Jim Crow

Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in Alabama and prompt investigations

The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in several states, including Alabama. They generally used a similar tone but varied in wording.

Removed Birmingham Confederate Monument ‘A Weight Lifted Off Of This City’

Sparked by protests calling for racial justice, a growing number of cities across the country are taking down Confederate monuments. What's next for these structures and the communities who remove them?

Memorial Planned to Honor Jeffco Lynching Victims

Organizers of the Jefferson County Memorial Project will release findings today on 30 lynching victims in the county. That’s a small fraction of the thousands of African American lynchings that took place in the South. Now, the grassroots coalition wants to bring a lynching memorial to Birmingham as a remembrance.

History Professor’s Book Reconstructs One African-American’s Legal Saga

In his new book "He Calls Me By Lightning," Samford University history professor Jonathan Bass writes about the 13-year legal journey endured by a Bessemer man in Jim Crow Alabama.

The Green Book and the Black-Jewish Relationship During Segregation

The Green Book has been described as the Bible for black travelers in the mid-20th century. It featured black-friendly businesses like motels and restaurants where travelers could rest on long road trips. The book’s publisher actually took the idea from a similar book used by Jews.

Teaching Tough Topics: The South’s Real History

Teaching subjects that trigger strong emotions and political divides is challenging. In the South, many of those fault-lines — racial, religious and otherwise — are intimately tied to its history. This week the Southern Education Desk is exploring how teachers tackle tough topics. WBHM’s Dan Carsen starts with an overview of some the major challenges, and […]