Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument | |
 TheA.G. Gaston Motel is included in the monument. | |
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| Location | Birmingham, Alabama, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°30′55″N86°48′53″W / 33.51528°N 86.81472°W /33.51528; -86.81472 |
| Area | 18.25 acres (7.39 ha) |
| Website | Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument |
| Part of | Birmingham Civil Rights District (ID06000940) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 19, 2006 |
| Designated NMON | January 12, 2017[1] |
TheBirmingham Civil Rights National Monument is aUnited States National Monument inBirmingham, Alabama established in 2017 to preserve and commemorate the work of the 1963Birmingham campaign, itsChildren's Crusade, and otherCivil Rights Movement events and actions. Civil rights protesters took to the streets of Birmingham, Alabama to fight in favor of Project C, a campaign against laws limiting African Americans freedoms. They were met with violent resistance from the police. The monument spans an approximately five-block area of 18.25 acres (7.39 ha) in theBirmingham Civil Rights District near Downtown Birmingham. It is administered by theNational Park Service.[2]
Birmingham was the site of the 1963Birmingham campaign; Martin Luther King'sLetter from Birmingham Jail; theChildren's Crusade, with its images of students being attacked by water hoses and dogs;the bombing of theA.G. Gaston Motel – the movement's headquarters motel – and the16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
PresidentBarack Obama signed a proclamation on January 12, 2017, which designated half of the 36-acre (15 ha)Birmingham Civil Rights District as a U.S. National Monument. The purpose of this proclamation was to protect the history that came from the Reconstruction, tell stories, and illustrate how the Era redefined freedom. Other proclamations signed the same day established theFreedom Riders National Monument inAnniston[3][4] and theReconstruction Era National Monument inBeaufort County, South Carolina.[5]
The national monument is within the larger Birmingham Civil Rights District, which was designated in 1992 by the City of Birmingham. The National Park Service only has ownership in theA.G. Gaston Motel (0.88 acres (0.36 ha)), which now hosts the visitor center. Additional historic sites within the monument boundaries that partner with the NPS include the16th Street Baptist Church,Kelly Ingram Park, St. Paul United Methodist Church, the Masonic Temple Building, and theBirmingham Civil Rights Institute. The historicBethel Baptist Church in Birmingham's Collegeville neighborhood also partners with the monument but it outside the boundary.[6]
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