Monday, December 14, 2020

December 14 - National Alabama Day

 

Happy National Alabama Day! Today we observe the 22nd state to join the union back on December 14, 1819. 

 This southeastern U.S. state that’s home to significant landmarks from the American Civil Rights Movement.  

 
The city of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church, now a museum, was a protest headquarters in the 1960s. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s church and the Rosa Parks Museum, dedicated to the activist, can be found in the capital of Montgomery. 


Alabama has played pivotal roles in U.S. history; scientific advancements and its magnificent landscapes attract visitors from far and wide. 


Alabama enjoys sixty miles of shoreline along the Gulf Coast. While the coastal region is dotted with swamps and bayous, it also includes beautiful sandy beaches.  


Move northward from the coast, and the lowlands provide the fertile soils of the Black Belt, land that long yielded productive cotton crops. The Northern half of the state is dominated by the forested hills and valleys of the Appalachians. 


As the original capital of the Confederacy until May of 1861 during the American Civil War, the small town of Montgomery set the stage for the secessionist government.  


Nearly one century later, the Civil Rights Movement would find a home and erupt across the state marching its vision to the rest of the country. 


Agriculture, Military and Meat & Three 


Bringing diversity to agriculture at a time when the boll weevil was wreaking havoc on cotton crops,  


George Washington Carver provided the opportunity for successful planting and harvesting of a legume that continues to be popular not only in the south but across the United States. 


It was the peanut that brought new farming methods and agricultural stability to a suffering southern industry.

 


Home of the 332nd Fighter Group, the first African-American military aviators, the science team that helped put man on the moon, and the first African-American woman in space, Alabama is another state that keeps looking to the sky. 


In Alabama, and all across Southern states, the meat and three will fill you up with more satisfying comfort food than you can find anywhere other than your mother’s kitchen.  


The restaurant style includes a mouth-watering homemade meat of your choosing – crispy fried chicken, juicy sweet ham or tender roast beef – and then a selection of three sides. 


A roll and dessert are usually included as well. All this is served in a relaxed, downhome atmosphere. 


HOW TO OBSERVE 


Join National Day Calendar® as they explore Alabama’s rich history and remarkable landscapes. Get to know their people, culture and uncover the hidden places of Alabama! Use #NationalAlabamaDay to share on social media. 


"We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world." ~Helen Keller 


For a complete list of Illinois State and National Parks & Historic Sites visit www.alapark.com and www.nps.gov.  Check out a few of the featured sites around the state below. 


NATURE and HISTORY 

Buck’s Pocket State Park – Grove Oak 
Cathedral Caverns State Park– Woodville 
Chewacla State Park – Auburn 
Gulf State Park – Gulf Shores 
Lake Guntersville State Park – Guntersville 
Monte Sano State Park – Huntsville 

Old Alabama Town – Montgomery 

Colonial Fort Condé – Mobile 

Fort Gaines – Dauphin Island 


MUSEUMS 


Museum of Alabama – Montgomery 

Rosa Parks Museum – Montgomery 
The Hank Williams Museum – Montgomery 
GulfQuest Maritime Museum– Mobile 
Southern Museum of Flight – Birmingham 
U.S. Space & Rocket Center – Huntsville 
Pioneer Museum of Alabama – Troy 
 

Hidden Treasures 

Neversink Pit – Fackler 

Alabama Booksmith – Homewood 

Tinglewood Carvings – Montevallo 

 

We also observe these famous figures born in Alabama of whom are still recognized today for their past accomplishments, heroics, talents, ingenuity and innovations: William Weatherford, Helen Keller, Lafayette Guild, Alva Belmont, Luther Duncan, Rosa Parks, Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Hank Williams, Harper Lee, Jim Nabors, Hank Aaron, Condoleezza Rice, Osbourne Earl "Ozzie" Smith, Charles Barkley, Courtney Cox, Octavia Spencer, and Channing Tatum. 

 
Visit the link below to see those of notable birth who were not mentioned on the list above. 

 
Here's to The Heart of Dixie! 

 
#NationalAlabamaDay 

@ALStateParks 

@nationalparkservice 

@AlabamaFTBL 

@LynyrdSkynyrd 

@Alabama 

@TheAlabama3 

@ALMNH

@bubbagumprestaurants 

@landmarksfoundationofmontgomery 

@colonialmobile 

@AlabamaArchives 

@artsbama 

@TroyUniversityRosaParksMuseum 

@thehankwilliamsmuseum 

@GulfQuestMaritimeMuseum 

@SouthernMuseumofFlight 

@RocketCenterUSA 

@PioneerMuseumTroy 

@FitzgeraldMuseum 

@AlabamaBooksmith 

@Tripadvisor 

@atlasobscura 

@nichecinema 

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