Civil Rights District

Welcome to the third installment of our deep dive into Birmingham's civil rights history. While our previous tours centered on the intense physical confrontations at Kelly Ingram Park and the spiritual organizing at the Sixteenth…

We begin our exploration on Fourth Avenue North, the historical commercial heartbeat of Black Birmingham. Due to the suffocating restrictions of Jim Crow, African Americans were denied service in white owned downtown department…

To truly appreciate the power of the Fourth Avenue District, we must analyze the economic warfare waged by the civil rights movement. While the dramatic images of police dogs and water cannons dominated the evening news, a quiet…

As you stroll further down the avenue, you will encounter the historic markers for institutions like the Alabama College of Barber Instruction and the Magic City Barber Shop, recognized as a Jefferson County Historical Commission…

We now shift our focus slightly away from Fourth Avenue to another pivotal site in the struggle for civil rights: the former Greyhound Bus Terminal. On Mother's Day, May fourteenth, nineteen sixty one, this location became the…

Leaving the intense political battlegrounds behind, we walk toward a different kind of historical sanctuary, the Negro Southern League Museum. This fantastic, interactive facility explores the complex history of the integration…

To fully comprehend the history preserved in the museum, we must conceptually travel to Rickwood Field, located just a short distance from downtown. Opened in nineteen ten, Rickwood Field holds the prestigious title of the oldest…

As we conclude our exploration of the economic and athletic heritage of Birmingham's civil rights era, it becomes clear that the fight for equality was an all encompassing endeavor. The struggle was not confined merely to the…