Before the turn of the 20th century, Birmingham exploded with prosperity due to the prolific abundance of coal, iron ore and limestone. The Alabama town’s growth and financial stability earned it the nickname “Magic City.”
But it wasn’t magic for all. Black residents were not allowed to shop downtown or earn salaries equivalent to white citizens and their children attended substandard schools. They began challenging the Jim Crow laws that kept them oppressed, and in the 1950s and 60s, Birmingham became a vital part of the Civil Rights Movement. Many credit the Birmingham protests as the impetus for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It Began at Bethel
Bethel Baptist Church pastor Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth organized the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights in 1956 to fight for equal rights. Shuttlesworth and his church became a catalyst for the city’s movement and one of the strongest members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The circa-1926 church is now a National Historic Landmark and museum and open to visitors. Be sure to pause at the empty lot next door where a bomb by white supremacists destroyed Shuttlesworth’s home, although he and his family survived.
Walk in Their Footsteps
Adult Black citizens were fearful of losing their jobs if they joined the Civil Rights protests in Birmingham. Movement leaders instead focused on children in early 1963, some as young as six, but most in their teen years. More than 1,000 children marched May 2-11 in and around Kelly Ingram Park and were beaten, attacked by dogs and sprayed with fire hoses. The park today focuses as a reminder of those marches, including a Freedom Walk that stands for both revolution and reconciliation. Audio tours via cell phones are available and markers tell the story chronologically.
Honor the Children
Five young girls gathered in the basement restroom at the 16th Street Baptist Church to celebrate Youth Day in September 1963. Outside, the Ku Klux Klan had planted a bomb. The explosion killed four of the girls, maimed the one survivor and left a hole in the side of the church. Visitors may tour the historic church first organized in 1873 as the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham, learn its history and of that tragic Sunday and honor the fallen children.
Learn More
The entire story of the country’s Civil Rights Movement, including the Birmingham protests, can be found at the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument on Kelly Ingram Park and opposite the 16th Street Baptist Church. The museum is part of the National Park Service and is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Other sites that mark the Civil Rights Movement of Birmingham and other African American achievements include the Negro Southern League Museum, the A.G. Gaston Hotel that housed Southern Christian Leadership Conference members, and the Birmingham Jail Historic Marker where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in April 1963.
Stay and Dine
The Tutwiler Hotel-Hampton Inn & Suites offers Southern elegance and Birmingham history in the heart of downtown. It’s the perfect place to stay that’s central to the city’s attractions. For dining options, chef Frank Stitt serves up exquisite Italian favorites from seasonal Southern ingredients at Bottega Café, housed inside a 1920s building. Stitt is one of many innovative chefs now calling Birmingham home. And for even more history, The Bright Star in neighboring Bessemer is Alabama’s oldest restaurant (opened in 1907) and was named an America’s Classic by the James Beard Foundation in 2010.
