Support for Freedom Riders National Park growing (slideshow)

Freedom Rider Charles Person and Secretary Sally Jewell
Freedom Rider Charles Person and Secretary Sally Jewell
  • Read about Freedom Rider Charles Person and his remarkable story – here.

Support for the proposed Freedom Riders National Park in Anniston received a big boost today in the opinion section of al.com with an essay by prominent National Park advocate and conservationist Frank Peterman.  

Peterman’s op-ed:  Freedom Riders defended our rights; they deserve a national monument 

Along with the op-ed this morning, last week’s visit and public hearings by Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell has brought national attention to the Freedom Riders National Park and the Birmingham Civil Rights National Park (Jewell visited both Anniston and Birmingham) proposals.  

Below are links from national and local media about the visit and the potential creation of two new national parks in Alabama.

Washington Post – The next national monuments? Obama administration officials visit iconic civil rights sites in Alabama.

WBRC FOX 6 – Interior Secretary tours sites of proposed Freedom Riders monument in Calhoun County 

WIAT CBS 42  – Anniston sites considered for national monument designation 

WBHM NPR – Big Push to Make AL Civil Rights Monuments National Parks 

Slideshow: Photos from Bham Now’s tour with Secretary Jewell & the Freedom Riders National Monument Public Hearing in Anniston

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Pat Byington
Pat Byington

Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.

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