2009 Official Alabama Vacation Guide - (Page 12) Alabama would also produce some of the world’s greatest writers during this period. World wars and the Great Depression would provide subjects for thought-provoking discussion at the dinner table and later settings for novels. Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, and Truman Capote became childhood friends in the early 1930s in Monroeville. America’s legendary literary duo, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald lived in Montgomery in the 1930s, and west Alabama gave birth to one of America’s greatest storytellers, Kathryn Tucker Windham in 1939. In 1936, Jesse Owens, the son of a sharecropper, arrived in Berlin to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. Owens surprised many by winning not one, but four gold medals in track and field during the Games. He is remembered at the Jesse Owens Museum in his hometown near Moulton and is highlighted among the impressive lineup of inductees at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham. Although the United States entered the world arena near the end of World War I, during World War II, Americans—including thousands of Alabamians—dedicated themselves to the war effort. Not only did many Alabama women go to war, but black Alabamians also went to battle, making history as soldiers and as leaders on the home front. There were many who believed at the time that blacks lacked the skills and knowledge to be pilots or to serve in the military in any leading role, but the Tuskegee Airmen would dispel such beliefs. They overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II. Their story of grit, glory and profound courage is told through the Tuskegee 12 w w w. a l a b a m a . t r a v e l Airmen National Historic Site, the Southern Museum of Flight, and other museums. By the time the war ended in 1945, many munitions factories, training facilities, and prisoner of war camps had been founded in communities across the country. The POW Camp in Aliceville, one of the largest World War II internment sites, serves as a museum reminder of this phase in the state’s history. World War II laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement. Race relations and politics were explosive in Alabama during this period. In 1963, Governor George Wallace came to national prominence when he kept a campaign promise to stand in the schoolhouse door to block integration of Alabama public schools. Violence during civil rights demonstrations in Selma, Birmingham, and Montgomery, and freedom rides and sit-ins across the country, would eventually force the U.S. Congress to pass laws ensuring equality in voting rights and access to pubic accommodations. On the Alabama’s Civil Rights Trail, you can go on an incredible journey through history, from the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, where the 54-mile Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting ended, to Birmingham, and beyond. In Montgomery, stand in the pulpit at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached and gained prominence as the leader of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement. Sit in the reflective garden of the Dexter Parsonage, where King and his family lived, and visit the Civil Rights Memorial and the adjacent Civil Rights Memorial Center. ALTHOUGH THE UNITED STATES ENTERED THE WORLD ARENA NEAR THE END OF WORLD WAR I, DURING WORLD WAR II, AMERICANS—INCLUDING THOUSANDS OF ALABAMIANS— DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO THE WAR EFFORT. NOT ONLY DID MANY ALABAMA WOMEN GO TO WAR, BUT BLACK ALABAMIANS ALSO WENT TO BATTLE, MAKING HISTORY AS SOLDIERS AND AS LEADERS ON THE HOME FRONT. PHOTOS: ATD/JEFF GREENBERG. http://www.alabama.travel
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