Birmingham Segregation History Walking Exploration Tour

This tour peals back the façade and reveals the true and devastating experience that was the day to day life of African Americans in the most segregated city in the country. Led by Wilhelmina Thomas, who is a storyteller, a needlewoman and a craftivist who grew up on the west side of Birmingham, Alabama in the Riley, Wenonah and Hillman communities. She attended Wenonah Elementary, Riley Elementary and Jones Valley High Schools. Her earliest memories include the church, the civic league and the Civil Rights Movement. It is these lived experiences which fuel passion about Afro, Afro American and Birmingham history.

Meeting Point

285 20th St N

285 20th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203, USA

285 20th Street North, Birmingham, AL 35206 - on the SouthEast corner of 20th Street North and 3rd Avenue North...This is DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM - not Irondale (please check your GPS)

What to expect:

Duration: between 1 hour and 1 hour, 30 minutes

Birmingham Historic Touring Company

219 20th St N Suite A, Birmingham, AL 35203, USA

Your tour begins at our shop and proceeds down 20th street toward 4th Ave North covering the Black contributions to the founding of Birmingham

15 minutes

4th Avenue North

4th Ave N, Birmingham, AL, USA

This leg of the tour covers the 1926 Red Line Zoning laws, the Palm Leaf Hotel, and the Chitlin' Circut.

Pass by without stopping

Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park

1727 4th Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203, USA

A park and statues dedicated to our local founder of the Temptations

10 minutes

4th Avenue Business District

1721 4th Ave N, Birmingham, 35203-5000, Alabama

The remnants of our once dynamic "city within a city" with possible stop in Nelson Brothers and Green Acres.

Pass by without stopping

Civil Rights District

, , Birmingham, 35203, Alabama

This is the center of the Civil Rights National Historic Monument

Pass by without stopping

Carver Theater

1631 4th Ave N, , Birmingham, 35203-1903, Alabama

One of the best Black theaters - now the Jazz Hall of Fame...also you will see the Prince Hall "Colored" Masonic Lodge

10 minutes

Kelly Ingram Park

5th Ave N at 16th St, , Birmingham, 35203, Alabama

Kelly Ingram Park is an improved public park that contains emotionally powerful sculptures depicting the civil rights struggle in Birmingham. The park served as an assembly spot for activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other groups in the movement.

15 minutes

16th Street Baptist Church

16th St & 6th Ave, , Birmingham, 35203, Alabama

The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, stands as a poignant symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, marked by its tragic history as the site of a racially motivated bombing in 1963, which resulted in the loss of four young girls. This historic church remains a powerful testament to the struggle for civil rights and a focal point in the ongoing journey toward racial equality in the United States.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

A.G. Gaston Motel

1510 5th Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203, USA

The A.G. Gaston Motel, built by prominent African American businessman and entrepreneur, Arthur George Gaston (1892-1996), provided first-class lodging and dining in Birmingham, Alabama, to African American travelers. Designed by Birmingham-based architect Stanley B. Echols, the motel opened in 1954

10 minutes

Lyric Theatre

1800 3rd Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203, USA

Our only standing theater that allowed mixed (though still segregated) audiences

10 minutes