WASHINGTON – On Thursday, Oct. 27, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis will visit Alabama at the invitation of U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Birmingham Mayor William Bell and Anniston Mayor Vaughn Stewart to hear public comments on proposals for additions to the National Park System in Birmingham and Anniston.
On Mother’s Day 1961, a Freedom Riders bus in Anniston was attacked and burned, and Freedom Riders were beaten. The incident shocked the nation and inspired more people to join the fight against the injustices of Jim Crow laws in the American South. The sites of these incidents have been proposed for inclusion in the National Park System to broaden its storytelling of the long march for civil rights for African Americans. Secretary Jewell and Director Jarvis will tour these two sites which include the former Greyhound bus station on Gurnee Avenue and the site of the firebombing of the Freedom Rider bus. They will also hear from members of the Freedom Riders Park Committee. Both sites are proposed for protection as part of Congressman Mike Rogers’s legislation H.R. 5882 to establish the Freedom Riders National Historical Park.
After the tour of proposed sites in Anniston, Jewell and Jarvis will join Anniston Mayor Stewart in a community meeting at 12:30 p.m. CDT at the Bridge - First United Methodist Church to hear the community’s vision for preservation of these important sites.
Later in the day, Jewell and Jarvis will join Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Birmingham Mayor William Bell in a community meeting at the 16th Street Baptist Church to hear the vision of residents there for preservation of important civil rights sites in the city. Prior to the public meeting, Jewell and Jarvis will join Congresswoman Sewell and Mayor Bell to visit the A.G. Gaston Motel and Kelly Ingram Park – proposed sites for protection in Congresswoman Sewell’s legislation H.E. 4817 to establish the Birmingham Civil Rights National Historical Park.
In 1963, Birmingham was the epicenter of the American Civil Rights Movement. Activists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Sr. and countless unnamed heroes gathered there to demand equality for all people and to integrate all aspects of society.
Who:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director, National Park Service
Vaughn Stewart, Mayor, City of Anniston
Terri Sewell, U.S. Congresswoman, Alabama
William Bell, Mayor, City of Birmingham
Freedom Riders
What:
Public meetings with elected officials to hear community’s vision on proposed National Park System additions in Alabama
When:
Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016
ANNISTON
8:50 AM CDT – Media check-in
9:05 AM CDT – Tour of Former Greyhound Bus Station
10:05 AM CDT – Visit to Bus Burning Site
12:30 PM CDT – Public Meeting in Anniston with Mayor Stewart
BIRMINGHAM
4:30 PM CDT – Media check-in for Birmingham Tours at A.G. Gaston Motel Courtyard
4:45 PM CDT – Tour of select sites at A.G. Gaston Motel & Kelly Ingram Park
5:30 PM CDT – Public Meeting in Birmingham with Congresswoman Sewell and Mayor Bell
Where:
ANNISTON
Tour of Former Greyhound Bus Station
1031 Gurnee Ave
Anniston, AL 36201
Visit to Bus Burning Site
Mile marker 6; Hwy 78/State Hwy 202
Public Meeting in Anniston
The Bridge - First United Methodist Church
1400 Noble St
Anniston, AL 36201
BIRMINGHAM
Tour of A.G. Gaston Motel & Kelly Ingram Park
1510 5th Ave North
Birmingham, AL 35203
Public Meeting in Birmingham
16th Street Baptist Church
1530 6th Ave N
Birmingham, AL 35203
Media:
Credentialed members of the media are encouraged to RSVP here.
Source: Department of Interior
