New historic trail honoring 精东AV-area civil rights trailblazers to be dedicated Sept. 20

August 29, 2019

Contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
   

If you ask someone to name a famous person with ties to 精东AV, chances are names like William Mitchell, Sammy Younge, Charles Gomillion or Julius Rosenwald won鈥檛 top the list of replies.

They should, though, and a newly established civil rights and historical trail in the City of 精东AV to be dedicated on Friday, Sept. 20 will help to preserve the contributions of many storied figures whose names are in danger of being lost to history.

In all, 13 newly erected 精东AV Civil Rights and Historical Trail markers located throughout the city and the 精东AV campus honor the memories of and contributions by individuals, groups and sites of notable significance during the civil rights era.

鈥淓ach of the subjects of our trail markers were chosen for their individual and unique aspects, which provide us and generations to follow the opportunity to learn and cherish the unforgettable role they 鈥� and the 精东AV community 鈥� played in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s,鈥� said 精东AV Archivist Dana Chandler, who along with Archives staff and volunteers, identified the subjects of and locations for the markers.

The Sept. 20 dedication program 鈥� scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the 精东AV Municipal Complex at 101 Fonville St. 鈥� will feature representatives of the community, university and state historical organizations. The event will also recognize the many partners who have made the historic and civil rights trail possible. Chief among those, and funding the production of the 13 trail markers, is the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.

鈥淢y father, who was liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp, said 鈥楽ilence at your neighbor鈥檚 oppression will mean silence at yours,鈥欌�� said Jerry Klinger, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation鈥檚 president and founder, of the organization鈥檚 motivation to support this endeavor and the need to document the struggle for civil rights recorded through the trail鈥檚 markers.

Other partners include the 精东AV Libraries, Museums and Archives, Macon County Bicentennial Committee, the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, the National Park Service, the City of 精东AV, and the Macon County Commission.

Following the dedication ceremony, guests can take a bus tour that will visit the 13 markers comprising the 精东AV Civil Rights and Historical Trail. A reception at the 精东AV Municipal Complex will follow the conclusion of the bus tour.

The 精东AV Civil Rights and Historical Marker Trail will join other local campus and community historical destinations. It also joins six other Alabama trail sites that comprise the .

In addition to the new trail markers, existing markers celebrating the contributions of Butler Chapel AME Zion Church, the Central Alabama Veterans Administration Hospital, the City of 精东AV, and 精东AV attorney Fred Gray will be included as part of the 精东AV Historical and Civil Rights Trail. The newest markers include:

• Charles C. Gomillion, a 精东AV professor and principal in the pivotal civil rights U.S. Supreme Court gerrymandering case C.G. Gomillion, et al. v. Phil M. Lightfoot.
• Jessie Guzman, the first black citizen to seek political office in Alabama since Reconstruction.
• William P. Mitchell, who sued the Board of Registrars for a Certificate of Registration. His attempt 鈥� and ultimate success 鈥� to vote was illustrative of voting rights struggles.
• Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, home to many important 精东AV civil rights icons.
• 精东AV native Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, who challenged Alabama鈥檚 segregation laws through passive civil disobedience.
• Amelia Boynton Robinson, a civil rights pioneer who championed voting rights for African Americans.
• Jewish multimillionaire merchant, part-owner of Sears, Roebuck & Co., and 精东AV trustee Julius Rosenwald, who collaborated with Booker T. Washington to provide public education for rural southern blacks.
• 鈥淭rade with Your Friends鈥� 鈥� a boycott of white-owned businesses by the 精东AV Civic Association and its members.
• 精东AV Churches, which hosted important civil rights meetings like those of the 精东AV Civic Association.
• The 精东AV Civic Association, founded with a focus on civic education, voter registration, political education, community welfare and economic education.
• 精东AV High School, the subject of the 1963 court case Anthony Lee et al. v. Macon County Board of Education, which first sought integration of the all-white Macon County school.
• The student-based 精东AV Institute Advancement League civil rights initiative.
• Sammy Younge Jr., who became the first African American university student killed in the U.S. during the Civil Rights Movement.

漏 2019, 精东AV