Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail

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

The trail was proposed by Birmingham mayor Larry Langford in August 2008. 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.

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. 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.

Proposed trail sites

1. Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
2. Kelly Ingram Park
3. 16th Street Baptist Church
4. St Paul's Methodist Church
5. 6th Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church
6. Ballard-Hamilton residence
7. Poole Funeral Home
8. A. G. Gaston Motel
9. A. G. Gaston Building
10. Post Office garage/Shores-Lee Law Offices
11. Metropolitan AME Zion Church
12. Smith & Gaston Funeral Home
13. taxi stand
14. Colored Masonic Temple
15. Carver Theatre (Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame)
16. Urban Impact
17. Famous Theater
18. Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park
19. Alabama Penny Savings Bank/Pythian Temple
20. Pizitz building
21. J. J. Newberry's
22. Loveman's building
23. F. W. Woolworth
24. Kress Building
25. Trailways Bus Station site
26. Robert S. Vance Federal Building
27. Greyhound Bus Terminal
28. Birmingham City Hall
29. Boutwell Auditorium
30. Linn Park
31. Jefferson County Courthouse
32. Birmingham Public Library
33. Phillips High School

References

• Bryant, Joseph D. (May 5, 2009) "Committee approves Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford's civil rights trail funding plan." Birmingham News