Reviewed by: Pat Byington
2 Birmingham Civil Rights sites to be nominated for World Heritage List
Reading time: 4 minutes
This week, the National Parks Service was authorized to prepare a potential nomination for 11 U.S. Civil Rights Movement sites across the country for the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Two of those sites are located right here in The Magic City—read on to learn more about the nominated sites and why they were added.
2 Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument sites to be nominated for UNESCO World Heritage List
According to a press release, the National Parks Service has been authorized to prepare a potential World Heritage List nomination for 11 U.S. Civil Rights Movement sites—including Birmingham’s own Historic Bethel Baptist Church and 16th Street Baptist Church.
Administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Heritage List identifies and protects sites deemed to have universal significance. Currently, the World Heritage List consists of 1,199 sites in 168 countries, including 25 in the United States.
To be added to the World Heritage List, a site must be nominated by its host country and evaluated by an international committee. The 11 U.S. Civil Rights Movement sites being considered for nomination are:
- Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (Montgomery, Alabama)
- Bethel Baptist Church (Birmingham, Alabama)
- 16th Street Baptist Church (Birmingham, Alabama)
- Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma, Alabama)
- Greyhound Bus Terminal (Anniston, Alabama)
- Little Rock Central High School (Little Rock, Arkansas)
- Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Monroe Elementary School (Topeka, Kansas)
- Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home (Jackson, Mississippi)
- Robert Russa Moton High School/Museum (Farmville, Virginia)
- Lincoln Memorial and Grounds (Washington, District of Columbia)
“The U.S. sites that mark the civil rights movement are integral in helping us tell a full and complete story of American history.
We are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of preserving these stories as part of our enduring effort to pursue a more perfect union.
A nomination of these sites to the World Heritage List would further recognize the pain, redemption and healing associated with these historical sites and honor the civil rights heroes who bravely sat, marched and fought to secure equality for all Americans.”
Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
About 16th Street Baptist Church and Historic Bethel Baptist Church
Both included in the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Bethel Baptist Church and 16th Street Baptist Church are two historic sites integral to the Civil Rights Movement.
Located at 3200 29th Avenue North in Collegeville, the historic Bethel Baptist Church served as the original headquarters for the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR). Both the church and ACMHR were led by Reverand Fred Shuttlesworth, a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
Located at 1530 6th Avenue North in Birmingham, 16th Street Baptist Church was one of the headquarters and rallying points for peaceful protests during the Birmingham Campaign of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, the church was bombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, who killed four young girls and injured dozens more. The horror of the attack shocked the country, which helped galvanize lawmakers to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act the following year.
What’s next for these Civil Rights Movement sites?
Before submitting the list to the World Heritage List, the U.S. Department of the Interior will collaborate with partners and consult with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage.
If the list is submitted, the 11 U.S. Civil Rights Movement sites will be evaluated by the World Heritage Committee, which consists of representatives from 21 nations elected from members of the World Heritage Convention.
Excited to see these two Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument sites potentially nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List? Tag us @bhamnow to let us know!
