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50@50 – Birmingham Alabama

On my journey through the south, I stopped for a few days in Alabama –  the epicenter of Civil Rights –  in an effort to understand its history, progress and current culture. One thing I’ve learned in doing these blogs is that a person living in a place always sees it differently than an outsider and that no one likes it when a particular facet of place, “defines” it in the minds of others. Alabama is a beautiful state with diverse industries, thriving arts, good food, and very nice people. But this visit opened my eyes to part of our national past excluded from my high school history books.

Entire volumes have been dedicated to the complexities of degradation, legislation, incidents and the people involved leading up to and beyond the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s[*]. Obviously the scope of this blog cannot cover it all[†], so my focus is on the area of Birmingham and how its near past, rather than ancient past, impacts its culture. Like many areas of the south, Alabama’s long growing season and good soil made it attractive for large scale agricultural plantations, especially cotton. When indigenous populations declined, Africans were imported to provide the labor. The geology of the area also contained natural iron ore and coal. During the Civil War, central Alabama became a major supplier of coal to the Confederacy.

After the war, the city of Birmingham was created from three smaller communities and designed to be the first industrial city of the south. Mining, steel and iron production and railroads were the major industries. Job opportunities were segregated and the most hazardous were relegated to black men.  A Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress in 1875. But by 1877, Reconstruction had ended; union troops withdrew and the passage of restrictive laws grossly eroding the rights of African Americans began in earnest. The backlash of rights for African Americans was so great that the Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act unconstitutional in 1883 relegating the issue of rights and segregation to the states. Until visiting the Civil Rights Institute, I had no idea the dire impact of the Jim Crow laws in curtailing basic human rights. Washington had turned its back. Even the progressive president Theodore Roosevelt openly opposed political and social equality for Black people![‡] The museum in Birmingham does a wonderful job portraying the timeline – not only of the Civil Rights movement of the mid-twentieth century, but of life in Alabama, and the evolution of Birmingham – in multifaceted ways,  economic, political and, most of all, human.

Walking tours meander through downtown with signage  depicting the dates and locations of important moments in 1963. The events of that year – sit-ins, economic boycotts, arrests – catapulted with the horrific September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist church in which four little girls were killed. Washington took notice. In 2008, national dialog questioned whether racism in America is behind us. The degradation and inequality of the past seem unfathomable today. But if you look around – truly look – it’s still there, albeit more subtle. Two women walk into a clothing store, one is warmly greeted, the other unacknowledged…

In any city I explore, I love finding hidden gems and visiting old neighborhoods. Ruffner Mountain is a nature preserve wholly within Birmingham’s city limits off of 81^st Street. Full of rock formations, the mountain was mined extensively for iron ore, coking coal and limestone. There are many trails ranging from easy to difficult.  We hiked 2.7 miles on the moderately easy Quarry Trail meandering to the mine ruins. Mining accidents were frequent in the 19^th century. I can just imagine the backbreaking work in the humid Birmingham summer. Other trails explore wetlands in lower elevations and climb to the ridge for views overlooking the city. Our visit was too early in the season for the blooming of the Wild Hydrangea and other flowers, but the spring birds were already making nests.

Just southeast of the city lies Oak Mountain State Park. With over 9900 acres, the park contains 17 miles of bike trails, a 10 mile horse trail, and over 20 miles of hiking trails through forests, skirting ridges and along streams. Elevations vary, but the topographical map available at the entrance offers detailed information. We began our trek on the South Rim trail at the North Trailhead. The initial ¼ mile was pretty steep, but the well-marked path leveled off after that. The system is very good with connections from one trail to another. We were able to switch halfway to another trail for a bit of new scenery for our descent.

Here, at Oak Mountain, I got a better sense of the topography of the region, with hills, forests, and bottom lands. Truly, it was rather difficult with a road and golf course so nearby, but I tried to imagine how people may have interacted and farmed the  land a millennium ago; how men labored inside these hills 100 years ago extracting its resources. I reflected on the determination and strength of Birmingham’s black population to achieve civil rights and social equality.