A Highway Up From Darkness

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Getting There
Birmingham and Montgomery are reached by interstates. Montgomery is 90 miles south of Birmingham on I-65. Both cities have airports served by major carriers. Selma is 50 miles west of Montgomery on U.S. 80. Visitors considering a driving tour of the civil rights sites in all three cities should plan on taking at least two days.

Information Please
For overall information, the State of Alabama publishes an excellent free directory and tour guide of black heritage sites across the state. Call 800-ALABAMA. Alabama's website is www.touralabama.org.

U. S. 80 from Selma to Montgomery is a federally designated All-American Road. For details on stops along the way, contact the Federal Highway Administration at (800) 429-9297 or at www.byways.org/pages/index.html.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 16th St. N., (205) 328-9696, is open Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-5:00 and Sunday 1:00-5:00. Free admission on Thursdays only; a fee is charged the rest of the week Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, 1530 6th Ave. N., (205) 251-9402, is open Tuesday-Friday 10:00-4:00 and Saturdays by appointment; a $2.00 donation is requested. Worship services are open to anyone. The Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2200 Ninth Ave. N., (800) 458-8085, has information on other interesting Birmingham places.

The Montgomery Visitor Center, 401 Madison Ave., (334) 262-0013, can help you plan your visit. The Alabama State Capitol, 600 Dexter Ave., (334) 242-3935, is open Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00, Saturday 9:00-4:00, closed holidays; free, but donations accepted. Dexter Avenue-King Memorial Baptist Church is a block from the Capitol at 454 Dexter Ave., (334) 263-3970. It offers tours Monday-Friday; call at least a week in advance for tours; free, but donations accepted. Maya Lin's Civil Rights Memorial is at 400 Washington Ave., outside the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Selma's National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, 1012 Water Ave., (334) 418-0800, is open Tuesday-Saturday; there is an admission charge. For information on Selma's home tour and other historic sites, contact the Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce, 513 Lauderdale St., (800) 457-3562.

Lodging & Dining
Birmingham and Montgomery are both served by major lodging and restaurant chains. Birmingham's upscale Tutwiler Hotel, 2021 Park Place N., (205) 322-2100, is within walking distance of the Civil Rights District. Topnotch dining is available at several restaurants in the Five Points district, but Highlands Bar & Grill, 2011 11th Ave. S., (205) 939-1400, is hard to beat; reservations accepted. Visit Dreamland Bar-B-Que, 1427 14th Ave. S., (205) 933-2133, and Rib-It-Up, 830 1st Ave. N., (205) 328-7427, and decide for yourself which has the better hickory-smoked ribs.

Montgomery's downtown hotels include the Embassy Suites, 300 Tallapoosa St., (334) 269-5055 or (800) EMBASSY, and Guest House Inn and Suites, 120 Madison Ave., (334) 264-2231 or (800) 611-5868. Daytime visitors in the Capitol area can find an excellent cafeteria-style meal at the RSA Plaza, 770 Washington Ave., (334) 269-6090. Gourmet Southern cooking is available at the Young House Restaurant, 231 N. Hull St., (334) 262-0409.

In Selma, the recently renovated and enlarged St. James Hotel, 1200 Water Ave., (888) 264-6788, is a beautiful 1830s structure with balconies overlooking the Alabama River. Selma also has a fairly new Days Inn, 1120 Highland, (334) 872-0014. A local favorite is the Strong Sandwich Shop, 613 S. Division, (334) 874-9366.

Other Attractions
The Birmingham Civil Rights District, which includes the Civil Rights Institute and Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, also features the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, 1631 4th Ave. N. at 17th St., (205) 254-2731, free, open Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-5:00, Sunday 1:00-5:00. Located in the Carver Theater in the city's traditional old black business district, the museum highlights the accomplishments of greats such as Nat King Cole, Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington.

Montgomery has a Black Heritage Trail that points out locations central to the struggle for equal rights, from the corner of Molton and Montgomery streets, where a marker commemorates the site of Rosa Parks' arrest, to the Montgomery Greyhound station, where Freedom Riders were met with angry mobs. Maps are available at the Montgomery Visitor Center, which itself features a fascinating collection of historic Alabama buildings moved to the site and rebuilt.

Selma, in addition to its annual old homes pilgrimage, features a driving tour of black history sites, including Brown Chapel AME Church, 410 Martin Luther King St., jumping-off point for the Selma-to-Montgomery March (contact Selma's chamber of commerce, above, to arrange an inside tour), and the grave in Old Live Oak Cemetery (take Ala. hwy. 22 southwest from U.S. 80) of Benjamin S. Turner, elected in 1870 to the U.S. House of Representatives, the first black Alabaman ever to hold such an office.