EDUCATION

Birmingham Timeline

1977

David Vann

Birmingham Mayor David Vann mentions in a weekly news conference that a civil rights museum would be an appropriate project for the city.

1978

Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City Council endorses Mayor Vann’s recommends the creation of a civil rights museum.

1979

Mayor Vann is defeated in his bid for re-election by Dr. Richard Arrington, Jr., Birmingham’s first African American mayor. Birmingham City Council adopts a resolution authorizing the mayor to form a museum committee to conduct a feasibility study.

1981

Horace Huntley

Mayor Arrington appoints former mayor, David Vann, and UAB historian Horace Huntley to co-chair a Civil Rights Museum Study Committee. The Committee recommends that the city incorporate a Board of Directors and acquire property for a museum. The City of Birmingham begins acquiring property for a civil rights museum.

1983

Mission Set

Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. appoints a Civil Rights Institute Task Force to create a mission statement and plan for the new facility. Odessa Woolfolk, Director of the UAB Center for Urban Affairs, and Frank Young, Chairman of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, serve as co-chairs of the Task Force. The Task Force..Read More

1987

Schematics Approved

Civil Rights Institute Task Force approves schematic drawings and a program statement developed by the architectural firm Bond Ryder James and museum consultants, the American History Workshop. Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. authorizes plans for a Civil Rights Cultural District, including a renovated Kelly Ingram Park, a Jazz Hall of Fame in..Read More

1991

Revenue Bonds

The Historical Preservation Authority of Birmingham issues revenue bonds for financing a portion of the cost of redesigning Kelly Ingram Park and constructing the Civil Rights Institute.

1992

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the City of Birmingham enter into a funding and management agreement for both the Institute and the Carver properties, which include the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. November 14, 1992The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute unveils a statue of Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth sculpted by John Rhoden..Read More

Grand Opening

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute opens to the public.

Recent Blogs

POV: As It Was for MLK, the Present and Future Should Be Our Focus

by Andrea L. Taylor | Apr 8, 2018 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

Read We need to renew our commitment to human and civil rights for all people on BU Today.

A Teachable Moment by Andrea L. Taylor, President and CEO of BCRI

by Andrea L. Taylor | Oct 20, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

The mission of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is to enlighten each generation about civil and human rights by exploring our common past and working together in the present to build a better future. We believe that human and civil rights are universal,...

PRESS RELEASE: Shuttlesworth 2017

by nimbus | Oct 9, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to Present the 2017 Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award to activist Harry Belafonte, Former Birmingham Mayor Dr. Richard Arrington, Jr. and to activist Viola Liuzzo In honor of its 25th Anniversary, the Birmingham Civil...

Spider Martin: Image and Activism by Ahmad Ward

by nimbus | Aug 25, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

Original Post: November 19th, 2015 10:02 BCRI is privileged to have several subject matter specialists who are great resources for the media, scholars, educators, among others. One of the most knowledgeable and accomplished is Ahmad Ward, BCRI's Head of Education and...

The Impact of Fear by Ahmad Ward

by nimbus | Aug 25, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

December 15th, 2015 14:24 Fear. It causes the best of us to make problematic decisions and say regrettable things. Historically, fear has been at the root of some of the worst examples of discrimination and oppression this country has seen. Fear of an emancipated...

From Talk Radio to Trump by Josh Cannon

by nimbus | Aug 25, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

Original Post: June 22nd, 2016 12:46 In August of 2014, on a local conservative talk radio station, I heard the host of a syndicated program liken African American protesters in Ferguson, Missouri to “beasts,” “animals,” and “savages.” He then equated people in...

Perspective by Ahmad Ward

by nimbus | Aug 25, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

Original post: August 3rd, 2016 14:03 As a Black man just entering his 40’s, I freely admit that there was a time when I believed certain things would not be achievable in my lifetime. I thought that we may eventually see a Black Secretary of State or Attorney...

Black History Month Revisited by Charles Woods, III

by nimbus | Aug 25, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

Original Post: February 2017 13:17 First of all I would like to pay homage to Carter G. Woodson who is responsible for starting Negro History Week and getting it recognized throughout the country which led to what we now know as Black History Month. Carter G. Woodson...

Was the Civil Rights Movement Necessary? by Charles Woods, III

by nimbus | Jun 9, 2017 | News and Announcements | 0 Comments

“Why did people want to treat Black people badly?” said the little girl looking up at me at my first outreach as the new Outreach Coordinator for BCRI. (This particular outreach is called Tug – o – War and illustrates the struggles between the establishment and...

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