The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is honoring Alabama’s historically Black colleges and universities with a new exhibit and permanent tribute recognizing their contributions to education, culture and the Civil Rights Movement.
The institute unveiled its HBCU Legacy Wall on Friday, featuring the names of all 14 institutions in the state and the years they were established. The wall will remain at the institute, while the accompanying exhibit, Historically Black: An Exhibit Honoring Alabama’s HBCU Legacy, will be on display through Dec. 12 in the
Odessa Woolfolk Gallery.
The exhibit features photographs, documents, artifacts and memorabilia representing the institutions, including items reflecting campus traditions, marching bands, choirs and homecomings.
Officials with BCRI also announced Alabama’s HBCUs will collectively receive the institute’s Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth Humanitarian Award. It is the first time in the organization’s history the award has gone to an entity rather than an individual.
A winning tradition at Lawson State
A signed basketball in the new exhibit honors the legacy of Eldridge Oliver Turner, a coach who helped establish Lawson State Community College as a force in junior college basketball.
Known as “Coach” to the students he taught and coached, Turner joined Wenonah State Junior College, now Lawson State, in 1965. Four years later, he became head basketball coach and athletic director.
Under Turner, the Cougars reached the top of the national junior college rankings. In the 1975-76 season, the team went 28-2, won the Alabama Junior College Conference and finished second in the nation, according to his obituary. The obituary also credits the Cougars with three consecutive Alabama junior college championships and a 47-1 record in conference games over three years.
Turner’s achievements earned him induction into the Alabama Junior College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Alabama A&M University Athletic Hall of Fame the following year.
Turner later served on the Fairfield Board of Education and as president of the Fairfield City Council.
HBCUs’ role in Birmingham’s civil rights history
Barry McNeely, historian at BCRI and a Miles College graduate, said the history of Alabama’s HBCUs is closely connected to the Civil Rights Movement.
“This exhibit belongs at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute,” McNeely said. “Because when we consider the narrative that is the narrative of the Civil Rights Movement, so much of it is connected to historically black colleges in this state and in this area.”
McNeely pointed to the selective-buying campaign led by Frank Dukes, a student leader at Miles College, as an example of the role HBCU students played in Birmingham’s movement. The campaign helped draw Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Birmingham in 1963, he said.
The exhibit also highlights the connections between HBCUs and prominent figures in Alabama history. Attorney Fred Gray attended Alabama State University and represented King and Rosa Parks. Richard Arrington Jr., Birmingham’s first Black mayor, graduated from Miles College. Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth attended Selma University and Alabama State University.
McNeely said the exhibit documents both the hardships and achievements of generations of students.
“These items tell stories of joy," he said. "They tell stories of struggle. They tell stories of perseverance, and they tell stories of overcoming."
Preserving the legacy requires investment
McNeely said celebrating the HBCUs’ histories must also include addressing the resources they need to continue educating students.
He raised concerns about funding for Alabama A&M University and said government support must match the recognition these institutions receive for their contributions.
A 2023 federal analysis highlighted historical funding disparities affecting land-grant HBCUs, including Alabama A&M.
“This all means absolutely nothing if we can’t preserve these institutions that are educating and lighting the way for our students’ future here in this state,” he said.
More than a classroom
HBCUs started because Black students were excluded from white educational settings. Mia Mothershed, an Alabama A&M University graduate who took in the exhibit Friday, said the displays show how the schools have had influence beyond the classroom.
“You’re educated not just on the HBCU experience, but you’re educated on how each HBCU and each HBCC has benefited and given back to the community,” Mothershed said.
That pride for HBCUs as an institution can overcome the rivalries of individual schools. Case in point — Mothershed married a former football player and Alabama State University graduate.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s exhibit features the histories of the following 14 institutions.
- Alabama A&M University — Huntsville
- Alabama State University — Montgomery
- Bishop State Community College — Mobile
- Gadsden State Community College — Gadsden
- J.F. Drake State Technical College — Huntsville
- Lawson State Community College — Birmingham
- Miles College — Fairfield
- Oakwood University — Huntsville
- Selma University — Selma
- Shelton State Community College — Tuscaloosa
- Stillman College — Tuscaloosa
- Talladega College — Talladega
- H. Councill Trenholm State Community College — Montgomery
- Tuskegee University — Tuskegee
