Alabama leaders celebrate new Civil Rights Trail Market at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport

The airport is a person’s first introduction to the city when visiting Birmingham, and Alabama leaders seek to make an immediate impression on visitors through Birmingham’s rich civil rights history. 

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Alabama Tourism Director and author Lee Sentell, the Birmingham Airport Authority and leadership from Hudson, the leading North American travel retailer, held a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the Civil Rights Trail Market, a retail store in the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport that teaches visitors about the Birmingham Civil Rights movement through merchandise, at the airport on Aug. 24. 

The store features a mural highlighting the local and national civil rights movement, the Official U.S. Civil Rights Trail Book written by Sentell, and branded Civil Rights Movement merchandise, according to a press release. 

 “You often get a first impression from a city based on what you see at the airport,” Woodfin said. “Every city airport I’ve visited recently has found a way to acknowledge its past and how far they have come. They acknowledge their heroes and those who have made an impact in their community. It’s great to see Birmingham in a position to proudly acknowledge our own heroes like Fred Shuttlesworth and recognize our rich civil rights history as a way to educate visitors in the future.”