The University of Alabama at Birmingham has entered into a partnership with the city of Birmingham to sponsor “50 Years Forward,” a commemoration of the 1963 civil rights movement in the city. The university has launched a website that serves as an information resource for events scheduled to be included in the year-long commemoration.
Birmingham Mayor William Bell, stated in announcing the partnership, “The City of Birmingham is proud to have UAB as a leadership partner in ‘50 Years Forward,’ the commemoration of the movement that changed the world. Here, on what is one of our nation’s most diverse campuses, the commemoration of the events of 1963 takes on a special meaning. Here at UAB, where the four little girls were taken to the emergency room after that bombing; here, where a hospital, cafeterias, and academic programs were integrated deftly and without violence.”
Richard Marchase, interim president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, added, “It is our honor to join together with others to mark the enduring legacy of this incredible and now-storied struggle to achieve equality – and to do so in a way that looks to the future. As we participate throughout the coming year in an ongoing celebration of the strength and determination of those who made progress possible, we do so as an institution committed to service, to excellence, to diversity, and to community involvement.”
Here is a video of Mayor Bell and President Marchase announcing the partnership.
