About this property
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 covers a six-block area. 16th Street Baptist Church, where the students involved in the 1963 Birmingham campaign and its Children's Crusade were trained by SCLC activist James Bevel and left in groups of 50 to march on City Hall, and where four young African American girls were killed and 22 churchgoers were injured in a bombing on September 15, 1963. Kelly Ingram Park, where many protests by blacks were held, often resulting in recrimination by Birmingham police, including the famous 1963 scenes of policemen turning back young protesters with fire hoses and police dogs. News coverage of the police attack in this park helped turn the tide of public opinion in the United States against legalized segregationist policies. Several sculptures in the park depict scenes from those police riots. The Fourth Avenue Business District, where much of the city's black businesses and entertainment venues were located; the area was the hub of the black community for many years. The business district includes A. G. Gaston's Booker T. Washington Insurance Co. and the Gaston Motel, a meeting place for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights during the early 1960s. Carver Theatre, once a popular motion picture theater for blacks in Birmingham, now renovated as a live-performance theater and home of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, a museum which chronicles the events, actions, and victories of the Civil Rights Movement, opened in 1993. On March 21, 2016, Rep. Terri Sewell introduced to the United States House of Representatives H.R. 4817, a bill that would designate the Birmingham Civil Rights District as a National Historical Park. On March 28, 2016, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. However, a portion of the district was designated by executive order by President Obama as the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument on January 12, 2017.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District
This page lists Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District listed on the National Register?
Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 18, 2006.
What type of historic resource is Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District?
Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District?
The period of significance for Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District is recorded as the modern era, specifically around 1963.
Can I research the history near Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Jefferson County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Jefferson County.
Explore JeffersonCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Birmingham Civil Rights Historic District will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.