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Alabama
Alabama entered the Union on December 14, 1819, becoming the nation’s twenty-second state. Nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, it is also known as the Heart of Dixie and the Cotton State. Montgomery is the capital, Huntsville is the largest city by population, and Mobile, founded by French colonists in 1702, is the state’s oldest city. Its geography extends from the mountains and Tennessee Valley in the north to Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast in the south.
Cotton and slavery shaped Alabama’s early development, and Montgomery served as the first capital of the Confederacy in 1861. A century later, Alabama became a major center of the Civil Rights Movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, the demonstrations in Birmingham, and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches helped expose racial injustice and bring about lasting changes in American law and society.
Recent Articles
Lifting the Veil of Ignorance
While visiting Tuskegee, we came upon this striking monument to Booker T. Washington on the campus of Tuskegee University. It is called Lifting the Veil of Ignorance, and once you understand what the figures represent, the sculpture becomes much more meaningful. Booker T. Washington stands behind a formerly enslaved man, literally lifting a veil from […]
Civil Rights Memorial
While visiting Montgomery, I wanted to spend time at the Civil Rights Memorial. Unlike many monuments that stand high above their visitors, this memorial invites you to come close. As I stood beside the gently flowing water, reading the names engraved in the polished black granite, I found myself reflecting on the lives behind those […]
