KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
s of press time, the Birmingham Civil Rights
Institute was closed because of COVID-19;
however, they are offering a variety of virtual
events in the meantime. We recommend that
you call each site before you make plans to visit.
(Even if you can’t go inside, you are still standing
in a place where history was made.)
MUST-SEE SITES ON THE
CIVIL RIGHTS TRAIL
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
520 16th Street North, 35203
bcri.org, 866-328-9696
The A.G. Gaston Motel
1510 5th Ave N, 35203
nps.gov/articles/gaston-motel-partnershipbirmingham
Kelly Ingram Park
5th Avenue N & 16th Street,
https://civilrightstrail.com/attraction/kelly-ingrampark/
16th Street Baptist Church
1530 6th Ave N, 35203
16thstreetbaptist.org, 205-251-9402
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
1500 6th Ave N, 35203
stpaulbham.org 205-252-3236
Bethel Baptist Church
3233 28th Avenue North, 35207
Bham Family August 2020 27
roughly four square blocks downtown (with
is farther), includes all of the aforementioned
the sites manage their own tours independently
the goal is to move toward a consolidated
option to visit all the sites in the future. As the
Motel is currently undergoing some important
April through May of 1963 leaders of the civil
rights movement, including Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., took up residence at the motel
where they strategized and made critical decisions
about the non-violent campaign that targeted
Birmingham’s segregation laws and practices.
restore the motel to the way it looked during that
place for African-American acts to stay while
in Birmingham. In fact, the motel is featured in
publication from mid-’30s to mid-’60s to highlight
businesses open to black people in the segregated
Book,” inspired by the true story of a tour of
then you understand. “It’s really fascinating
because the movie did a good job of bringing a lot
years, the motel would become an assisted living
facility before falling into disrepair.
receiving the attention it deserves. After
renovations are complete, the hope is that visitors
today. “Right now we are mainly doing cosmetic
work: the bricks look better, and we’ve installed
a new roof, as well as a lot of foundation work
and drainage work things that are so important to
the overall structure,” Butcher says. Plans are to
restore Room 30, or the “war room,” where King
normal park features, such as display panels that
tell the story.
children about the civil right movement in
nps.htm
Birmingham can visit many sites to be informed.
Butcher recommends checking out the book
Curtis in advance of a visit. This 1963 Newberry
Award winning novel about a black family from
Michigan that decides to spend the summer in
Alabama during 1963 when racism and civil rights
tensions are high is a great read for children
ages 10 to 16. “My hope is that our National
Monument is a place where you can have tough
conversations and be rightly challenged to look
in the mirror and assess yourself,” Butcher says.
“I think all of us have biases that we may not be
aware of so it’s important to be educated and
challenge ourselves to be better citizens, better
people and better leaders in our world.”
/bcri.org
/16thstreetbaptist.org
/stpaulbham.org