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| birmingham alabama black history: The Most Segregated City in America" Charles E. Connerly, 2013-07-04 One of Planetizen’s Top Ten Books of 2006 But for Birmingham, Fred Shuttleworth recalled President John F. Kennedy saying in June 1963 when he invited black leaders to meet with him, we would not be here today. Birmingham is well known for its civil rights history, particularly for the violent white-on-black bombings that occurred there in the 1960s, resulting in the city’s nickname Bombingham. What is less well known about Birmingham’s racial history, however, is the extent to which early city planning decisions influenced and prompted the city’s civil rights protests. The first book-length work to analyze this connection, The Most Segregated City in America: City Planning and Civil Rights in Birmingham, 1920–1980 uncovers the impact of Birmingham’s urban planning decisions on its black communities and reveals how these decisions led directly to the civil rights movement. Spanning over sixty years, Charles E. Connerly’s study begins in the 1920s, when Birmingham used urban planning as an excuse to implement racial zoning laws, pointedly sidestepping the 1917 U.S. Supreme Court Buchanan v. Warley decision that had struck down racial zoning. The result of this obstruction was the South’s longest-standing racial zoning law, which lasted from 1926 to 1951, when it was redeclared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite the fact that African Americans constituted at least 38 percent of Birmingham’s residents, they faced drastic limitations to their freedom to choose where to live. When in the1940s they rebelled by attempting to purchase homes in off-limit areas, their efforts were labeled as a challenge to city planning, resulting in government and court interventions that became violent. More than fifty bombings ensued between 1947 and 1966, becoming nationally publicized only in 1963, when four black girls were killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Connerly effectively uses Birmingham’s history as an example to argue the importance of recognizing the link that exists between city planning and civil rights. His demonstration of how Birmingham’s race-based planning legacy led to the confrontations that culminated in the city’s struggle for civil rights provides a fresh lens on the history and future of urban planning, and its relation to race. |
| birmingham alabama black history: America's Johannesburg Bobby M. Wilson, 2000 No American city symbolizes the black struggle for civil rights more than Birmingham, Alabama. In this critical analysis of why Birmingham became such a focal point, Bobby M. Wilson argues that AlabamaOs path to industrialism differed significantly from that in the North and Midwest. True to its antebellum roots, no other industrial city in the United States would depend so much upon the exploitation of black labor so early in its development as Birmingham. A persuasive exploration of the links between AlabamaOs slaveholding order and the subsequent industrialization of the state, WilsonOs study demonstrates that arguments based on classical economics fail to take into account the ways in which racial issues influenced the rise of industrial capitalism. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Black Workers' Struggle for Equality in Birmingham Horace Huntley, David Montgomery, 2007 Union building and civil rights activism in a tightly segregated industrial city |
| birmingham alabama black history: Carry Me Home Diane McWhorter, 2001-06-29 Now with a new afterword, the Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatic account of the civil rights era’s climactic battle in Birmingham as the movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., brought down the institutions of segregation. The Year of Birmingham, 1963, was a cataclysmic turning point in America’s long civil rights struggle. Child demonstrators faced down police dogs and fire hoses in huge nonviolent marches against segregation. Ku Klux Klansmen retaliated by bombing the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, killing four young black girls. Diane McWhorter, daughter of a prominent Birmingham family, weaves together police and FBI records, archival documents, interviews with black activists and Klansmen, and personal memories into an extraordinary narrative of the personalities and events that brought about America’s second emancipation. In a new afterword—reporting last encounters with hero Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and describing the current drastic anti-immigration laws in Alabama—the author demonstrates that Alabama remains a civil rights crucible. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King, 2025-01-14 A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's essay Letter from Birmingham Jail, part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. With an afterword by Reginald Dwayne Betts On April 16, 1923, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., responded to an open letter written and published by eight white clergyman admonishing the civil rights demonstrations happening in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King drafted his seminal response on scraps of paper smuggled into jail. King criticizes his detractors for caring more about order than justice, defends nonviolent protests, and argues for the moral responsibility to obey just laws while disobeying unjust ones. Letter from Birmingham Jail proclaims a message - confronting any injustice is an acceptable and righteous reason for civil disobedience. This beautifully designed edition presents Dr. King's speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality. |
| birmingham alabama black history: There's Hope for the World Richard Arrington, 2008-10-12 On a sultry September morning in 1955, a young African American man, the son of share corppers, boarded a Greyhound bus in Birmingham, Alabama, to leave his home state for the first time in his life. He was headed for the University of Detroit on a teaching scholarship from Miles College. Richard Arrington could not have guessed then that his future as a teacher would be postponed for decades by big-city politics--and that he would serve a record-setting five terms as chief executive of Alabama’s largest city. Under Arrington’s leadership, Birmingham rebuilt itself from a foundering, steel-driven industrial center to one of the most diversified metropolitan areas in the Southeast, with an economy fueled by health care, biomedical research, engineering, telecommunications, and banking. As mayor, Arrington’s economic legacy is impressive. When he left office, Birmingham boasted a record number of jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in its history. Additionally, Birmingham had built the strongest tax base in Alabama, expanded its city limits by 60 square miles, reduced crime to its lowest level in 25 years, and funded a $260 million school construction program. Today Birmingham is financially sound and is the only city in the Southeast with a $100 million endowment fund. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Back To Birmingham Jimmie Lewis Franklin, 2019-03-19 The story of Richard Arrington Jr., the first African American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama During the 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama was the central battleground in the struggle for human rights in the American South. As one of the most segregated cities in the United States, the city of Birmingham became infamous for its suppression of civil rights and for official and vigilante violence against its African American citizens, most notoriously the use of explosives in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing and the bombing of the home of Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. In October of 1979, Birmingham elected its first Black mayor, Richard Arrington Jr. He was born in the rural town of Livingston, Alabama. His family moved to Birmingham when he was a child. A man of quiet demeanor, he was nevertheless destined to bring to fruition many of the fundamental changes that the Civil Rights Movement had demanded. This is his story. Not a conventional political or Civil Rights history, Back to Birmingham is the story of a man who demonstrated faith in his region and people. The work illuminates Arrington's sense of place, a quality that enables a person to claim sentimentally a portion of the natural and human environment. Franklin passionately underscores the importance of the attachment of Southern Blacks to their land and place. Back to Birmingham will appeal to both the general reader and the serious student of American society. The book endeavors to bridge the gap between popular and scholarly history. It is guided by the assumption that Americans of whatever description can find satisfaction in comprehending social change and that they are buoyed by the individual triumph of those who beat the odds. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Schoolhouse Activists Tondra L. Loder-Jackson, 2016-07-02 Examines the role of African American educators in the Birmingham civil rights movement. |
| birmingham alabama black history: The Wealth Choice Dennis Kimbro, 2013-02-19 It's no secret that these hard times have been even harder for the Black community. Approximately 35 percent of African Americans had no measurable assets in 2009, and 24 percent of these same households had only a motor vehicle. Dennis Kimbro, observing how the weight of the continuing housing and credit crises disproportionately impacts the African-American community, takes a sharp look at a carefully cultivated group of individuals who've scaled the heights of success and how others can emulate them. Based on a seven year study of 1,000 of the wealthiest African Americans, The Wealth Choice offers a trove of sound and surprising advice about climbing the economic ladder, even when the odds seem stacked against you. Readers will learn about how business leaders, entrepreneurs, and celebrities like Bob Johnson, Spike Lee, L. A. Reid, Herman Cain, T. D. Jakes and Tyrese Gibson found their paths to wealth; what they did or didn't learn about money early on; what they had to sacrifice to get to the top; and the role of discipline in managing their success. Through these stories, which include men and women at every stage of life and in every industry, Dennis Kimbro shows readers how to: · Develop a wealth-generating mindset and habits · Commit to lifelong learning · Craft goals that match your passion · Make short-term sacrifices for long-term gain · Take calculated risks when opportunity presents itself |
| birmingham alabama black history: Birmingham First Black in Blue Leroy Stover, 2014-11-26 Birmingham's First Black in Blue should be required reading for all Americans. This first-person memoir traces the often-difficult path that Leroy Stover had to take to make it from a farm in rural Alabama to his position as the pioneering first black police officer on the City of Birmingham's force. Yes, that Birmingham, of Bull Connor fame. You remember the news clips of German Shepherd dogs biting peaceful marchers and fire hoses flattening innocent bystanders. You will shake your head in di |
| birmingham alabama black history: Birmingham and the Long Black Freedom Struggle Robert W. Widell, Jr., 2015-11-08 Birmingham, Alabama looms large in the history of the twentieth-century black freedom struggle, but to date historians have mostly neglected the years after 1963. Here, author Robert Widell explores the evolution of Birmingham black activism into the 1970s, providing a valuable local perspective on the long black freedom struggle. |
| birmingham alabama black history: "Everybody was Black Down There" Robert H. Woodrum, 2007 In 1930 almost 13,000 African Americans worked in the coal mines around Birmingham, Alabama. They made up 53 percent of the mining workforce and some 60 percent of their union's local membership. At the close of the twentieth century, only about 15 percent of Birmingham's miners were black, and the entire mining workforce had been sharply reduced. Robert H. Woodrum offers a challenging interpretation of why this dramatic decline occurred and why it happened during an era of strong union presence in the Alabama coalfields. Drawing on union, company, and government records as well as interviews with coal miners, Woodrum examines the complex connections between racial ideology and technological and economic change. Extending the chronological scope of previous studies of race, work, and unionization in the Birmingham coalfields, Woodrum covers the New Deal, World War II, the postwar era, the 1970s expansion of coalfield employment, and contemporary trends toward globalization. The United Mine Workers of America's efforts to bridge the color line in places like Birmingham should not be underestimated, says Woodrum. Facing pressure from the wider world of segregationist Alabama, however, union leadership ultimately backed off the UMWA's historic commitment to the rights of its black members. Woodrum discusses the role of state UMWA president William Mitch in this process and describes Birmingham's unique economic circumstances as an essentially Rust Belt city within the burgeoning Sun Belt South. This is a nuanced exploration of how, despite their central role in bringing the UMWA back to Alabama in the early 1930s, black miners remained vulnerable to the economic and technological changes that transformed the coal industry after World War II. |
| birmingham alabama black history: American Black History Walter Hazen, 2004-09-01 American Black History is a concise yet thorough treatment of 500 years of African American history from its origins in the civilizations of Africa through the grim early years in America and the quest for freedom and civil rights. Richly illustrated, the book vividly details the rise of slavery, the abolitionist movement, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the role of blacks in the nation's wars, the Harlem Renaissance, the emergence of the civil rights era, and the arduous struggle for the full claims of citizenship. Lively portraits of key cultural and political figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and countless others make clear the enormous contributions of blacks in America. Tests, answer key, and bibliography are included. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Murder on Shades Mountain Melanie S. Morrison, 2018-03-15 One August night in 1931, on a secluded mountain ridge overlooking Birmingham, Alabama, three young white women were brutally attacked. The sole survivor, Nell Williams, age eighteen, said a black man had held the women captive for four hours before shooting them and disappearing into the woods. That same night, a reign of terror was unleashed on Birmingham's black community: black businesses were set ablaze, posses of armed white men roamed the streets, and dozens of black men were arrested in the largest manhunt in Jefferson County history. Weeks later, Nell identified Willie Peterson as the attacker who killed her sister Augusta and their friend Jennie Wood. With the exception of being black, Peterson bore little resemblance to the description Nell gave the police. An all-white jury convicted Peterson of murder and sentenced him to death. In Murder on Shades Mountain Melanie S. Morrison tells the gripping and tragic story of the attack and its aftermath—events that shook Birmingham to its core. Having first heard the story from her father—who dated Nell's youngest sister when he was a teenager—Morrison scoured the historical archives and documented the black-led campaigns that sought to overturn Peterson's unjust conviction, spearheaded by the NAACP and the Communist Party. The travesty of justice suffered by Peterson reveals how the judicial system could function as a lynch mob in the Jim Crow South. Murder on Shades Mountain also sheds new light on the struggle for justice in Depression-era Birmingham. This riveting narrative is a testament to the courageous predecessors of present-day movements that demand an end to racial profiling, police brutality, and the criminalization of black men. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Encyclopedia of African American History [3 volumes] Leslie M. Alexander, Walter C. Rucker, 2010-02-09 A fresh compilation of essays and entries based on the latest research, this work documents African American culture and political activism from the slavery era through the 20th century. Encyclopedia of African American History introduces readers to the significant people, events, sociopolitical movements, and ideas that have shaped African American life from earliest contact between African peoples and Europeans through the late 20th century. This encyclopedia places the African American experience in the context of the entire African diaspora, with entries organized in sections on African/European contact and enslavement, culture, resistance and identity during enslavement, political activism from the Revolutionary War to Southern emancipation, political activism from Reconstruction to the modern Civil Rights movement, black nationalism and urbanization, and Pan-Africanism and contemporary black America. Based on the latest scholarship and engagingly written, there is no better go-to reference for exploring the history of African Americans and their distinctive impact on American society, politics, business, literature, art, food, clothing, music, language, and technology. |
| birmingham alabama black history: But for Birmingham Glenn T. Eskew, 2000-11-09 Birmingham served as the stage for some of the most dramatic and important moments in the history of the civil rights struggle. In this vivid narrative account, Glenn Eskew traces the evolution of nonviolent protest in the city, focusing particularly on the sometimes problematic intersection of the local and national movements. Eskew describes the changing face of Birmingham's civil rights campaign, from the politics of accommodation practiced by the city's black bourgeoisie in the 1950s to local pastor Fred L. Shuttlesworth's groundbreaking use of nonviolent direct action to challenge segregation during the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1963, the national movement, in the person of Martin Luther King Jr., turned to Birmingham. The national uproar that followed on Police Commissioner Bull Connor's use of dogs and fire hoses against the demonstrators provided the impetus behind passage of the watershed Civil Rights Act of 1964. Paradoxically, though, the larger victory won in the streets of Birmingham did little for many of the city's black citizens, argues Eskew. The cancellation of protest marches before any clear-cut gains had been made left Shuttlesworth feeling betrayed even as King claimed a personal victory. While African Americans were admitted to the leadership of the city, the way power was exercised--and for whom--remained fundamentally unchanged. |
| birmingham alabama black history: American Black History (eBook) Walter Hazen, 2004-09-01 American Black History is a concise yet thorough treatment of 500 years of African American history from its origins in the civilizations of Africa through the grim early years in America and the quest for freedom and civil rights. Richly illustrated, the book vividly details the rise of slavery, the abolitionist movement, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the role of blacks in the nation's wars, the Harlem Renaissance, the emergence of the civil rights era, and the arduous struggle for the full claims of citizenship. Lively portraits of key cultural and political figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and countless others make clear the enormous contributions of blacks in America. Tests, answer key, and bibliography are included. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Red, Black, White Mary Stanton, 2019-11-15 Red, Black, White is the first narrative history of the American communist movement in the South since Robin D. G. Kelley's groundbreaking Hammer and Hoe and the first to explore its key figures and actions beyond the 1930s. Written from the perspective of the district 17 (CPUSA) Reds who worked primarily in Alabama, it acquaints a new generation with the impact of the Great Depression on postwar black and white, young and old, urban and rural Americans. After the Scottsboro story broke on March 25, 1931, it was open season for old-fashioned lynchings, legal (courtroom) lynchings, and mob murder. In Alabama alone, twenty black men were known to have been murdered, and countless others, women included, were beaten, disabled, jailed, “disappeared,” or had their lives otherwise ruined between March 1931 and September 1935. In this collective biography, Mary Stanton—a noted chronicler of the left and of social justice movements in the South—explores the resources available to Depression-era Reds before the advent of the New Deal or the modern civil rights movement. What emerges from this narrative is a meaningful criterion by which to evaluate the Reds’ accomplishments. Through seven cases of the CPUSA (district 17) activity in the South, Stanton covers tortured notions of loyalty and betrayal, the cult of white southern womanhood, Christianity in all its iterations, and the scapegoating of African Americans, Jews, and communists. Yet this still is a story of how these groups fought back, and fought together, for social justice and change in a fractured region. |
| birmingham alabama black history: The Bicentennial of the United States of America American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, 1977 |
| birmingham alabama black history: Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail Deborah D. Douglas, 2021-01-12 The U.S. Civil Rights Trail offers a vivid glimpse into the story of Black America's fight for freedom and equality. From eye-opening landmarks to celebrations of triumph over adversity, experience a tangible piece of history with Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Flexible Itineraries: Travel the entire trail through the South, or take a weekend getaway to Charleston, Birmingham, Jackson, Memphis, Washington DC, and more places significant to the Civil Rights Movement Historic Civil Rights Sites: Learn about Dr. King's legacy at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, be transformed at the small but mighty Emmett Till Intrepid Center, and stand tall with Little Rock Nine at their memorial in Arkansas The Culture of the Movement: Get to know the voices, stories, music, and flavors that shape and celebrate Black America both then and now. Take a seat at a lunch counter where sit-ins took place or dig in to heaping plates of soul food and barbecue. Spend the day at museums that connect our present to the past or spend the night in the birthplace of the blues Expert Insight: Award-winning journalist Deborah Douglas offers her valuable perspective and knowledge, including suggestions for engaging with local communities by supporting Black-owned businesses and seeking out activist groups Travel Tools: Find driving directions for exploring the sites on a road trip, tips on where to stay, and full-color photos and maps throughout Detailed coverage of: Charleston, Atlanta, Selma to Montgomery, Birmingham, Jackson, the Mississippi Delta, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Raleigh, Durham, Virginia, and Washington DC Foreword by Bree Newsome Bass: activist, filmmaker, and artist Journey through history, understand struggles past and present, and get inspired to create a better future with Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail. About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media. |
| birmingham alabama black history: The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill Helen Shores Lee, Barbara S. Shores, Denise George, 2012-08-28 These are the firsthand accounts of sisters Helen and Barbara Shores growing up with their father, Arthur Shores, a prominent Civil Rights attorney, during the 60s in the Jim Crow south Birmingham district—a frequent target of the Ku Klux Klan. Between 1948 and 1963, some 50 unsolved Klan bombings happened in Smithfield where the Shores family lived, earning their neighborhood the nickname “Dynamite Hill.” Due to his work, Shores’ daughter, Barbara, barely survived a kidnapping attempt. Twice, in 1963, Klan members bombed their home, sending Theodora to the hospital with a brain concussion and killing Tasso, the family’s cocker spaniel. The family narrowly escaped a third bombing attempt on their home in the spring of 1965. The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill is an incredible story of a family’s unfair suffering, but also of the Shores’ overcoming. This family’s sacrificial commitment, courage, determination, and triumph inspire us today through this story and the selfless service, work, and lives of Helen Shores Lee and Barbara Sylvia Shores. |
| birmingham alabama black history: The Fortney Encyclical Black History Albert Fortney Jr., 2016-01-15 The Encyclical Black History has been created for the critical and lack of vital Afro-Centric Multi-Curriculum text in urban school systems and is a necessity for African Americans. This book was created with careful and serious attention to biographical names that identifies history, culture as well as biblical characters. The reason why of this encyclical history can be explained with the facts and proof/evidence of the following. The point that has socio-psychological implications at the unconscious as well as the conscious level is the great little white racist lie, seen long enough, becomes the truth; like, portraying a white Jesus Christ who was a black man. Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a Black psychiatrist associated with Harvard University and others have observed and explained the most tragic part of all of this is that the African American has come to form his self image and self-concept on the basis of what white racists have laid down as a guide or prescribed. Therefore, black men and women learn quickly to hate themselves and each other more than their white oppressor. There is almost infinite evidence that racism has left almost irreparable scars on the psyche of Afro-Americans that burden with an unrelenting, painful anxiety that drives the psyche to reach out for a sense of identity and self-esteem. Poussaint and others say that black children, especially learn to hate themselves at very early ages. Studies reveal their preference for white dolls over black ones. One study reported that black children in their drawings tend to show blacks as small, incomplete people and whites as strong and powerful. To conclude, in western color symbolism white is positive and black negative. Many people might ask why the contributions of Africa should be included in American curriculum? Is because they bleach and still rob black history and culture with black pictured as white that lie, leaves us mentally-dead, angry, and without purpose, of where we are going! Human culture is the product of all humanity, not the possession of a single racial or ethnic group. Afro-centric Multicultural educations major aim is to close the gap between Western ideals of equality, justice and practices that contradict these ideas. Stereotype people of color and people who are poor have just about no opportunities to become free of perspectives that are monoculture, that devalue African culture victimize them mostly having an inability to fully, function effectively in society. Many of these problems could be miraculously remedied with astonishing results if explained of black scientific achievements, which occurred in black Africa. There are also white African Americans living in the U.S.A. besides black African Americans, should make the distinction. Carl Sandburg (1979) related a dialogue between a white American and an American Indian which illustrates the need for multicultural education: The white man drew a small circle in the sand and told the red man, This is what the Indian knows, and drawing a big circle around the small one, this is what is what the white man knows. The Indian then took the stick and swept an immensely big ring around both circles and said, this is where the white man and the red man knows nothing. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Lessons of Black History Makers 'N' Action - The Dared...The Driven , |
| birmingham alabama black history: Iron and Steel Henry M. McKiven Jr., 2011-01-20 In this study of Birmingham's iron and steel workers, Henry McKiven unravels the complex connections between race relations and class struggle that shaped the city's social and economic order. He also traces the links between the process of class formation and the practice of community building and neighborhood politics. According to McKiven, the white men who moved to Birmingham soon after its founding to take jobs as skilled iron workers shared a free labor ideology that emphasized opportunity and equality between white employees and management at the expense of less skilled black laborers. But doubtful of their employers' commitment to white supremacy, they formed unions to defend their position within the racial order of the workplace. This order changed, however, when advances in manufacturing technology created more semiskilled jobs and broadened opportunities for black workers. McKiven shows how these race and class divisions also shaped working-class life away from the plant, as workers built neighborhoods and organized community and political associations that reinforced bonds of skill, race, and ethnicity. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Black Prisoners and Their World, Alabama, 1865-1900 Mary Ellen Curtin, 2000 This book traces the history of black prisoners in Alabama and their connections to and participation in the labor movement among miners in the late 19th century. Curtin (U. of Essex, UK) explores the convict- leasing system that ran most of Alabama's mines and its links to the African American transition out of slavery, illustrating the parallel transition from prisoner to coal miner. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR |
| birmingham alabama black history: Black History In An Hour Rupert Colley, 2010-09-29 Black History In An Hour cannot, by definition, be comprehensive. However, this book will provide an introduction to the powerful and dramatic history that is loosely termed 'Black History'. The study of Black History in the West has to be seen primarily in the context of American history where all men are created equal and that slavery and the fight for civil rights had its most profound effect. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Black Titan Carol Jenkins, Elizabeth Gardner Hines, 2009-04-02 The grandson of slaves, born into poverty in 1892 in the Deep South, A. G. Gaston died more than a century later with a fortune worth well over $130 million and a business empire spanning communications, real estate, and insurance. Gaston was, by any measure, a heroic figure whose wealth and influence bore comparison to J. P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. Here, for the first time, is the story of the life of this extraordinary pioneer, told by his niece and grandniece, the award-winning television journalist Carol Jenkins and her daughter Elizabeth Gardner Hines. Born at a time when the bitter legacy of slavery and Reconstruction still poisoned the lives of black Americans, Gaston was determined to make a difference for himself and his people. His first job, after serving in the celebrated all-black regiment during World War I, bound him to the near-slavery of an Alabama coal mine—but even here Gaston saw not only hope but opportunity. He launched a business selling lunches to fellow miners, soon established a rudimentary bank—and from then on there was no stopping him. A kind of black Horatio Alger, Gaston let a single, powerful question be his guide: What do our people need now? His success flowed from an uncanny genius for knowing the answer. Combining rich family lore with a deep knowledge of American social and economic history, Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Hines unfold Gaston’s success story against the backdrop of a century of crushing racial hatred and bigotry. Gaston not only survived the hardships of being black during the Depression, he flourished, and by the 1950s he was ruling a Birmingham-based business empire. When the movement for civil rights swept through the South in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Gaston provided critical financial support to many activists. At the time of his death in 1996, A. G. Gaston was one of the wealthiest black men in America, if not the wealthiest. But his legacy extended far beyond the monetary. He was a man who had proved it was possible to overcome staggering odds and make a place for himself as a leader, a captain of industry, and a far-sighted philanthropist. Writing with grace and power, Jenkins and Hines bring their distinguished ancestor fully to life in the pages of this book. Black Titan is the story of a man who created his own future—and in the process, blazed a future for all black businesspeople in America. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Slavery by Another Name Douglas A. Blackmon, 2012-10-04 A Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the mistreatment of black Americans. In this 'precise and eloquent work' - as described in its Pulitzer Prize citation - Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history - an 'Age of Neoslavery' that thrived in the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude thereafter. By turns moving, sobering and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals these stories, the companies that profited the most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today. |
| birmingham alabama black history: African American History For Dummies Ronda Racha Penrice, 2011-05-04 Understand the historical and cultural contributions of African Americans Get to know the people, places, and events that shaped the African American experience Want to better understand black history? This comprehensive, straight-forward guide traces the African American journey, from Africa and the slave trade through the Civil War, Jim Crow, and the new millennium. You'll be an eyewitness to the pivotal events that impacted America's past, present, and future - and meet the inspiring leaders who struggled to bring about change. How Africans came to America Black life before - and after - Civil Rights How slaves fought to be free The evolution of African American culture Great accomplishments by black citizens What it means to be black in America today |
| birmingham alabama black history: The New Black History E. Hinton, 2016-04-30 The New Black History anthology presents cutting-edge scholarship on key issues that define African American politics, life, and culture, especially during the Civil Rights and Black Power eras. The volume includes articles by both established scholars and a rising generation of young scholars. |
| birmingham alabama black history: The Black History Bowl: Mini Biographies of African Americans Cadmus S. Hull, 2018-12-07 When I spoke at book signings for my first book, I found that people, in general, knew very little about many of the African Americans that I had on the display board. Thus, this second book in The Black History Bowl series was written to make people aware of the contributions that African Americans have made to American and World history. The African American history quiz that is included in the book is divided into eight (8) sections. Each section begins with a worksheet. The worksheet is followed by short biographies of the African American history contributors. There is an answer sheet at the end of each section. In addition, note sheets have been included with each biography for you to use to take notes when researching and gathering information. Additional information on each African American can be found on the web site that is listed at the bottom of the page after the biography. Also, included in this book is information on some points of interest that I think are important to the knowledge base of the average American. The information includes the African American holiday of Kwanzaa, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal, and information on Juneteenth (the actual day when all slaves were freed). In addition, this book includes a section for Women's History Month which highlights African American women from my first book. A timeline of African American history is also included. It is hoped that you will enjoy reading the book as you continue to enrich your knowledge of the contributions that African Americans have made to history. Dr. C. Sam Hull earned an Associate Degree in Education from Cumberland County College and further pursued his academic corridor to Glassboro State College (GSC), now Rowan University. Glassboro State College would continue Sam's educational tour leading to both a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree. Armed with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education and Master's in Student Personnel Services and School Administration, Sam's educational path led him to Nova University where he achieved his ultimate goal of a Doctorate in School Leadership. Dr. Hull's achievements as an educational leader have been well documented through numerous contributions to the education field. Currently, Dr. Hull is a member of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and Cumberland County Principals and Supervisors Association. Fairfield Board of Education enjoyed the fruits of this dedicated and committed educator for twenty-nine years. Dr. Hull retired June 30, 2004, after 33 years in education. A little known black history fact is that Dr. Hull was Cumberland County's first black Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Hull enjoys writing books, reading, and traveling. In addition, Dr. Hull keeps busy by serving as a Clinical Teaching Supervisor for Fairleigh Dickinson University and Grand Canyon University, serving on the Cumberland County College Foundation Board and as the Managing Member of his family-owned tutoring program for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Editor Emory O. Jackson, the Birmingham World, and the Fight for Civil Rights in Alabama, 1940-1975 Kimberley Mangun, 2019 This cultural biography tells the story of Birmingham World editor Emory O. Jackson. During his 35-year career in Alabama, he waged numerous sustained civil-rights campaigns for the franchise, equal educational opportunities, and justice for the victims of police brutality and bombings. The semiweekly newspaper was central to his advocacy. Jackson wrote editorials and columns that documented injustices and urged legislative and legal action in an effort to secure civil rights for Black Alabamians. His body of work, grounded in protest and passion, was part of the long tradition of the Black Press as an instrument to agitate for social and political change. Jackson also was a frequent speaker at NAACP branches, colleges, and churches. He was known as a commanding, even fiery, speaker who stressed first-class citizenship. Issues explored in the book demonstrate an assertion of constitutional rights in post-World War II America and a remarkable resilience. Editor Emory O. Jackson, the Birmingham World, and the Fight for Civil Rights in Alabama, 1940-1975, is the first scholarly analysis of his work and as such contributes to scholarship on the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and the nation-- |
| birmingham alabama black history: The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person Frederick Joseph, 2020-12-01 The instant New York Times bestseller! Writing from the perspective of a friend, Frederick Joseph offers candid reflections on his own experiences with racism and conversations with prominent artists and activists about theirs—creating an essential read for white people who are committed anti-racists and those newly come to the cause of racial justice. “We don’t see color.” “I didn’t know Black people liked Star Wars!” “What hood are you from?” For Frederick Joseph, life as a transfer student in a largely white high school was full of wince-worthy moments that he often simply let go. As he grew older, however, he saw these as missed opportunities not only to stand up for himself, but to spread awareness to those white people who didn’t see the negative impact they were having. Speaking directly to the reader, The Black Friend calls up race-related anecdotes from the author’s past, weaving in his thoughts on why they were hurtful and how he might handle things differently now. Each chapter features the voice of at least one artist or activist, including Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give; April Reign, creator of #OscarsSoWhite; Jemele Hill, sports journalist and podcast host; and eleven others. Touching on everything from cultural appropriation to power dynamics, “reverse racism” to white privilege, microaggressions to the tragic results of overt racism, this book serves as conversation starter, tool kit, and invaluable window into the life of a former “token Black kid” who now presents himself as the friend many readers need. Backmatter includes an encyclopedia of racism, providing details on relevant historical events, terminology, and more. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Miracle in Birmingham W. Edward Harris, 2004 |
| birmingham alabama black history: The Columbia Guide to African American History Since 1939 Robert L. Harris, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, 2006 A multifaceted approach to understanding the central developments in African American history since 1939. It combines a historical overview of key personalities and movements with essays on specific facets of the African American experience, a chronology of events, and a guide to further study. From publisher description. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Birmingham and the Long Black Freedom Struggle Robert W. Widell, Jr., 2013-09-18 Birmingham, Alabama looms large in the history of the twentieth-century black freedom struggle, but to date historians have mostly neglected the years after 1963. Here, author Robert Widell explores the evolution of Birmingham black activism into the 1970s, providing a valuable local perspective on the long black freedom struggle. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Visions of the Black Belt Robin McDonald, Valerie Pope Burnes, 2015-08-15 Visions of the Black Belt offers a rich cultural overview of the emblematic core of Alabama known for its prairie soils, plantation manors, civil rights history, gothic churches, traditional foodways, and resilient and gracious people. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: O-T Paul Finkelman, 2009 Alphabetically-arranged entries from O to T that explores significant events, major persons, organizations, and political and social movements in African-American history from 1896 to the twenty-first-century. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Why We Can't Wait Martin Luther King, Jr., 2018-03-01 'Lightning makes no sound until it strikes' This is the momentous story of the Civil Rights movement, told by one of its most powerful and eloquent voices. Here Martin Luther King, Jr. recounts the pivotal events in the city of Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 that propelled his non-violent campaign for racial justice from a movement of lunch counter sit-ins and prayer meetings to a phenomenon that 'rocked the richest, most powerful nation to its foundations'. As inspiring and resonant as it was upon publication, Why We Can't Wait is both a unique historical document, and an enduring testament to one man's wise, courageous and endlessly hopeful vision. |
| birmingham alabama black history: Black Hibiscus John Wharton Lowe, 2024-02-15 Contributions by Simone A. James Alexander, José Felipe Alvergue, Valerie Babb, Pamela Bordelon, Taylor Hagood, Joyce Marie Jackson, Delia Malia Konzett, Jane Landers, John Wharton Lowe, Gary Monroe, Noelle Morrissette, Paul Ortiz, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Genevieve West, and Belinda Wheeler The state of Florida has a rich literary and cultural history, which has been greatly shaped by many different ethnicities, races, and cultures that call the Sunshine State home. Little attention has been paid, however, to the key role of African Americans in Floridian history and culture. The state’s early population boom came from immigrants from the US South, and many of them were African Americans. Interaction between the state’s ethnic communities has created a unique and vibrant culture, which has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on southern, national, and hemispheric life and history. Black Hibiscus: African Americans and the Florida Imaginary begins by exploring Florida’s colonial past, focusing particularly on interactions between maroons who escaped enslavement, and on Albery Whitman’s The Rape of Florida, which also links Black people and Native Americans. Contributors consider film, folklore, and music, as well as such key Black writers as Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, Gwendolyn Bennett, Colson Whitehead, and Edwidge Danticat. The volume features Black Floridians’ role in the civil rights movement and Black contributions to the celebrated Florida Writers’ Project. Contributors include literary scholars, historians, film critics, art historians, anthropologists, musicologists, political scientists, artists, and poets. |
Birmingham, Alabama - Wikipedia
Birmingham serves as a major regional economic, medical, and educational hub of the Deep South, Piedmont, and Appalachian regions. Founded in 1871 during the Reconstruction era, …
About Birmingham | City of Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is home to world-class medical research, a celebrated food and arts scene, and the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. We are a community dedicated to fostering …
The 25 Best Things To Do In Birmingham, Alabama - Southern Living
Feb 24, 2025 · From celebrated dining to colorful breweries and sports stadiums, there's plenty to love about Birmingham. Keep reading for the best things to do in the Magic City.
Birmingham, AL Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather
Get the latest Birmingham, Alabama Local News, Sports News & US breaking News. View daily Birmingham, AL weather updates, watch videos and photos, join the discussion in forums.
Visit Birmingham - Official Website for Tourism, Events and …
On this site you can discover things to see and do in Birmingham, browse what's on in Birmingham and join in with our colourful & eclectic calendar of festivals and events.
Birmingham | City, Map, & History | Britannica
5 days ago · Birmingham, largest city in Alabama, U.S., located in the north-central part of the state. It is a leading industrial centre of the South.
Birmingham - Bhamwiki
May 20, 2025 · Birmingham serves as the primary nucleus for a sprawling urbanization known as the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area with 1.12 million inhabitants.
11 Best Things To Do in Birmingham - U.S. News Travel
Feb 11, 2021 · Ranking of the top 11 things to do in Birmingham. Travelers favorites include #1 Civil Rights District, #2 Birmingham Railroad Park and more.
27 Best & Fun Things To Do In Birmingham (Alabama) - Busy …
May 3, 2024 · Wondering what to do in Birmingham, AL? See the top attractions, best activities, places to visit & fun things to do in Birmingham, AL here.
Birmingham, Alabama Travel and Vacation Guide - Visitor …
Today, those visiting Birmingham will enjoy discovering a diverse city that successfully balances history, culture and tradition with an eclectic mix of exciting activities. This balance of old and …
Birmingham, Alabama - Wikipedia
Birmingham serves as a major regional economic, medical, and educational hub of the Deep South, Piedmont, and Appalachian regions. Founded in 1871 during the Reconstruction era, …
About Birmingham | City of Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is home to world-class medical research, a celebrated food and arts scene, and the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. We are a community dedicated to fostering …
The 25 Best Things To Do In Birmingham, Alabama - Southern Living
Feb 24, 2025 · From celebrated dining to colorful breweries and sports stadiums, there's plenty to love about Birmingham. Keep reading for the best things to do in the Magic City.
Birmingham, AL Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather
Get the latest Birmingham, Alabama Local News, Sports News & US breaking News. View daily Birmingham, AL weather updates, watch videos and photos, join the discussion in forums.
Visit Birmingham - Official Website for Tourism, Events and …
On this site you can discover things to see and do in Birmingham, browse what's on in Birmingham and join in with our colourful & eclectic calendar of festivals and events.
Birmingham | City, Map, & History | Britannica
5 days ago · Birmingham, largest city in Alabama, U.S., located in the north-central part of the state. It is a leading industrial centre of the South.
Birmingham - Bhamwiki
May 20, 2025 · Birmingham serves as the primary nucleus for a sprawling urbanization known as the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area with 1.12 million inhabitants.
11 Best Things To Do in Birmingham - U.S. News Travel
Feb 11, 2021 · Ranking of the top 11 things to do in Birmingham. Travelers favorites include #1 Civil Rights District, #2 Birmingham Railroad Park and more.
27 Best & Fun Things To Do In Birmingham (Alabama) - Busy …
May 3, 2024 · Wondering what to do in Birmingham, AL? See the top attractions, best activities, places to visit & fun things to do in Birmingham, AL here.
Birmingham, Alabama Travel and Vacation Guide - Visitor …
Today, those visiting Birmingham will enjoy discovering a diverse city that successfully balances history, culture and tradition with an eclectic mix of exciting activities. This balance of old and …
