200 Alabama Bicentennial

 Alena Hutchinson
alena.hutchinson@archives.alabama.gov
Monday, February 10, 2020

Alabama African American History Celebrated in New Bicentennial Publication

The Alabama Bicentennial Commission announces the publication of “The Future Emerges from the Past: Celebrating 200 Years of Alabama African American History and Culture.” The beautifully designed coffee-table book recognizes and celebrates the people, places and events that have played an integral, but often overlooked, role in helping shape Alabama’s history and culture. A project of the Commission’s Alabama African American Heritage Committee with the generous support of AT&T Alabama, the book will formally debut at a press conference later this month. There State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey will recognize Regions Bank support for providing copies to Alabama schools. The book will be featured at book talks throughout the state this spring. Visit www.ALABAMA200.org for schedules and more information. Books are available for purchase at www.SHOPALABAMA200.com. Copies are $19.95 each and proceeds support the state office of the United Negro College Fund. The book includes eight distinct sections in which a team of distinguished scholars and writers guide the reader to discover details about African American involvement in the region that would become known as the “Heart of Dixie.” The book explores the effects of slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction on the black community; the origin of Alabama’s historically black colleges and universities and other fields of endeavor by African Americans who call Alabama home. The Alabama African American Heritage Committee’s goal was to illuminate how African Americans not only shaped Alabama history but also inspired global movements. The contents and details of this book developed over three years of composing and editing. The Alabama Bicentennial Commission, headed by Senator Arthur Orr, has worked steadily for three years to bring awareness of Alabama’s history and the people who made it. Guided by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement that “We are made by history,” the African American Heritage Committee’s publication is a bicentennial legacy project.