Tuscaloosa Civil Rights Trail

04/24/2026

COMING SOON: The short film, "The Movement of Champions" brought to you by the Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History & Reconciliation Foundation. The film reframes Tuscaloosa’s identity as “The City of Champions,” shifting the spotlight from athletic triumphs to the civil rights heroes whose courage shaped the city and the nation. Guided by lifelong Tuscaloosa residents, the film uncovers long‑silenced local histories—from youth‑led activism and Black entrepreneurship to pivotal moments of confrontation and sacrifice during segregation. Through personal reflection, historical context, and powerful storytelling, the film highlights the students, business owners, faith leaders, and everyday “foot soldiers” who fueled the movement, including the events surrounding Bloody Tuesday and the struggle to desegregate public schools. By connecting past activism to present‑day movements, "The Movement of Champions" honors unsung champions while reminding viewers how far the city has come—and how much work remains ahead.

03/26/2026

We're building momentum and look forward to celebrating a major milestone at Rev. Linton Plaza soon, with more updates to come.

03/06/2026

Bernard LaFayette, the advance man who did the risky groundwork for the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, that culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has died.

Bernard LaFayette III said his father died Thursday morning of a heart attack. He was 85.

On 7 March 1965, the beating of future congressman John Lewis and voting rights marchers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge led the evening news, shocking the nation’s conscience and pushing Congress to act. But two years before “Bloody Sunday”, it was LaFayette who quietly set the stage for Selma and the advances in voting rights that would follow.

LaFayette was one of a delegation of Nashville students who in 1960 helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organized desegregation and voting rights campaigns across the south. SNCC crossed Selma off its map after some initial scouting determined “the white folks were too mean and the Black folks were too scared”, LaFayette said.

But he insisted on trying anyway. Named director of the Alabama voter registration campaign in 1963, LaFayette moved to the town and, with his former wife, Colia Liddell, gradually built the leadership capacity of the local people, convincing them change was possible and creating momentum that could not be stopped. He described this work in a 2013 memoir, In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma.

SOURCE:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/05/bernard-lafayette-civil-rights-leader-dies

03/03/2026

On March 2, 2022 - four years ago today - Autherine Lucy Foster, who in 1956 became the first African-American student to enroll and attend classes at the University of Alabama, passed away at age 92.

Two days after her enrollment at the university, Foster, a native of Shiloh, Alabama, was expelled when violent mobs carried out campus riots in response to her admission.

The University would remain segregated for the next seven years until James Hood and Vivian Malone were admitted on June 11, 1963 by order of the federal courts.

Gov. George Wallace symbolically blocked their admission at the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" until President John Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard.

One week before her death, Foster participated in a ceremony on the UA campus during which a building previously named after Gov. Bibb Graves was renamed in her honor.

Among the items in our collection is the definitive history book about the integration of the University that is signed by Foster, Jones, Hood, and Wallace.

Because Wallace normally refused to sign items related to the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door," the book is believed to be the only item autographed by all of the principals involved in the integration of the University of Alabama and the man who opposed it.

02/21/2026

02/20/2026

We celebrate your life and legacy

02/13/2026

02/06/2026

02/04/2026

It took a retraction and a legal battle to open the door. Despite being barred initially due to her race, Autherine Lucy made history on Feb. 3, 1956. She was the first Black student admitted to the University of Alabama following a federal court order. https://tinyurl.com/4bbx7h5w

02/03/2026