Content Produced in Partnership with Birmingham, Alabama
In 1963, a cultural revolution took place in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama – the battlefield of America’s Civil Rights movement. Now, 60 years later, Birmingham is commemorating the events that forever changed the world.
The stories are as powerful today as they were decades ago. On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. penned his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the most important written document of the Civil Rights era. In May of 1963, thousands of Black children participated in the “Children’s Crusade,” bravely marching across the city despite being met with violence and hostility. And on a horrific Sunday morning in September of 1963, four little girls were killed at Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church. The bombing shocked the world and was a turning point in the status of race relations in the United States.
“The turning point in the Civil Rights Movement was the bombing of the church,” said Sara Hamlin, vice president of tourism for the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau. “When those girls were killed, it changed the conscience of America.”
The Birmingham Civil Rights District, designated a National Monument by President Barack Obama, tells these and other significant stories of the city’s pivotal role in desegregating the American South. Visitors can experience this tragic but important history at the District’s key landmarks: the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, A.G. Gaston Motel, Historic Bethel Baptist Church, and the Fourth Avenue Business District.
To learn more about the Birmingham Civil Rights District and plan your trip, visit birminghamal.org.
