Category Archives: civil rights

Birmingham Civil Rights, Birmingham Historical Society, City of Birmingham, civil rights, Coal Mines, family history

Did You Know These Men from the Virden Coal Mine Massacre?

In 1898, the town of Virden, Illinois advertised for 175 black coal miners to leave Birmingham on September 22nd, in order to work the mines in Illinois. However, the intent was that they be involved in the labor union strike which became a deadly battle known as the Massacre of Virden on October 12th, 1898. This October will be the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Virden in which they were involved, and the Union Miners Cemetery and Mother Jones Museum is seeking any information on these men to enrich the education of those attending their anniversary celebration. Did you know them?

Today, (125 years) after the bloody Battle of Virden, there is an even more pressing need to explain how this intense battle came about, who the union fighters were, what they achieved, and failed to achieved, and why the lessons of Virden are still relevant to working people today.

Mother Jones was a fearless fighter for workers’ rights and wanted to be known as the ‘mother of all agitators’. She is buried in the Union Miners Cemetery and is the namesake for the museum where the anniversary event will be held.

“In 1897, the United Mine Workers launched a strike for a living wage in the coal fields. Jones was a strategic part of the union since that time. For her, it was more than about union contract. She argued that ordinary miners should direct their economic destiny and that the public  should own the coal and natural resources, not corporations. She believed in organizing at the community level to demonstrate workers capacity for managing their destiny. She believed that the so-called unskilled worker, immigrants and African-Americans should be the base of the new movement. She put women and children at the center of struggles in the coal fields, making a family-based movement.

One of the Jones’ key contributions was building workers’ commitment to unionism that bridged racial and ethnic divisions.”

Excerpted from Mother Jones Museum
Birmingham Civil Rights, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Public Library, BOOK, civil rights, family history

From the Pantheon in Rome to Lawson State Community College

The anti-slavery story of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, is one of the most influential books in American History. First published in 1852, prior to the Civil War, it pointed out the appalling realities of American slavery and subsequently, it was once banned in Alabama. So when a very rare 1880 edition was discovered in Rome, Italy, by Italian lawyer Arlene Rochlin, a descendant of the Blach family department stores in Birmingham, she knew it needed to be housed in an historically Black college in her grandparent’s hometown. (Read the entire article by Kyra Miles on WBHM.org)

Lawson State Community College now has the book proudly on display in their library and it is a part of their permanent collection.

Some modern scholars have called the book condescending but in the 19th century, it was recognized as a best selling novel, second in sales only to The Bible. However, by the 20th century, unauthorized stage plays & films were too often demeaning and insensitive with a political or financial agenda and were loathed by the African American community. The character of Uncle Tom was distorted and offensive. Unfortunately, Stowe had no control over these alterations of her story and the resulting stereotypes. Despite this, today, the original novel is still considered a landmark of ‘protest literature’ and Christian forbearance.

The story of its publication is interesting as well as it’s been in continuous print since 1852, although with ever-changing publishers and controversy. Read more about it HERE and then re-read the novel!

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History of the Cake Walk

While most of us know a cake walk to be a joyful celebration where the best bakers have an opportunity to show off their skills, it wasn’t always that way! In fact, the cake walk had its origins in Afro-American history:

The cakewalk was a pre-Civil War dance originally performed by slaves on plantation grounds. The uniquely American dance was first known as the “prize walk”; the prize was an elaborately decorated cake. Hence, “prize walk” is the original source for the phrases “takes the cake” and “cakewalk.”

From NPR: The Extraordinary Story of Why a Cakewalk Wasn’t Always Easy

The dance soon became a ragtime favorite, with many musical versions available including the sheet music below. So when you circle that cake table at Birmingham Historical Society’s annual meeting on February 27th, consider its origins!

Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “a black American entertainment having a cake as prize for the most accomplished steps and figures in walking; a stage dance developed from walking steps and figures typically involving a high prance with backward tilt; an easy task.” 

The Cakewalk seems to have begun in the days of slavery, when black folks strutted along in a fanciful manner in imitation of formal white dancing. Supposedly the name comes from the custom of the master awarding a cake to the couple who put on the best performance. The dance came back around in the twentieth century when white folks started to imitate the black version.

From Mary Miley’s Roaring Twenties, “Just What is a Cake Walk”?

Join us for the BHS cakewalk on February 27th. And bring your favorite childhood cake. More information on when and where HERE.

Arthur Shores, Birmingham Civil Rights, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, Churches, civil rights, Dynamite Hill, family history, Fred Shuttlesworth, Research, Smithfield

“Dynamite Hill” unveiled Sunday, December 11th at Tabernacle Baptist Church

The Birmingham Historical Society’s newest book has 13 first-hand accounts of what it was like to grow up on Dynamite Hill, the neighborhood that was repeatedly bombed in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Barbara Shores, the daughter of civil rights activist and attorney Arthur Shores, along with Marjorie White, director of BHS, bring those stories to life with childhood memories, photos, and historical background.

Ryan Michaels with The Birmingham Times, interviews Shores and White prior to the event on Sunday in this article. Shores notes that many young people who have grown up in Birmingham are unaware of the significance of Dynamite Hill in breaking the racial barriers that existed in housing and schools. It’s a story that needs to be told and retold! Please mark your calendars for Sunday’s event:

Birmingham’s Dynamite Hill” will be unveiled on Sunday, Dec. 11 at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 600 Center St. North in Birmingham’s Graymont neighborhood, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Please note that this and other BHS publications will also be available locally at SHOPPE in Forest Park, via USPS and online HERE

Arthur Shores, Birmingham Civil Rights, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, civil rights, Dynamite Hill, family history, Fred Shuttlesworth, Historic Preservation, Smithfield

Autograph Party for Birmingham’s Dynamite Hill – December 11, 2-4PM

You’re invited to attend an autograph party of our newest publication, Birmingham’s Dynamite Hill, with speakers who grew up on the hill in the 1950s and 1960s. The event will be at the Tabernacle Baptist Church at 600 Center Street in the Center Street Historic District of Smithfield on December 11th, 2022, 2-4 PM. Please plan to attend!