We did it! Announcing the creation of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument

January 12, 2017 by Grant Stevens

Thanks to your support, we did it! The National Trust is proud to announce the creation of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument in Birmingham, Alabama. Over the next few months, the National Trust will continue working with City of Birmingham to develop and adopt an economically sustainable reuse plan and tax credit project at the A.G. Gaston to help preserve its civil rights legacy and to help revitalize the surrounding area.

Today, President Obama also designated Freedom Riders National Monument in Anniston, Alabama, which honors the legacy of activists who boarded buses at the site in a challenge to segregation, and Reconstruction Era National Monument on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, which originally functioned as an educational institution for formerly enslaved people following emancipation.

Join us in thanking President Obama for honoring these important pieces of history!

The Mother Road turns 100 years old in 2026—share your Route 66 story to celebrate the Centennial. Together, we’ll tell the full American story of Route 66!

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