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Birmingham - Part 2
Written by: Janet Pope
Photography by: Donald
Adventure way beyond the Hudson
The next day, we set out to explore a little more of Birmingham. Among its historical highlights is Rickwood Park, America’s oldest baseball park, built in 1910. From an era when baseball was written in black and white, this stadium was home to the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League.
David Brewer is the only employee of the Friends of Rickwood, a non-profit group that handles the fundraising and restoration projects of this baseball treasure. He took us through the old home-team locker room, the press box and right out to the field. Two hundred games on an average continue to be played here, mostly by local high school teams who are probably oblivious to the deep historical significance of the park. The structure, itself, is also unique, being all concrete and, for some reason completely unknown to me, excited Don from an architectural viewpoint. Maybe I should wear cement perfume.
The Birmingham Barons were formed in the late 1880s and were one of the founding teams in the southern circuit. This facility, through the early years, was used by both black and white teams, but not together. In 1961, integration was mandated and the Birmingham Bears chose not to field a team. In 1963, succumbing slowly to the tides of change and the loss of income, the first integrated team in Birmingham was formed. This history is related in pictures on the public walls and in an exhibit in the press office. Here, you can see the local heroes and residents who went on to make the big leagues big, like Willie Mays.
I especially enjoyed the reproductions of advertisements of a time long gone by like Burma Shave and Coca Cola who boasted that it "relieves fatigue." As we were leaving, David Brewer said goodbye and told us to come back anytime, "The gate is always open," He said. Now that’s hospitality.
Next, on the agenda, was the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Out first tour guide, Kathleen, walked us over to the 16th Street Baptist Church. The church was built in 1880 and it was here that four young girls were killed by a bomb on September 15, 1963. It would be over 38 years before justice arrived and a conviction was obtained. A longtime church member, Kathleen, shared with us her painful memories of this tragic event in American history. In the year 1956, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was banned from the state of Alabama and in the same year Reverend Fred Schuttlesworth founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. The 16th Street Baptist Church opened its doors for weekly meetings and civil rights leaders and Birmingham citizens worked toward ending racial segregation. Inevitably, it became a target for racist hate. The story is real, the people are real.
The church continues to thrive with members who are willing to relive the pain of that day because the battle for civil and human rights is fought everyday. Kathleen is a thin, gentle, soft-spoken woman who spoke with such sincerity and passion that the years washed away and she was a teenager again who was sent home to take care of the family by a mother who went to jail for seven days for protesting. "You can not legislate the hearts of men" whispered Kathleen.
Across the street from the church, Kathleen introduced us to Colonel Stone Johnson, as someone active in "the movement" and as one of Reverend Schuttlesworth’s bodyguards. Again, I knew we were speaking to someone who had lived through these pages in our history books. Colonel Johnson, at 86 years old is quite a character; tall, thin, fully dressed in a suit with a dress handkerchief. He spoke in a no-nonsense tone and extended a "how ya’ll doin?’ to all we passed. He walked us around the Freedom Walk in Kelly Ingram Park, a place commemorating
"revolution and reconciliation." As we walked, he pointed out the various sculptures and plaques while espousing the truth as he lived it. "No matter what age you were, folks who looked like me were still called boy." "We were struggling to end segregation and they were struggling to keep it." Our walk together passed statues of children being put into jail or water-hosed down to the ground and a life-sized police attack dog poised in action. One of the most poignant is of a person in the grip of the police officer being attacked by that officer’s dog.
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Desire For Freedom Overcomes All Fear | |
Not only did Colonel Johnson warmly greet everyone he passed, but some visitors came over just to shake his hands when they heard he was a "foot soldier." It felt special to be with him. Our honored guide took us to the Birmingham Rights Civil Institute across from the park and led us through this museum dedicated to "The Movement." There are exhibits honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, the Fight for the Vote and the hundreds of others who stood up to be counted. As we paused to study the photos displays, Colonel Johnson would point out himself as a young man in the photos. The whole experience of visiting this one little corner in Birmingham was very moving and often sad, but it does record our past with a message of vigilance for the future.
Part 1- Birmingham
Part 2- Birmingham
Part 3 - Montgomery
Part 4 - Point Clear
Part 5 - Point Clear
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