Born a slave in 1816 and emancipated as a young child, Shandy Wesley Jones was a successful barber who bought land with his savings. He pushed for blacks to move to Liberia in the antebellum period but emerged later as a leader of the local black community and started Tuscaloosa's first black Methodist church (now Hunter Chapel AME Zion) and black school. He was Tuscaloosa's first elected black representative to the State House
(1868-1870), and he hoped that his son could enter the University of Alabama.

Hunted during Reconstruction by the Ku Klux Klan, Jones fled to Mobile in 1876, where he pastored the Little Zion AME Zion Church. Shandy Jones died there in 1886 and was buried in Magnolia Cemetery. Jones was recognized in 2009 by the city of Tuscaloosa as the first black elected official from Tuscaloosa County to serve in the Capitol.

The Alston Building (also known as the Alston Place Building) is a seven-story office building located on the corner of Greensboro Avenue (originally called Market Street) and 6th Street in downtown Tuscaloosa. Built in 1909 on the site of the former Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, it was praised as Tuscaloosa's first ""skyscraper"" and locals bragged that it was the ""tallest building east of Chicago on a dirt road."" Its namesake, Samuel Fitts Alston, was a city alderman and president of City National Bank. Former Alabama governors George and Lurleen Burns Wallace were married in the Alston Building at the former justice of the peace office.

During the civil rights movement, the Alston Building housed the office of Robert Shelton, Imperial Wizard of the United Klans of America (UKA). From his three-room sui te on the fourth floor, Shelton directed one of the largest and most powerful Klan groups in the country. His followers numbered in the thousands, though many more backed the Klan's belief in white supremacy. By the 1980s, membership had dwindled to 1,500 after UKA members were indicted by a grand jury in connection with violent racial events in Talledega County. The group was later bankrupted after a lawsuit granted Michael Donald's mother $7 million after her teenage son was lynched by Klansmen in Mobile.

Bailey Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church was founded in December of 1870 when the last 45 black members of Tuscaloosa's First Methodist Church formed their own church. The original church building was designed by the first black architect in Alabama , Wallace A. Rayfield, and was named for Rev. Virgil L. Bailey, one of its early pastors.

Bailey Tabernacle played a crucial role during the fight for civil rights in Tuscaloosa. During the ""Bloody Tuesday"" incident on June 9, 1964, the sanctuary of First African Baptist Church was damaged by tear gas canisters hurled through the stained glass windows and water from fire hoses shot through the front door. It could no longer serve as the site for mass meetings of the black community. Bailey Tabernacle temporarily became the new nerve center of the movement.

A mass meeting at the church on June 10, 1964, drew about 350 blacks, including three ministers sent by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., to help plan the next stage of the movement: Rev. James Bevel, Rev. Richard Boone, and Rev. Harold Middlebrook. They and local ministers charted strategy and engaged in a dialogue with city officials as they continued the struggle for civil rights. Among the church's notable pastors was Rev. Dr. Willie Clyde Jones, who served for forty-five years, beginning in 1966, an active voice for civil rights until his death in 2016.

Tuscaloosa was the seat of Alabama State government from 1826 to 1846 when the state legislature met in a building here in Capitol Park. In 1833, the legislature enacted slave codes to regulate the lives of enslaved people as well as free persons of color. These codes, like those used widely in other southern states, reflected white views of blacks as undeserving of basic human rights and strictly regulated slave travel, education, employment, and marriage. They aimed at curbing the rising numbers of slaves running away from their masters, preventing slave rebellions, and maximizing profits for the slave owners.

After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves, the prom

Dinah Washington (1924-1963) was a legendary American jazz and blues singer born in Tuscaloosa. With such memorable recordings as ""What a Difference a Day Makes"" and
""Unforgettable,"" she earned the title ""Queen of the Blues."" She was inducted in to the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On August 29, 2013, Tuscaloosa dedica ted the former Allen & Jemison Hardware building as the newly renovated Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center. Washington spent her early years in Tuscaloosa before her father, frustrated by the ever-increasing violence by the Ku Klux Klan, moved the family to Chicago. In 2008, parts of 30th Avenue were renamed to Dinah Washington Avenue.

The Allen & Jemison building was built in 1878 as a one-story structure and continued to ex pand until 1911 when the four-story addition was built. After changing hands a few times, the building was to be demolished in 2008 before the city intervened.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal segregation in all public places, including movie theaters. Previously blacks were barred from entering theaters or forced to use separate entrances and sit in the balcony. The other option was to attend all-black theaters. Tuscaloosa was no exception. The Druid Theater and the Barna Theatre served white patrons only. An earlier version of the Barna Theatre-called the Ritz/Capri-had a balcony for black patrons. The Diamond Theater, located in a nearby black commercial area dubbed the Blue Front District, served the African-American community.

After the passage of the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964, blacks immediately tested the scope of their newfound rights. On the evening of July 8, 1964, a group of black teenagers entered the Druid Theater. When they were leaving they were met by a mob of whites. Armed blacks rushed to the scene and secreted the teenagers away under a hail of bottles and rocks. The next night an incident that brought Tuscaloosa into the national spotlight occurred.

Jack Palance, a movie actor who would win an Academy Award later in his life, was in town with his wife and children to visit relatives and attend a movie at the Druid Theater. Rumors surfaced that Palance and his family were in town to support integration. Another rumor mistakenly asserted Palance, who was heavily tanned, was a black man escorting a white woman into the theater. During the movie, the Palances endured a steady volley of insults. Once outside they confronted a mob of at least a thousand whites. The mob began throwing rocks and bricks at them, shattering the doors and windows of the Druid. Using fire hoses and tear gas to disperse the crowd, the police were able to escort the Palances to safety. Police subsequently imposed a curfew for several weeks.

First African Baptist Church played a central role in the fight for civil rights in Tuscaloosa because it was the home church of Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Jr., the most important local leader in the movement; the primary site for mass protest meetings; and the setting for the most violent local incident, known as "Bloody Tuesday." It sat next to Van Hoose-Freeman, and Mauldin (now Van Hoose & Steele), a black

In Tuscaloosa, four Christian denominations esta blished churches on or near Greensboro Avenue before the city itself was formally incorporated. Collectively they formed a critical core of leadership as the city grew and helped settle the question raised by the Declaration of Independence-are all men created equal? The churches generally answered ""no"" and supported the growth of a pro-slavery ideology that defined blacks as naturally inferior to whites. Exemplary of the early church leaders is Dr. Basil Manley, one of the earlier pastors of First Baptist, President of the University of Alabama, slaveholder, and ultimately Chaplain of the Confederacy.

These churches typically preached a version of Christianity that permitted slavery. They incorporated black members during slavery to varying degrees but always under white control and as unequal members. Some churches held separate services for blacks, others held biracial services but forced blacks to sit apart from whites. Importantly, most blacks worshipped on their own and out of the sight of the master, where they testified to their worth and dignity in front of God.

After the Civil War and emancipation, some blacks sought to remain in their antebellum churches but only as full-fledged congregants. When their request was denied, most joined one of the newly formed independent black churches, such as Hunter Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion (1866), First African Baptist (1866), Bailey Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal (1870), and Salem Presbyterian Church (1880, which was renamed Brown Memorial in 1932). These churches emerged as leaders in the fight for religious freedom, equality, justice, and education over the course of the next century. Many of their members were at the forefront of the modern civil rights movement.

Significan tly, Rev. Charles Stillman of First Presbyterian Church organized the Tuscaloosa Ministerial Institute in 1876 to educate local blacks. It later became Stillman College.

On June 11, 1963, Governor George C. Wallace would attempt to honor his pledge of not allowing integration into The University of Alabama by standing in the doorway of Foster Auditorium on the day of registration. He would stand there blocking two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling. President John F. Kennedy would step in, calling on the Alabama National Guard to allow students into the building using force if necessary. Governor Wallce would call it "an unwelcomed, unwanted, unwarranted, and force-induced intrusion upon the campus". Despite denouncing the actions, he could not win against the Guard, and he and federal marshals and Deputy United States Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach would have to step aside as Vivian and James were allowed in to enroll at the university. This event would become known as the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" incident.

The barbershop was one of the central gathering places for the black community a part from churches. In Tuscaloosa, the Howard-Linton Barbershop was a center for civil rights protest.

Long-time owner and civil rights leader Rev. Thomas Linton maintained the story of the local struggle by preserving and showcasing mementos and artifacts in his shop.

Beginning in the 1950s, black ministers met here and planned their campaign for civil rights. Autherine Lucy sought refuge here after a mob of about 1,000 whites threatened to kill her as she sought to be the first black to attend the University of Alabama. Here beauticians bathed and cleaned Lucy after she had been pelted with stones, garbage, and eggs. During ""Bloody Tuesday,"" injured blacks lined the floors of the barbershop and sought treatment after being beaten by police. Linton himself coordinated relief efforts with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

Rev. Thomas Linton played a critical role in the civil rights movement in Tuscaloosa. He worked closely with Rev. T. Y. Rogers Jr. to direct the local movement and served on the Tuscaloosa Citizens Action Committee. Working with former Tuscaloosa Mayor Snow Hinton and civic leader Ward McFarland, Linton helped blacks get jobs at the local mall. He convinced white leaders to hire blacks as clerks and cashiers outside of the black district. The Chamber of Commerce relied on Linton for references for jobs at department stores and businesses. Linton lived his conviction that everyone-black or white-should be treated fairly.

Hunter Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church, founded in the 1850s, is the oldest African American church organized in Tuscaloosa. First known as the Freemen Methodist Society, it was founded by Shandy Wesley Jones, a one-time slave who rose to become an advocate for black literacy and education. Jones won a seat in the Alabama House of Repre

In front of the Kress store the Druid City Transit Company maintained a popular bus stop. On May 5, 1962, six years after the federal courts had ruled segregation on public transportation to be unconstitutional, a white Druid Transit Co. bus driver ordered three black Stillman students and a high school student to give their seats to two white riders. An argument ensued. Rev. Willie Herzfeld, a Lutheran minister and civil rights activist, was summoned for help by other Stillman students who ran from the bus - Merjo Merri

Designed and built in the late antebellum era by William B. Robertson and featuring Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate flourishes, the Old Tuscaloosa City Jail boasts 28-inch-thick walls and heavy floors hewed from local timber. From 1856 to 1890 it served as the county jail and then as a boarding house and private residence. An historic marker on the corner of the property was erected by the Equal Justice Initia

Paul R. Jones's life was testament to his pursuit of justice in an exclusionary society. He graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC, in 1949. Jones applied and was accepted to the University of Alabama Law School-only to be rejected in February 1949 once Jones' identity as an African-American became known. A letter from William F. Adams, Dean of Admissions, made it clear that Jones' race was the reason for his rejection.

""While this may be gratuitous, I am adding that we at the University of Alabama are convinced that relation

The flagpole, erected by the city to honor its war dead, was the site of protest during the civil rights movement. It anchors the commercial corner of the city, at Greensboro Avenue and University Blvd. (formerly Broad Street), and has long been a meeting place for citizens.
During the attempt by Autherine Lucy to be the first black to attend the University of Alabama in 1956, white students and white extremists twice marched from the university to the flagpole to stage anti-integration protests.

On February 4, 1956, more than 1,000 people marched downtown from the university, singing ""Dixie."" They came to confront integration at the exact location Con

Blacks seeking to protest segregation often turned to sit-ins. Popularized in North Carolina in 1960 as a nonviolent way to call attention tp the righteousness of their cause, protestors would ask to be served at all-white lunch counters. If refused, the protestors would simply sit quietly and wait. Violence often came next, as angry whites jeered the activists, threw food at them, and even beat them at times.

As part of a local effort to desegregate restaurants and shops, Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Jr. and the Tuscaloosa Citizens for Action Committee first attempted to negotiate with downtown merchants. Unsuccessful, they began to picket businesses June 2, 1964, including S.H. Kress Store, F.W. Wool wor th, and H&W Drug Store, demanding that blacks be treated in the same manner as whites and be hired in well-paying positions. Demonstrators endured taunts, threats, and assaults. Segregationists often doused them with ""mustard oil,"" an acidy mix, which burned their eyes and skin. Between June 2 and June 5 some 60 demonstrators were treated in the hospital for mustard oil burns and air rifle wounds.

On June 3, 1964, approximately 30 blacks walked into Kress's and staged a sit-in at the lunch counter when their request to be served was ignored. When the police arrived, they left peacefully. The next day a similar incident occurred at Woolworth's. After being turned away from H&W Drugs, black protestors organized a small 100-person march downtown. Despite its peaceful character, the march angered many white segre