Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail: Difference between revisions

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===Other sites===
===Other sites===
Additional signage is planned to explain numerous downtown sites, as well as to demarcate trails in [[Collegeville]] and [[Dynamite Hill]]. Additional signs will be erected at [[Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport]] and the [[Birmingham Jail]].
Additional signage is planned to explain numerous downtown sites, as well as to demarcate trails in [[Collegeville]] and [[Dynamite Hill]]. Additional signs will be erected at [[Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport]] and the [[Birmingham City Jail]].


<!--===Downtown sites===
<!--===Downtown sites===

Revision as of 12:27, 17 March 2012

Signage located along 19th Street North

The Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail is an interpretive trail linking historic sites in Birmingham which were important to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.

The trail has been part of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's conceptual plan since its opening in 1992. Marjorie White of the Birmingham Historical Society led efforts to gather materials documenting specific sites. Much of that work was published in the 1998 book "A Walk to Freedom. Discussions of how to proceed with creating a walking trail passed between the BCRI and Operation New Birmingham for years.

The impetus for translating that work into physical signage was kick-started as an initiative of Birmingham mayor Larry Langford in August 2008, and handed to Director of Capital Projects Renee Kemp-Rotan to develop. He also appointed an advisory board which included Odessa Woolfolk, Marjorie White, Lawrence Pijeaux, Horace Huntley, Victor Blackledge, Karla Calvert, Doris Powell, Kamau Afrika, Nathan Hicks, J. D. Appling, Shirley Floyd and Tommy Wrenn, representing a broad spectrum of preservationists, current and former activists, historians, planners and neighborhood leaders.

In May 2009 the Birmingham City Council approved $1 million from the sale of a city-owned warehouse to the BJCC to be applied toward creating interpretive signage and marketing materials over three years. Working with wayfinding experts Corbin Design of Traverse City, Michigan, journalist Vickii Howell, and local marketing firm Big Communications, Kemp-Rotan proposed a series of 80-inch tall interpretive markers at key sites, often featuring large-size historical photographs taken at the same locations. Additional support was given by the Birmingham Historical Society, the Greater Birmingham Convention and Tourism Bureau, the Birmingham Public Library, the Birmingham Alabama Foot Soldiers, the Birmingham News, and a project committee appointed by Langford.

A public presentation of plans for the trail was held on May 12 at Kelly Ingram Park with a video presentation and a performance by the Carver High School choir and Temple Light Mass Choir. As presented the first phase of the trail would be limited to 35 downtown sites, each of which would be highlighted by an individual marker. 12 additional signs will follow the routes of movement marches. 10 map kiosks will orient visitors within the area of the trail while vehicular signs and other indicators at entry points to the downtown area will assist visitors seeking the district. Most of the signs include reproductions of photographs, quotes from the era, and explanations of the significance of particular locations and events. Lesson plans available to teachers supplement the physical installation.

The first three interpretive signs, describing the "March to Government", were erected on the north side of Kelly Ingram Park on August 17, 2009. The signs were designed by Ford Wiles of Big Communications.

In the future the trail could be utilized by tour buses and for special events. Kiosks and multi-media presentations as well as landscaping and infrastructure improvements would mark future phases of work.

Trail sites

March to government

March to retail

  • B1
  • B2
  • B3
  • B4
  • B5
  • B6
  • B7
  • B8
  • B9
  • B10
  • B11
  • B12
  • B13
  • B14
  • B15
  • B16
  • B17
  • B18
  • B19: "Sitting in for Lunch",
  • B20

Other sites

Additional signage is planned to explain numerous downtown sites, as well as to demarcate trails in Collegeville and Dynamite Hill. Additional signs will be erected at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and the Birmingham City Jail.


References

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