State of Alabama Bicentennial: Difference between revisions
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* In 2017, the [[Alabama Bicentennial Schools Initiative]] was established to encourage schools to take part in community projects, community gardens, and mentorship programs. | * In 2017, the [[Alabama Bicentennial Schools Initiative]] was established to encourage schools to take part in community projects, community gardens, and mentorship programs. | ||
* In 2018, a traveling exhibit, [[Making Alabama]], went to all 67 Alabama counties to showcase various events and time periods in Alabama's history. | * In 2018, a traveling exhibit, [[Making Alabama]], went to all 67 Alabama counties to showcase various events and time periods in Alabama's history. | ||
* In 2019, the [[Alabama Bicentennial Children’s Bell]] was designed as part of the Alabama Bicentennial celebration | * In 2019, the [[Alabama Bicentennial Children’s Bell]] was designed as part of the Alabama Bicentennial celebration. It is located near the entrance to the visitors center at [[Sloss Furnaces]] in [[Birmingham]]. The [[Alabama Bicentennial Park]] was dedicated on December 14, 2019. | ||
Revision as of 15:35, 4 June 2020
The State of Alabama Bicentennial was a three-year celebration of the people, places, and events that formed the history of the State of Alabama. Alabama became the 22nd state admitted to the Union on December 14, 1819. Alabama’s bicentennial commemoration began in 2017 and continued through the end of 2019, culminating on December 14, 2019 with a parade, historical park dedication, festival, and concert in Montgomery that highlighted the state’s 200th birthday. The three-year period encompassed the anniversary of Congress establishing Alabama as a territory two years before statehood, splitting it from the Mississippi territory.
- In 2013, the Alabama Bicentennial Commission was created to guide and support the commemoration of the anniversary of Alabama’s statehood.
- In 2017, the Alabama Bicentennial Schools Initiative was established to encourage schools to take part in community projects, community gardens, and mentorship programs.
- In 2018, a traveling exhibit, Making Alabama, went to all 67 Alabama counties to showcase various events and time periods in Alabama's history.
- In 2019, the Alabama Bicentennial Children’s Bell was designed as part of the Alabama Bicentennial celebration. It is located near the entrance to the visitors center at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham. The Alabama Bicentennial Park was dedicated on December 14, 2019.
Schedule of Festivities for the celebration on December 14, 2019
- 10 am – Alabama Bicentennial Parade (Dexter Ave)
- Entries showcasing Alabama
- Noon – Alabama Bicentennial Park Dedication (State Capitol steps)
- Unveiling of the Alabama Bicentennial Park
- 1 pm – Alabama Bicentennial Festival (Capitol Complex and downtown Montgomery)
- Free family-friendly event
- Historical re-enactors, craft/art demonstrations, performers
- Games and family activities
- Performances, talks, readings, dance
- Tours/open houses
- Special exhibits
- Performance stages:
- Capitol Steps (main stage)
- Archives (left and right, alternating)
- 4 pm – Alabama Bicentennial Concert and Finale Presentation
- Concert with popular musicians from Alabama
- Special Finale Presentation - Laser light show displayed using the Capitol building as the backdrop
The Alabama Bicentennial Commission developed exhibits and programs that illuminated distinct periods and turning points in the state’s history.
Exhibits
- We the People: Alabama’s Defining Documents displayed the original manuscripts for Alabama’s six constitutions. The first was ratified by 44 delegates at a cabinetmaker’s workshop in Huntsville in 1819. The sixth, adopted in 1901 mainly to disenfranchise former slaves and their descendants, still governs the state. Five of the six are written on parchment. The exhibit explains how each constitution reflects the objectives of the framers, such as the 1861 version that coincided with the vote to secede from the Union, the 1868 version that was ratified at a convention that included African American delegates and declared that all men are created equal and the 1875 version that marked the end of Reconstruction and removed the statement about equality.
- Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces that Changed a Nation highlighted eight landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases from Alabama that marked national turning points on civil rights, equal protection, and other constitutional matters.
- Making Alabama: A Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit focused on eight periods that shaped Alabama’s history. A project of the Alabama Humanities Foundation, in partnership with the Department of Archives and History and the Bicentennial Commission, the interactive exhibit toured all 67 counties to share engaging stories about people and places.
- The Alabama Bicentennial PastPort was a 174-page guide to almost 300 historic destinations in all 67 counties.
References
- Cason, Mike (November 28, 2019) "Alabama Bicentennial commemoration nears grand finale" AL.com
- Cason, Mike (December 31, 2019) "Walk through 200 years of Alabama history at Bicentennial Park" AL.com
External Links
- Alabama 200 Birthday Celebration official site
- Alabama Bicentennial AL.com articles