History of Birmingham

As most of everyone knows, some of the most influential campaigns of The Civil Rights movement were launched in Birmingham. President John F Kennedy once said, ¨The events in Birmingham...have so increased the cries for equality that no city or state or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them.¨ This one sentence was said to be one of the major turning points in the Civil Rights Movement, and ¨the beginning of the end¨ of a centuries long struggle for freedom. The Civil Rights Movement is a big part of Birmingham's past and should not be ignored. One of the most powerful activists that spent time in Birmingham was known by name of Martin Luther King Jr. He was indeed the driving horse behind most of the civil rights, such as the bus boycott of 1963, the march from Selma, etc. His famous letter from the Birmingham Jail cited the main issues in Birmingham during the Civil Rights Movement. Something else that seemed to divide Birmingham's people up, was the church bombing. On September 15th, 1963, a group of white supremacists that just happened to be apart of the Klu Klux Klan, which was an organization or group that thought that white people were better than black people, and were usually behind most of the racial hate crimes that took place. Four members of the klan planted at least 15 sticks of dynamite in the 16th street baptist church, attached to a timing device that went off during their service, killing four little girls, as well as injuring 22 others. The 16th Street Baptist Church was usually the meeting place for the civil rights movement in Birmingham, which is why the church was targeted. After this bombing, the people of Birmingham divided, and are actually still pretty divided today. Martin Luther King led many to find their voice and to fight for their right of freedom. Martin Luther was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. It was a dark time for Birmingham, but even after his death, the people did not quiet down, more rather, they got louder.

Birmingham Alabama is famous for its iron ore, coal, and limestone, which is used in making steel. Steel has always been a huge part of Birmingham's history. The Tennessee Coal and Iron Company became the leading steel producer in 1892. In 1907, one year after Alabama power was founded, U.S steel purchased the steel company and became the most important political and economic force in Birmingham. One of Birmingham's most famous landmarks is the Vulcan. The 55-foot statue symbolized Birmingham's steel industry at the St. Louis Worlds Fair of 1904. Vulcan is the second tallest metal statue in America, behind the Statue Of Liberty.