Birmingham exhibit explores life during Jim Crow

Maybe you’ve heard personal stories from your grandparents or studied civil rights in school. Understanding the struggles many faced before you isn’t an easy task, but it’s worth trying. For many African Americans, the struggle for just treatment as a U.S. citizen was significant and heart-breaking.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will shed light on the challenges faced by many Africans Americans during a pivotal time in history with an exhibit called “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow” from Oct. 18 to Dec. 31.

On loan from the New York Historical Society (NYHS), and being displayed for the first time in the South, the exhibition is organized chronologically from the end of the Civil War to the end of World War I and highlights the central role played by African Americans in advocating for their rights.

The exhibition has been organized by the New York Historical Society with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Local support comes from Birmingham-area companies and foundations.