What You Will Do
This tour peals back the façade and reveals the true and devastating experience that was the day to day life of African Americans in the most segregated city in the country. Led by Wilhelmina Thomas, who is a storyteller, a needlewoman and a craftivist who grew up on the west side of Birmingham, Alabama in the Riley, Wenonah and Hillman communities. She attended Wenonah Elementary, Riley Elementary and Jones Valley High Schools. Her earliest memories include the church, the civic league and the Civil Rights Movement. It is these lived experiences which fuel passion about Afro, Afro American and Birmingham history.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Itinerary
Meeting Point
285 20th Street North, Birmingham, AL 35206 - on the SouthEast corner of 20th Street North and 3rd Avenue North...This is DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM - not Irondale (please check your GPS)
1
Birmingham
15 minutes
Your tour begins at the corner of 3rd ave and 20th street north and proceeds down 20th street toward 4th Ave North covering the Black contributions to the founding of Birmingham
2
4th Avenue North
This leg of the tour covers the 1926 Red Line Zoning laws, the Palm Leaf Hotel, and the Chitlin' Circut.
3
Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park
10 minutes
A park and statues dedicated to our local founder of the Temptations
4
4th Avenue Business District
The remnants of our once dynamic "city within a city" with possible stop in Nelson Brothers and Green Acres.
5
Civil Rights District
This is the center of the Civil Rights National Historic Monument
6
Carver Theater
10 minutes
One of the best Black theaters - now the Jazz Hall of Fame...also you will see the Prince Hall "Colored" Masonic Lodge
7
Kelly Ingram Park
15 minutes
Kelly Ingram Park is an improved public park that contains emotionally powerful sculptures depicting the civil rights struggle in Birmingham. The park served as an assembly spot for activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other groups in the movement.
8
16th Street Baptist Church
15 minutes
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, stands as a poignant symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, marked by its tragic history as the site of a racially motivated bombing in 1963, which resulted in the loss of four young girls. This historic church remains a powerful testament to the struggle for civil rights and a focal point in the ongoing journey toward racial equality in the United States.
9
A.G. Gaston Motel
10 minutes
The A.G. Gaston Motel, built by prominent African American businessman and entrepreneur, Arthur George Gaston (1892-1996), provided first-class lodging and dining in Birmingham, Alabama, to African American travelers. Designed by Birmingham-based architect Stanley B. Echols, the motel opened in 1954
10
Lyric Theatre
10 minutes
Our only standing theater that allowed mixed (though still segregated) audiences
Show 9 more stops