City: Birmingham, AL

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (205) 328-9696

Insider Pick:

Description: The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has received considerable international acclaim for its efforts to promote human rights worldwide by drawing on the experience of the American Civil Rights Movement here in Birmingham. The BCRI has worked with a number of other prestigious human-rights organizations to spread the message of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham and help foster human-rights education. The state-of-the-art facility located in Birmingham’s historic Civil Rights District faces Kelly Ingram Park and is flanked by the 16th Street Baptist Church, two additional civil rights attractions. A walk through the museum features a number of moving images and displays beginning with Birmingham’s own civil-rights struggle followed by an exhibition on the broader Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The tour concludes with a powerful gallery on international human-rights injustices and a plea for humanity to work together to respect the intrinsic rights of the individual to put an end to current human-rights violations. In addition, the BCRI also houses thousands of documents on and from the Civil Rights Movement in the Richard Arrington Jr. Resource Gallery. Since 2002 the BCRI has awarded the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award annually to an individual displaying, “A philosophy of non-violence and reconciliation, courage, both moral and physical in the face of great odds, humility, leadership by example and an established commitment to human-rights activities.” The award’s first recipient was Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, and has been followed by Congressman John Lewis, actor Danny Glover, and activist Dorothy Cotton, among others. The BCRI is open 6 days a week and closed on Mon. Admission is $15, but discounts are available to seniors and students. The Institute features a number of exhibitions and special events every year.