Alabama Heritage Magazine

Last updated

Alabama Heritage
Alabama Heritage, Summer 2013.jpg
Cover for the Summer 2013 issue featuring Bear Bryant
EditorSusan E. Reynolds, PhD
DirectorRebecca Todd Minder
Categories History, Alabama
FrequencyQuarterly
Circulation 10,000
Publisher University of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Alabama Department of Archives and History
First issueSummer 1986 [1]
Country United States
Based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
LanguageEnglish
Website www.alabamaheritage.com
ISSN 0887-493X

Alabama Heritage ( ISSN   0887-493X) is a nonprofit educational quarterly history magazine first published during the summer of 1986. It is published by the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The magazine was conceived with a broad conception of "heritage," incorporating more than traditional history. Issues include articles about archaeology, architecture, anthropology, religion, folk arts, literature, and music. Alabama Heritage, through support from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is available in every school in the state of Alabama.

Contents

History

Community Impact

Alabama Heritage's award-winning feature writing has made an impact in historic preservation (see "Places in Peril" below) and also in politics. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed the Scottsboro Boys Act in 2013, which finally and officially exonerated the Scottsboro Boys (nine African-American teens, wrongfully convicted of raping two white women in 1931. Only one was pardoned before his death.) The Alabama Heritage feature on the Scottsboro Boys -- "Awaiting Justice: The Improbable Pardon of 'Scottsboro Boy' Clarence Norris" by Tom Reidy (Issue 105, Summer 2012) —was handed to Gov. Bentley with a plea for a pardoning from Sheila Washington, director of Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center. [5] [6] Also, Sherman W. White Jr., one of the Tuskegee Airmen was finally honored after an article in Alabama Heritage magazine prompted his hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, to create a historic marker in his honor. [7]

Becoming Alabama

In 2010, Alabama Heritage—in partnership with the Summersell Center for Study of the South, the University of Alabama Department of History, and the Alabama Tourism Department—created a regular department in Alabama Heritage magazine as a part of the statewide "Becoming Alabama" initiative—a cooperative venture of state organizations to commemorate Alabama's experiences related to the Creek War, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement. Quarter by quarter, the Becoming Alabama stories detail the corresponding seasons 200, 150, and 50 years ago—sometimes describing pivotal events, sometimes describing daily life, but always illuminating a world in flux. [8]

Places in Peril

Inspired by the National Trust's yearly listing of "America's Most Endangered Historic Places," a handful of Alabama preservationists decided to develop a similar roster for their own state. The initial list of ten sites, then referred to as "Alabama's Most Endangered Properties," came out in 1994, first as a media release, then as a full article in the fall issue of Alabama Heritage magazine. Annually since then—in a joint undertaking between the Alabama Historical Commission, the Alabama Trust, and Alabama Heritage—more threatened landmarks have been highlighted in the feature now called "Places in Peril." These 216 properties represent a broad array of places depicting Alabama's story from prehistoric times to the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. Of the 216 properties listed as Places in Peril in the past twenty years, approximately 59 are no longer endangered, and 35 have been destroyed. The verdict is still out on the remaining 122 sites. Some of the success stories may have had a connection to being listed. Locust Hill in Tuscumbia, for example, was on the market when it was included in Places in Peril in 2004. The media attention given to the site inspired a couple to purchase the building as their home. In 1998 the Queen City Pool in Tuscaloosa was abandoned with an uncertain future. Today, the property has been restored as the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum. The annual list has encouraged property owners, city officials, local organizations, and potential buyers to preserve these properties and keep them viable. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottsboro, Alabama</span> City in Alabama, United States

Scottsboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Alabama, United States. The city was named for its founder Robert T. Scott. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 15,578.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuscaloosa, Alabama</span> City in Alabama, United States

Tuscaloosa is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-most populous city, the population was 99,600 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 110,602 in 2022. It was known as Tuskaloosa until the early 20th century. It is also known as "the Druid City" because of the numerous water oaks planted in its downtown streets since the 1840s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottsboro Boys</span> Racism-based miscarriage of justice

The Scottsboro Boys were nine African-American male teenagers accused of raping two white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before the suspects had been indicted, all-white juries, rushed trials, and disruptive mobs. It is commonly cited as an example of a legal injustice in the United States legal system.

Alabama has played a central role in the development of both blues and country music. Appalachian folk music, fiddle music, gospel, spirituals, and polka have had local scenes in parts of Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute's School of Music, especially the Tuskegee Choir, is an internationally renowned institution. There are three major modern orchestras, the Mobile Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra; the last is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in the state, giving its first performance in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haywood Patterson</span> American writer

Haywood Patterson was one of the Scottsboro Boys. He was accused of raping Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. He wrote a book about his experience, Scottsboro Boy.

The 1893 Alabama Crimson White football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1893 college football season. The team was led by head coach Eli Abbott and played their home games at Lakeview Park in Birmingham and The Quad in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In what was the second season of Alabama football, the team finished with a record of zero wins and four losses (0–4).

The 1905 Alabama Crimson White football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1905 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was Alabama's 13th overall and 10th season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach Jack Leavenworth, in his first year, and played their home games at both the University of Alabama Quad in Tuscaloosa and the Birmingham Fairgrounds in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of six wins and four losses.

The 1906 Alabama Crimson White football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1906 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was Alabama's 14th overall and 11th season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach J. W. H. Pollard, in his first year, and played their home games at both the University of Alabama Quad in Tuscaloosa and the Birmingham Fairgrounds in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of five wins and one loss.

The 1907 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1907 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 15th overall and 12th season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach J. W. H. Pollard, in his second year, and played their home games at the University of Alabama Quad in Tuscaloosa, the Birmingham Fairgrounds in Birmingham, Highland Park in Montgomery and at Monroe Park in Mobile, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of five wins, one loss and two ties.

Milton Carver Davis is an American lawyer who researched and advocated for the pardon of Clarence Norris, the last surviving Scottsboro Boy.

The 1915 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1915 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 23rd overall and 20th season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach Thomas Kelley, in his first year. It was in 1915 Alabama moved its on campus home games from The Quad, where all on-campus home games had been played since 1893, and to a new location, University Field. Home games were also played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with an overall record of 6–2 record and mark of 5–0 in the SIAA.

An Alabama's Colored Women's Club refers to any member of the Alabama Federation of Colored Women's Club, including the "Ten Times One is Ten Club", the Tuskegee Women's Club, and the Anna M. Duncan Club of Montgomery. These earliest clubs united and created the Alabama Federation of Colored Women's Club in 1899. By 1904, there were more than 26 clubs throughout Alabama. The most active ones were in Birmingham, Selma, Mobile, Tuskegee, Tuscaloosa, Eufaula, Greensboro, and Mt. Megis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Alabama</span> 22nd U.S. state, located in Southern U.S.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Alabama:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation in Alabama</span>

Alabama's first aeronautical event was on 10 March 1910 with the flight of a Wright biplane flown by Orville Wright in Montgomery, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard S. Jaffe</span>

Richard S. Jaffe is an American lawyer, legal analyst, leadership coach, and author of Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned. Jaffe is considered one of the foremost experts and lecturers on criminal law in America and is frequently called upon to comment on death penalty issues and other areas of criminal law by national television, radio and print media.

Alabama literature includes the prose fiction, poetry, films and biographies that are set in or created by those from the US state of Alabama. This literature officially began emerging from the state circa 1819 with the recognition of the region as a state. Like other forms of literature from the Southern United States, Alabama literature often discusses issues of race, stemming from the history of the slave society, the American Civil War, the Reconstruction era and Jim Crow laws, and the US Civil Rights Movement. Alabama literature was inspired by the latter's significant campaigns and events in the state, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Selma to Montgomery marches.

The Scottsboro Boys Museum is located at 428 West Willow Street in Scottsboro, Alabama, in the United States. Its focus is on the Scottsboro Boys case, which involved nine young African American men falsely accused in 1931 of raping two white women while hoboing aboard a freight train.

References

  1. Wheat, Jack. Award Puts Alabama Heritage in Tall Cotton, The Tuscaloosa News "Award Puts Alabama Heritage in Tall Cotton". Published 1987-07-19
  2. LeComte, Richard. UA's Alabama Heritage Magazine Marks 25 Years, 101 Issues, UA News "UA's Alabama Heritage Magazine Marks 25 Years, 101 Issues" Archived 2014-08-23 at the Wayback Machine . Published 2011-08-09
  3. Tuscaloosa Paranormal Research Group. Kilgore House, Tuscaloosa Paranormal Research Group "Kilgore House". Published 2009-05
  4. The University of Alabama. Faculty and Staff Accolades, NewsCenter .
  5. McWhorter, Andy, “Years Later, Scottsboro Boys to be Pardoned,” The Crimson White, http://cw.ua.edu/2013/07/03/years-later-scottsboro-boys-to-be-pardoned/, Published July 3, 2013
  6. Wallingsford, Danielle, “Exoneration Movement for Scottsboro Boys Underway,” The Clarion, http://www.theclarion.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4853:exoneration-movement-for-scottsboro-boys-underway&catid=42:clarion-rotation-stories&Itemid=142 Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine , Published September 19, 2012
  7. Alabama Blackbelt History. Tuskegee Airman Finally gets his Due "Tuskegee Airman Finally gets his Due" Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine .
  8. Alabama Department of Archives and History, http://www.archives.alabama.gov/BA/press_release_101006.pdf
  9. Gamble, Robert S. Historic Architecture in Alabama: A Guide to Styles and Types, 1810-1930, University of Alabama Press (1990), 978-0817311346.

Further reading