Alabama: Birmingham

12-14 April 2022

We continued to be pelted with rain and hard rain until we were well into southern Tennessee. Early spring’s red buds gave way to dogwood and finally, in Alabama, wisteria grown into trees, wild by the side of the freeway. Pulling into our campground at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, there were a ton of wildflowers in bloom. We are rushing through the seasons with no way to savor the daily seasonal progression. Cup ever half full, these days allow us to experience the sights and people from different parts of the country. 

On our first full day in the Birmingham area, we took in the Botanical Garden. I’m sure that will be a memory we touch on for the rest of the trip.

On our second full day here, we were guests on the Red Clay Tours Civil Rights Tour of Birmingham. From Bull Connor to the Bethel Baptist Church, Poll Taxes and other impingements on voting, Freedom Riders, John Herbert Phillips Academy, to the 16th Street Baptist Church, our tour guide, Clay was knowledgeable and compassionate, with a touch of anger at the inhumanity of the whites that are his Birmingham neighbors. It was an enlightening tour.

We were then able to drive a few miles to see Vulcan, overlooking the city of Birmingham. He was made originally for the Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 by the iron workers of the city. He eventually made his way to the top of Red Mountain where a huge pedestal was built for His Hugeness, so that he could overlook the city. He’s visible from miles away given his size. There was a small museum there that documented some of the industrial history of the city. 

So, between the Civil Rights Tour and the museum at Vulcan, we had quite a day of Birmingham history. We turned the tv on after dinner and from what I can tell from the only political ads that were playing, everyone here hates Joe Biden. He’s personally responsible for our gas prices and inflation, don’t you know.

Civil Rights Tour

Clay, our tour guide, in front of the Bethel Baptist Church. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth escaped the bombing of his home, originally to the right of this structure, as he continued his civil rights work. He was severely beaten when he attempted to integrate the John Herbert Phillips Academy with his two daughters. His wife was stabbed and one of his daughters suffered a crushed ankle as she was trying to re-enter the car to escape the violence. Shuttlesworth eventually moved to Cincinnati.

I got chills when we were waiting for our tour guide and realized we were across the street from the church where the four young women where murdered.

A hopeful pose.

This piece is each of the four girls murdered in September 1963 at the 16th Street Baptist Church.

This was impressive.
Walking through, you could imagine Blacks being attacked similarly
—only with live dogs trained to attack them.

One of the impactful statues in Kelly Ingram Park

Children and teenagers were sprayed with fire hoses and arrested by the thousands
while attempting to gain equal rights, human rights, civil rights. 
The base reads: I AIN’T AFRAID OF YOUR JAIL

Walking around, the children become jailed.

Vulcan Park and Museum

A Louise Nevelson-esque piece with a 3-D collage of cast iron implements.
I recognize many from everyday life both today and in the past.

Vulcan: the world’s largest cast iron statue overlooks Birmingham, AL

If you’ve been to Ellis Island to see the Statue of Liberty, this photo is reminiscent of that!

View from the deck on the pedestal of the Vulcan statue.
Dan walked up 152 steps; others took the elevator! 😉

Any OD worth her salt would have taken this picture of “Eyes over Birmingham” at Vulcan Park. This is the 14th of a series of “Vulcans on Parade” and is located at the entrance to Vulcan Park. It was made by artist Ahmad Austin and is a way for low vision or legally blind individuals to be able to experience Vulcan, scaled down, up close. The colors mimic those of the kinetic sculpture “Complex Vision” located in the lobby of the UAB Eye Hospital.

Oak Mountain State Park Scenes

What else would this be called in the home state of the Crimson Tide?
This, of course, is Crimson Clover. I love it. I’ve never seen it before.
There’s not a lot of it, but it sure is pretty and different.

You know how you can’t get much on an iPhone when you try to take a full moon picture? 
Well, if you take a full moon, reflected on water, somehow that works better.
Of course, one contends with the insects making tiny waves….haha.

Twilight on Oak Mountain Lake

Tomorrow, we head to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Stay tuned.