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Alyx Chandler
The program ended with the unveiling the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument.
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Alyx Chandler
The crowd listens to the reading of the Presidential Proclamation by City Councilor James Roberson, Jr.
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Alyx Chandler
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Dedication Celebration took place on Saturday, April 15, to officially unveil the monument sign and celebrate the establishment by the former President by the United States, Barack Obama.
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Sydney Cromwell
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Dedication Celebration took place on Saturday, April 15, to officially unveil the monument sign and celebrate the establishment by the former President by the United States, Barack Obama.
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Sydney Cromwell
The National Parks Service added Birmingham's Civil Rights sites to its register in January. A dedication ceremony was held in front of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on April 15.
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Sydney Cromwell
The Musical Selection, the Carlton Reese Memorial Unity Choir, sang several songs. in the middle of the ceremony.
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Sydney Cromwell
The National Parks Service added Birmingham's Civil Rights sites to its register in January. A dedication ceremony was held in front of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on April 15.
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Sydney Cromwell
The National Parks Service added Birmingham's Civil Rights sites to its register in January. A dedication ceremony was held in front of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on April 15.
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Sydney Cromwell
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Dedication Celebration took place on Saturday, April 15, to officially unveil the monument sign and celebrate the establishment by the former President by the United States, Barack Obama.
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Sydney Cromwell
The National Parks Service added Birmingham's Civil Rights sites to its register in January. A dedication ceremony was held in front of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on April 15.
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Sydney Cromwell
The National Parks Service added Birmingham's Civil Rights sites to its register in January. A dedication ceremony was held in front of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on April 15.
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Alyx Chandler
The Retiring of Colors marched after the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance.
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Alyx Chandler
The Retiring of Colors marched after the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance.
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Sydney Cromwell
The National Parks Service added Birmingham's Civil Rights sites to its register in January. A dedication ceremony was held in front of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on April 15.
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Alyx Chandler
The Presentation of the Colors, Pledge of Allegiance and Retiring of the Colors kicked off the ceremony.
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Alyx Chandler
A crowd gathered all throughout the area to see the unveiling.
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Sydney Cromwell
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Dedication Celebration took place on Saturday, April 15, to officially unveil the monument sign and celebrate the establishment by the former President by the United States, Barack Obama.
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Alyx Chandler
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has a new banner celebrating the naming of the National Monument.
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Alyx Chandler
Soloist Deirdre Gaddis sang the National Anthem and also sang as the musical Selection in the Birmingham Trio.
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Alyx Chandler
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Dedication Celebration took place on Saturday, April 15, to officially unveil the monument sign and celebrate the establishment by the former President by the United States, Barack Obama.
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Alyx Chandler
Sherri Fields, Deputy Regional Director of the Southeast Region of the National Park Service, gave some remarks about the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument.
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Alyx Chandler
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Dedication Celebration took place on Saturday, April 15, to officially unveil the monument sign and celebrate the establishment by the former President by the United States, Barack Obama.
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Alyx Chandler
The National Park Service gave away posters, maps and stamps.
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Alyx Chandler
Mayor William Bell thanked many people who were integral to the process of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument over the years.
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Alyx Chandler
People were lined up and sitting all throughout the area for the monumental day.
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Alyx Chandler
Mayor William Bell honored several people during his Keynote Address.
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Alyx Chandler
The crowd gathered around the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument unveiling in anticipation.
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Alyx Chandler
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Dedication Celebration took place on Saturday, April 15, to officially unveil the monument sign and celebrate the establishment by the former President by the United States, Barack Obama.
Saturday was a day filled with pride and remembrance in the Birmingham Civil Rights District.
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument was proclaimed as part of the National Park System on Jan. 12 as one of former President Barack Obama's final acts. On Saturday, April 15, from 1-3 p.m., a dedication celebration took place to honor the new national monument and all the people who put forth effort to make it happen.
"I know the sacrifice that our foot soldiers have made for that day to come," Mayor William Bell said. "This dedication is to say thank you to those individuals."
The dedication ceremony included a welcome address from Gen. Charles C. Krulak, retired Commandant of the Marine Corps and former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; opening remarks from Carolyn McKinstry, a 16th Street Church bombing survivor; a speech from Odessa Woolfolk, the Founding Board Chair of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; and a reading of the Presidential Proclamation from District 7 City Councilor James Roberson Jr.
Bell gave the Keynote Address, where he spoke about first meeting Obama and how he remembered him walking around the Civil Rights District to learn more and understand the history of Birmingham before he became president. After he became president, Bell remembered a conversation he had with him.
"I told him, 'You have the opportunity to preserve those hallowed grounds,' " Bell said.
Bell and his wife were both invited to Obama's farewell address, which was the same night he learned the area was going to be established as a part of the National Park System. He spoke of tears that night and continued pride for the city of Birmingham and what it has become today, as well as all the sacrifices made by people in the past.
The Birmingham Civil Rights District area includes the A.G. Gaston Motel, Kelly Ingram Park, 16th Street Baptist Church, The Fourth Avenue District and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Bell said the A.G. Gaston Motel is currently being restored.
To learn more about the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, go to npa.gov/bicr or visit their Facebook page here.