of King when he served as the church’s pastor. The home has been restored to appear exactly as it did when he and his family lived there from 1954 to 1960.
FREEDOM RIDES MUSEUM
facebook.com/FreedomRidesMuseum
The Freedom Rides were held in 1961 and included both black and white citizens who purposefully traveled on buses sitting together and eating together in the bus stations to encourage the U.S. to end segregation. Eventually, on November 1, 1961, the mission was achieved and African Americans no longer had to sit separately or use separate waiting rooms and restaurants. The Freedom Rides Museum seeks to share the history and significance of the freedom riders, and the site of the museum is actually where a group of Freedom Riders arrived and were attacked.
TUSKEGEE AIRMEN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
The Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, located at Moton Field in Tuskegee, memorializes the contributions of African American airmen during World War II. In 1941, the Army Air Corps contracted Tuskegee Institute to operate a flight school at Moton Field to train a small number of African American pilots. During World War II, Moton Field was the only primary flight training facility for African American pilot candidates in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the Tuskegee Airmen became the first African American soldiers to complete training and enter the Army Air Corps. They went on to play a significant role in World War II and paved the way for the desegregation of the military.
EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE
civilrightstrail.com/attraction/edmund-Pettus-bridge
The Edmund Pettus Bridge spans across the Alabama River in Selma, and it became a landmark of the Civil Rights Movement on March 7, 1965, when it became the site of “Bloody Sunday.” On that day, African American protesters were beaten as they attempted to cross the bridge during the Selma March. The bridge was named a national historic landmark in 2013, and today the bridge continues to serve as a powerful symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.
Paige Townley is a Birmingham Parent staff writer and a freelance writer in Alabama.