For those that study history, especially civil rights, the black/white wars, racial discrimination and other such indiscretions, the heart of the Civil Rights movement resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
Not to be disappointed, Birmingham can present a journey back in time, as one enters The Civil Rights Institute on 16th Street North. Thematic galleries such as “Barriers” and “Confrontation,” illustrated with film clips, life-size figures, artifacts and re-created scenes from the 1920’s to the present walk you through the time line of civil rights.
Prior to your visit, you can enjoy a virtual tour on their website.
Promoting what they call Milestones……The Birmingham Tour, the walk is contained within four blocks of the fourth avenue historic district.
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is among the sites you’ll see where the Klu Klux Klan bombed the Birmingham church
in 1963, killing four young girls and injuring some 21 others.
Tours of the 128-year old church itself are given 10 am to 4 pm, Tuesday through Friday and by appointment only on Saturdays. Groups can call 205-251-9402 for special arrangements. More information on the bombing, including Martin Luther King’s eulogy given for the deaths of the young girls, can be read here.
Continuing the walk, a brilliant splash of green grass in an otherwise concrete city appears. Once the rallying point for many major civil rights demonstrations, it was here at Kelly Ingram Park in 1963 that the Birmingham city police department turned high pressure water hoses and dogs loose on a group of black schoolchildren and other demonstrators. The incident was caught on TV news cameras and shown world wide.
The park is named in honor of Osmond Kelly Ingram, the first American sailor killed in World War I and symbolizes the essence of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Old Federal Courthouse is next, significant because this is the jail where Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter,
“A Letter from the Birmingham Jail.”
In a moment of brief relief from the seriousness of the historical significance, The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame comes into view. According to the Birmingham Visitor’s Bureau, “Birmingham native Erskine Hawkins penned the jazz standard
“Tuxedo Junction” about an Ensley streetcar crossing, creating a sound heard around the world. And that’s just one of Birmingham’s many contributions to the world of jazz. The Jazz Hall of Fame exhibits memorabilia in the historic, art deco Carver Theater. Open Tuesday- Saturday/ 10am-5pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays, except for scheduled events”
Jazz memorabilia such as paintings, quilts, instruments, and personal effects of such artists as Ella Fitzgerald and
others are among the 2,200-square-feet of exhibits.
Marching on, as the soldiers of the movement must have done so many years ago, you find yourself at the A.G. Gaston Motel, the movement’s unofficial headquarters and another bombing site prior to the 16th Street Church Bombing.
In its day, this was the only first class lodging for African Americans visiting Birmingham; during the 1960’s it was a prime meeting place for civil rights leaders.
As the Birmingham tour wraps up and finishes back at the Civil Rights Institute, one can almost feel, hear, and smell the sounds of the 60’s riots.
Places to stay? Birmingham, Alabama isn’t lacking in its amenities for travelers, as the Convention and Traveler’s Bureau is quick to point out.
In keeping with the historic tradition, one might want to stay at the historic Redmont Hotel, built in 1925. In the heart of downtown Birmingham, the Redmont remains the oldest, operating hotel from that era. Filled with history, In 1952, it
became the location for the final night of honky-tonk singer Hank William’s life. Other famous and some rather infamous people have graced themselves through the Redmont over the years.
Cobb Lane Bed and Breakfast located on the southside of Birmingham in a 1898 Victorian Home. Each of the inn’s eight guest rooms has a theme and is furnished with pieces from the Victorian period. Each morning, as a guest of the Inn, you
will be treated to a delicious full-breakfasted in the dining room.
Birmingham, Alabama offers many sites to see but the Civil Rights Tour is perhaps one of its finest and most well known attractions. Come to Birmingham. Visit, view and take a piece of history home with you.
