When Dr. Martin Luther King pastored in Montgomery, Alabama, he was a frequent visitor to Birmingham, and came to know the city’s racial strife — and its African-American leaders. It would be hard to understate the city’s role in Civil Rights history, which makes it a key stop for any Civil Rights […]
Before 1965, the world had never heard of Selma. But in March that year, it became known around the world as a place of protest, marches and savage police beatings on what is now called Bloody Sunday. Every Selma visitor has an obligation to cross the bridge, which I once called the most beautiful place in […]
Only 54 miles separate Selma and Montgomery, but that span changed history. A five-day protest march to Montgomery in March 1965 riveted the nation, and attracted protesters from across the globe. When the marchers finally finished at the Alabama State Capitol, thousands gathered to hear Martin Luther King Jr. declare victory in his “How Long? […]
Therese Burroughs remembered the last time Martin Luther King Jr. came to town. It was March 21, 1968, and the civil rights leader preached at her church in Greensboro, Alabama. “He was a little man, but he had a booming voice,” recalled Burroughs, who died in 2019. “When he spoke, you sat up and listened.” […]
il Tiny Marion, Alabama, is a small country town that plays an out-sized role in civil rights history. Coretta Scott King’s hometown, it’s located 30 miles north of Selma on AL 45. It’s where Martin Luther King Jr., was married, and where Jimmie Lee Jackson lived and died, leading to the Selma-to-Montgomery march. In February 1965, […]