Please note: Guided tours are temporarily on hiatus.

Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail

“If you cannot march, you can make sandwiches. If you cannot make sandwiches, you can drive your car. If you cannot drive, you can help with office work. Everybody can do something. WHAT WILL YOU DO TO HELP US WIN FREEDOM?” This is the story of ordinary citizens taking extraordinary action in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Trail

Self-Guided Tour

June 10, 2019, we officially opened the Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail. The Trail is a self-guided tour in downtown Tuscaloosa with eighteen different stops. Guided group tours are also available. For more information, read about the different stops shown below. We hope to see you all visiting soon.

Introduction: Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail

Introduction: Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail

“If you cannot march, you can make sandwiches. If you cannot make sandwiches, you can drive your car. If you…

Stop 1: Capitol Park 2800 6th Street

Stop 1: Capitol Park 2800 6th Street

Tuscaloosa was the seat of Alabama State government from 1826 to 1846 when the state legislature met in a building…

Stop 2: Lynching and Old Jail 2803 6th Street

Stop 2: Lynching and Old Jail 2803 6th Street

Designed and built in the late antebellum era by William B. Robertson and featuring Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate…

Stop 3: Druid Theatre & Hollywood 2400 Block of University Blvd.

Stop 3: Druid Theatre & Hollywood 2400 Block of University Blvd.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal segregation in all public places, including movie theaters. Previously blacks were barred…

Stop 4: The Mob at the Flagpole 2420 University Blvd.

Stop 4: The Mob at the Flagpole 2420 University Blvd.

The flagpole, erected by the city to honor its war dead, was the site of protest during the civil rights…

Stop 5: Woolworth and Sit-Ins 2319 University Boulevard

Stop 5: Woolworth and Sit-Ins 2319 University Boulevard

Blacks seeking to protest segregation often turned to sit-ins. Popularized in North Carolina in 1960 as a nonviolent way to…

Stop 6: First Black Legislator - Shandy Jones 2328 6th Street

Stop 6: First Black Legislator - Shandy Jones 2328 6th Street

Born a slave in 1816 and emancipated as a young child, Shandy Wesley Jones was a successful barber who bought…

Stop 7: Kress Building and Bus Boycott 2223 University Boulevard

Stop 7: Kress Building and Bus Boycott 2223 University Boulevard

In front of the Kress store the Druid City Transit Company maintained a popular bus stop. On May 5, 1962,…

Stop 8: Paul R. Jones Museum 2308 6th Street

Stop 8: Paul R. Jones Museum 2308 6th Street

Paul R. Jones’s life was testament to his pursuit of justice in an exclusionary society. He graduated from Howard University…

Stop 9: Alston Building & the KKK 2400 6th Street

Stop 9: Alston Building & the KKK 2400 6th Street

The Alston Building (also known as the Alston Place Building) is a seven-story office building located on the corner of…

Stop 10: Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center 620 Greensboro Avenue

Stop 10: Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center 620 Greensboro Avenue

Dinah Washington (1924-1963) was a legendary American jazz and blues singer born in Tuscaloosa. With such memorable recordings as “What…

Stop 11: County Courthouse and Marchers 714 Greensboro Avenue

Stop 11: County Courthouse and Marchers 714 Greensboro Avenue

In 1955 voters approved a bond measure to build a $2.5 million county courthouse and jail. During construction, the black…

Stop 12: Greensboro Avenue Churches 800 Greensboro Avenue

Stop 12: Greensboro Avenue Churches 800 Greensboro Avenue

In Tuscaloosa, four Christian denominations established churches on or near Greensboro Avenue before the city itself was formally incorporated. Collectively…

Stop 13: Bluefront District 811 23rd Avenue

Stop 13: Bluefront District 811 23rd Avenue

A cluster of successful black merchants formed the nucleus of a small AfricanAmerican commercial district near the corner of 23rd…

Stop 14: Bailey Tabernacle CME Church 1117 23rd Avenue

Stop 14: Bailey Tabernacle CME Church 1117 23rd Avenue

Bailey Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church was founded in December of 1870 when the last 45 black members of…

Stop 15: Hunter Chapel AME Zion Church 1105 22nd Avenue

Stop 15: Hunter Chapel AME Zion Church 1105 22nd Avenue

Hunter Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church, founded in the 1850s, is the oldest African-American church organized in Tuscaloosa.…

Stop 16: First African Baptist Church 2621 Stillman Boulevard

Stop 16: First African Baptist Church 2621 Stillman Boulevard

First African Baptist Church played a central role in the fight for civil rights in Tuscaloosa because it was the…

Stop 17: Murphy-Collins House 2601 Paul W. Bryant Drive

Stop 17: Murphy-Collins House 2601 Paul W. Bryant Drive

Tuscaloosa’s first licensed black embalmer and mortician, Will J. Murphy hired black contractor George Chopton to build this two-story craftsman…

Stop 18: Howard-Linton Barbershop 1311 TY Rogers Jr. Avenue

Stop 18: Howard-Linton Barbershop 1311 TY Rogers Jr. Avenue

The barbershop was one of the central gathering places for the black community apart from churches. In Tuscaloosa, the Howard-Linton…

Trail Opening Ceremony

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The Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History and Reconciliation Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

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Mailing Address: P O Box 71103, Tuscaloosa, AL 35407

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