The Orbis

Media Credit: Photo by Michael Robie Current Events Editor [Click to enlarge]

Rusty grey bars removed from the Birmingham city jail and awkwardly placed in the pristine display of a recreated jail cell stand out as a highlight of a heart warming and inspiring exhibit in the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with their scintillating beauty" wrote the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. behind bars in his famous "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail."

The bars of the jail cell where he wrote the letter are now immortalized in part of a large exhibit. Vanderbilt students visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on a trip sponsored by The Office of Intercultural Affairs and Diversity Education and the Black Student Alliance in celebration of Black History Month.

The Institute shares the corner of 16th street and 6th avenue, also home to the world famous 16th street Baptist church. On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist church killing four young girls. That event would be one among many that would catapult the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr. onto the world stage.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute opened in 1992. Each year, the Institute brings new events. Highlights from 2004 included a conference in April titled "Brown at 50: Where do we go from here?" In May, they hosted a walking tour of civil rights milestones in the 4th avenue business district. In June there was a cultural celebration and in June and July an institute for teachers. The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights award dinner was held in November.

Reverend Shuttlesworth was pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights in 1965 and was an influential founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which would eventually become famous for its use of nonviolence to challenge segregation laws.

Upcoming events for the month of March include a conference highlighting the role of women in the Civil Rights Movement. Titled "Trailblazers Part II: Women Making A Difference In Birmingham," the conference will be held March 18th from 6-8 p.m. More information is available online at www.bcri.org.

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