Podcast Tells History of the Civil Rights Movement
April 2021
The Alabama Tourism Department takes you behind the scenes of the Civil Rights Movement with the new Alabama Civil Rights Trail Podcast. This three-part series dives deeper into the people, places and events that played a role in the movement and establishes their relevance to present-day activism. The series includes conversations with professors, historians and civil rights activists, including Bernard LaFayette Jr., Rev. Arthur Price Jr., Sarah Collins Rudolph, Betty Strong Boynton and Wanda Battle. Each episode allows the listener to hear real stories from real people who served on the frontlines of the movement as well as who played a role in some of the most pivotal moments in history.
Share the Stories of Civil Rights Heroes
This podcast series tells the stories of foot soldiers in such a way that they will remain on the mind of the listener and will be shared for generations to come. Listeners not only will hear these stories, but they also will hear from historians and other experts who can put these stories and events into context, and remind us why events that happened decades ago remain relevant in today’s world. Episode one examines the story of the Freedom Riders, a group of college students who were prepared to risk it all to end segregation on public transportation by riding Greyhound buses through the segregated South. This episode takes an in-depth look into what the Freedom Riders were trying to accomplish and discusses how the legacy of this group influences activism today. Episode two delves into the Civil Rights era bombings and other terrorist-like activities that took place in Birmingham, Alabama during the late 1950s and 1960s. Although many of the events that happened in Birmingham were designed to suppress the Civil Rights Movement, they did motivate supporters in the state and around the world to join the fight for civil rights. The third episode covers the voting rights marches that occurred in Selma and Montgomery that radically influenced the passage of the Voting Rights Act. These events that happened more than 50 years ago laid the foundation for the ongoing fight we see today for equal voting rights.
The Civil Rights Trail
After listening to the Alabama Civil Rights Trail Podcast, listeners are encouraged to follow the Alabama Civil Rights Trail itself. Go to Birmingham and reflect in the quiet sanctuary of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church that was bombed in 1963. Cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where marchers risked their lives fighting for the voting rights that shape our country today. Tour the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church in Montgomery where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., directed civil rights boycotts and activities that played such a prominent role in the movement. Learn more about the Alabama Civil Rights Trail and Alabama’s civil rights legacy by downloading the Alabama Civil Rights Trail app.
The Alabama Civil Rights Trail Podcast was narrated by Marlene Gordon. It was produced by Ingredient Creative with Tanya Ott as writer and director and Tanner Latham as executive producer and can be downloaded wherever you listen to podcasts.
