The motel opened in 1954 and became one of the city’s main Black establishments. The motel served as a first-class lodging, entertainment and dining hall for traveling Black people who came to Jim Crow Birmingham. Read more.
This project has been abandoned, at least partly because of safety concerns. Services for homeless people evicted from The World Games’ secured areas still will be provided at the Faith Chapel care center, including food, showers and counseling, according to media reports. In less than a month, the World Games will take over the
Birmingham this past weekend hosted the 80th Magic City Classic, the football game between Alabama State and Alabama A&M universities. Since 1946, it’s taken place at Legion Field, the nearly 100-year-old stadium that stands tall in the Graymont neighborhood. Once revered as the “Football Capital of the South,” Legion Field has lost some of its luster in the past 15 years. Many of the games that once took place at the stadium have left. Now with the $200 million Protective Stadium downtown, some people aren’t sure what’s going to happen with Legion Field. Jill Rogers, who has a lot of connections to the Smithfield area, said that Legion Field should remain in its place. “I don’t think we should get rid of the Legion field completely, either build a new stadium or gut it out and do whatever’s cost-effective,” she said. The city of Birmingham has budgeted more than $2 million to make capital improvements to Legion Field this year. Read more.
Jones, a Birmingham native, is Alabama's first Black poet laureate and the youngest person to hold the position. Read more.
This week marks 100 years since Father James Coyle was murdered in broad daylight in downtown Birmingham hours after he secretly married an interracial couple. He's remembered for his faith and courage during a time of religious intolerance, racism and xenophobia. Read more.
JaTaune Bosby, the first Black woman to lead the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, took the job during a tumultuous time in the country with the pandemic and last year’s summer of racial reckoning. Read more.
Among the thousands of Olympians from around the world competing in Tokyo this year are dozens of talented athletes from Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. Read more.
For the first time, the Birmingham Museum of Art will return objects from its collection to two Native American tribes. The move falls under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act or NAGPRA. The law, passed in 1990, provides a pathway for federally recognized tribes to request certain cultural items. While the process is not always drawn out, the repatriation of objects from the BMA represents years of extensive work. “It was long for me because it took me a long time to understand where my responsibility lay,” said Emily Hanna, the museum’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and senior curator. Those works will be sent to the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska later this summer. But not all works sought for repatriation are returned. There’s a lot of research involved to determine rightful ownership. Read more.
A group of young civil rights activists began their journey to the South to challenge segregation on interstate buses in May 1961. The riders were taunted and beaten by white mobs – and jailed. Participants of the movement share what their fight means now. Read more.
Boston-native Cam Perron became obsessed with the Negro League as a child. That led to an annual reunion and friendships with players decades older. Read more.
