The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument is a
United States National Monument
In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments pr ...
in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
established in 2017 to preserve and commemorate the work of the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
. The monument is administered by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
[Pres. Obama signs executive order establishing Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument]
. WBRC
WBRC (channel 6) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WTBM-CD (channel 24). The two stations studios ...
, 11 January 2017
History
President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed a proclamation on January 12, 2017, which designated half of the
Birmingham Civil Rights District
The Birmingham Civil Rights District is an area of downtown Birmingham, Alabama where several significant events in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s took place. The district was designated by the City of Birmingham in 1992 and cove ...
as a U.S. National Monument. Other proclamations signed the same day established the
Freedom Riders National Monument
The Freedom Riders National Monument is a United States National Monument in Anniston, Alabama established by President Barack Obama in January 2017 to preserve and commemorate the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Movement. The monument is ...
in
Anniston and the
Reconstruction Era National Monument
The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, formerly Reconstruction Era National Monument is a United States National Historical Park in Beaufort County, South Carolina established by President Barack Obama in January 2017 to preserve and ...
in
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Beaufort County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 187,117. Its county seat is Beaufort.
Beaufort County is part of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statist ...
.
Scope
Birmingham was the site of the
Birmingham campaign
The Birmingham campaign, also known as the Birmingham movement or Birmingham confrontation, was an American movement organized in early 1963 by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to bring attention to the integration efforts o ...
, Martin Luther King's
Letter from Birmingham Jail, the
Children's Crusade with its images of students being attacked by water hoses and dogs,
the bombing of the
A.G. Gaston Motel
The A.G. Gaston Motel is a historic building and former motel in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1963 during the Civil Rights movement, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference used a room in the hotel as their headquarters, which was later bombed by ...
– the movement's headquarters motel now designated as part of the National Monument – and the
16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
Most of the national monument resides within the larger Birmingham Civil Rights District, which was designated in 1992 by the City of Birmingham. Historic sites within the monument include the A.G. Gaston Motel,
16th Street Baptist Church,
Kelly Ingram Park, and St. Paul United Methodist Church. The National Monument also includes the historic building of
Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham's Collegeville neighborhood.
See also
*
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
*
Birmingham Civil Rights District
The Birmingham Civil Rights District is an area of downtown Birmingham, Alabama where several significant events in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s took place. The district was designated by the City of Birmingham in 1992 and cove ...
*
Kelly Ingram Park
*
Freedom Riders National Monument
The Freedom Riders National Monument is a United States National Monument in Anniston, Alabama established by President Barack Obama in January 2017 to preserve and commemorate the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Movement. The monument is ...
*
Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument
The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, also known as Medgar Evers House, is a historic house museum at 2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive in Jackson, Mississippi. Built in 1956, it was the home of African-American civil rights ac ...
*
Civil rights movement in popular culture
The history of the 1954 to 1968 American civil rights movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, theater, television, and the visual arts. These presentations add to and maintain cultural awareness and understanding of the goals, tact ...
*
*
16th Street Baptist Church
*
List of National Monuments of the United States
References
External links
Official National Park Service site*
Historic district contributing properties in Alabama
National Monuments in Alabama
National Monuments designated by Barack Obama
Monuments and memorials of the civil rights movement
Protected areas established in 2017
2017 establishments in Alabama
Protected areas of Jefferson County, Alabama
Buildings and structures in Birmingham, Alabama
{{JeffersonCountyAL-geo-stub