Visit the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama, has come a long way since the world was watching in the 1960's when it had the moniker of "Bombingham" and authorities threw Martin Luther King, Jr., in jail and turned fire hoses and German Shepherd dogs loose on African-American civil rights protesters, many of them children. Now the city has the acclaimed Civil Rights Institute overlooking the sites where the atrocities occurred. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your first visit to the Institute and its accompanying museum galleries.
Instructions
1. The Civil Rights Institute is located at 520 16th Street North, Birmingham, Alabama 35203, just west of downtown and across the street from Kelly Ingram park. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tues. to Sat. and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sun. The Institute is closed on Mondays and major holidays. As of 2012, admission topped out at $12, except on Sundays, when admission is free but donations are suggested.
The Institute is always open on M.L.K. Day, and each Mon. from M.L.K. day through the end of February (Black History Month).
2. Park the car and tour the Institute first, before touring other landmarks in the area. The Civil Rights Institute is located across the street from Ingram Park, the 16th St. Baptist church (the one bombed by members of the KKK in the early Sixties, resulting in the deaths of four girls) and other historic locations of the Civil Rights movement. It is best to tour the Institute's museum galleries before taking in these other sites in order to gain the proper perspective and background. A first-time visitor will be more moved by the simple act of strolling around Kelly Ingram Park and looking in the basement windows of the church after a tour through the galleries of the Civil Rights Institute.
3. Don't miss the slide show in the theater before entering the galleries. It sets you up for the self-guided tour perfectly, with historical background and a surprise ending after the film ends. If you get there too late for the beginning of the film, tell the staff you'd rather wait for the next presentation. The film only lasts about 12 minutes, and it's worth waiting for to gain the full emotional effect of the gallery tour.
4. Proceed on a self-guided tour of the galleries. The galleries are set up to have the feeling of walking through time, beginning with displays of what life was like for African-Americans in Birmingham before the Civil Rights movement. There are interactive displays, dioramas, a jukebox, examples of racist art in advertising and even two working water fountains for visitors--one for blacks and one for whites. The emotional impact of this walk through history is undeniable. You turn one corner and you see the actual bars of the jail cell that Martin Luther King was being held in when he wrote his famous "Letter From the Birmingham Jail." You turn another corner and there is one of the burned-out buses that the Freedom Riders rode on their monumental journey through the South in the 60's.
At the end of the tour you walk out of the past and into the present, into the Human Rights gallery, which informs visitors of current human rights violations still going on throughout the world. Plan as much time for a visit to the Institute as you would for going to see the latest blockbuster movie at the mall cineplex, but also prepare to walk out feeling more emotionally connected than you would from any super hero movie.
5. When you've finished touring the Institute, cross the street to visit Ingram Park and the still-active 16th Street Baptist Church. These are the places you just learned about in the museum, where these horrible things happened, and it will provide a perfect coda to your tour.
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