BCRI reverses decision, reaffirms award for controversial activist Angela Y. Davis
In an attempt to right what they are now calling a wrong, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) is reversing a recent decision they made to rescind an award for controversial, political activist Angela Davis. That latest move comes in the wake of public outcry over the BRCI’s decision to rescind the award following complaints from the Jewish community. On Jan. 14, the BCRI issued a public apology to Davis for “its missteps in conferring, then rescinding, its nomination” of her for the BCRI’s 2018 Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award. Immediately after that public apology, the Board voted to reaffirm Dr. Davis as the recipient. “Dr. Angela Davis, a daughter of Birmingham, is highly regarded throughout the world as a human rights activist,” said BCRI President and CEO Andrea L. Taylor. “In fact, the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study acquired her personal archives in 2018, recognizing her significance in the movement for human rights, her involvement in raising issues of feminism, as well as her leadership in the campaign against mass incarceration. Her credentials in championing human rights are noteworthy,” she said. Reverend Thomas L. Wilder, interim BCRI Board Chair, said “at the end of the day, we stand for open and honest dialogue on issues. It is only through our ability to talk openly and honestly with one another that we can achieve true understanding and appreciation for one another’s perspectives. We look forward to continuing the Institute’s legacy as we foster dialogue and open communications, improve our Board governance and policies, and stay focused on our Vision 2020 strategic plan.” BCRI’s Vision 2020 Strategic Plan Wilder said that BCRI’s Vision 2020 strategic plan is based on four guiding goals: To accelerate the reach of the Institute by doubling the number of visitors by 2020, by building greater awareness, and by attracting significantly larger audiences, year over year; To promote the success of the newly designated Civil Rights National Monument; To facilitate superb programming that optimizes the Institute’s own educational, curatorial and archival assets; and, To build a healthy, adaptive and sustainable institution that is both financially self-sufficient and nationally significant. “We ask everyone to partner with us to rebuild trust in the Institute and its important work,” Wilder said.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute celebrates 25 years of education, dialogue and history
The dignified domed building on 16th Street North in downtown Birmingham looks as though it was always meant to be there. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) is flanked by historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to the north and Kelly Ingram Park to the east. This year, the BCRI is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington Jr. said establishing the institute was a priority when he was elected to office in 1979. He put together a 21-member task force that eventually led to the opening of the facility. “It was very important to me that young people understand the history here,” said Arrington, Birmingham’s first African-American mayor, who is now a professor at Miles College. “It is easy to think that things have always been the way they are now, but what happened in Birmingham in the 1960s is not ancient history.” The BCRI, which opened in November 1992, recalls a time in Birmingham’s history that many initially wanted to forget. Some opposed the creation of the institute. Today, many recognize and laud the institute for confronting the city’s past, shining a light on international civil rights issues and honoring the foot soldiers who sacrificed to end segregation and help make Birmingham the city it is today. Since its opening, more than 2 million people have visited the BCRI, and its role today is more important than ever. “Almost everyone would agree that this is a very challenging and troubling time in our history,” said BCRI President and CEO Andrea Taylor. “We can play a very important role by providing a place where people can gain factual information and share dialogue; by providing a place where people have an opportunity to interact with different people by building coalitions; and by providing a place where people can continue to learn, share and grow in an increasingly complex society.” Birth of the BCRI Arrington has been a part of the BCRI since its planning stages, but he has always credited the idea to late Birmingham Mayor David Vann, who visited a Holocaust museum in Israel and returned to Birmingham with a mounting interest in establishing a civil rights museum. Vann lost his bid for re-election, but Arrington pledged that he would continue the commitment to build a museum dedicated to the people who gave their lives for equality. Arrington tapped civic leader Odessa Woolfolk in 1986 to lead the institute’s task force, which had a goal of formulating the plans — from mission statement to content and design. Talent was recruited from the city’s education, arts and business communities to work on the project. “What happened here in Birmingham was transformative,” said Woolfolk, BCRI founding board chair. “We wanted to tell the story of how a movement of nonviolence was used to resolve conflict.” Woolfolk, who grew up in Titusville, was the ideal person to chair the task force. She was an educator who had public policy experience, and she had vivid memories of the bomb that ripped through the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and when nonviolent groups were met with fire hoses and snarling dogs. Plus, she was a teacher at historic Ullman High School during the civil rights movement in Birmingham. Woolfolk knew instantly that she wanted to be a part of creating such a monument in the city. Old wounds Those years of steering the task force were difficult, Woolfolk recalled. It was a challenge to convince so many people that the institute was necessary to educate a new generation of children who had not witnessed what happened. “People just wanted to forget the pain of that time,” she said. Arrington agreed with Woolfolk. “No one wanted to open old wounds,” he said, pointing out some in the business community, whom felt the BCRI would be only for black patrons and, worse, cause a backlash against whites in the city. Blacks had reservations about the project, too, because they didn’t trust the city to get the story right. Nonetheless, the city’s history had to be told — openly and honestly. Members of the original task force, including Ed LaMonte, a retired Birmingham-Southern College political science professor, and Robert Corley, a professor in the Department of History at UAB, said the BCRI had to address some uncomfortable subjects. “I remembered the (Sixteenth Street Baptist) church bombing,” said Corley, who grew up in Birmingham and was the regional director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. “I was (5 years old) when the demonstrations happened, and at the time I was trying to figure out my values and how I fit into the world.” “I was very eager to be a part of it,” Corley continued. “We wanted it to be not just a museum but an institute where there is an ongoing discussion. We also needed something that could educate children here about what really happened.” Funding Arrington placed two bond issues before voters in Birmingham: one that included revenue for schools, recreation and public works; and another to fund a civil rights museum. Both times, items involving the museum failed. Arrington persisted and was able to generate the $12 million necessary to build the institute, but he still encountered resistance from Birmingham’s corporate community. However, when business leaders had the opportunity to view plans for the facility, along with the storyline for the exhibition, they eventually came to understand the potential and offered their backing, raising an additional $5 million to complete the exhibition and provide financial support through the first several years of operation. Woolfolk continued to push forward, and eventually the task force made decisions on the design and exhibitions. She especially wanted to give credit to Birmingham’s foot soldiers, those residents who were on the front lines and made a huge difference during the city’s demonstrations. Doors opened After eight years of planning, the doors of the 28,000-plus-square-foot building opened in 1992—with many who had been opposed now onboard. Woolfolk noted that those same business leaders that were hesitant to support the institute had come around and were investing in it. “When there was something to look at, we got
