By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Regions Bank on Tuesday presented $150,000 to 16th Street Baptist Church leadership in downtown Birmingham to complete a $300,000 pledge toward a capital campaign for preservation and expansion at the historic church.
“We are grateful for our corporate and community partners, like Regions Bank that dove in and supported us,” said the Rev. Arthur Price, pastor of 16th Street.
The church is looking to raise $7.5 million for preservation of the building and construction of a new education and visitor center, as well as the creation of new, peace and social justice programming.
The church draws thousands of visitors annually to tour the facility because of its prominent role in Birmingham and the Civil Rights Movement. Its central downtown location made it a natural headquarters for the Civil Rights mass meetings and rallies in the early 1960s, according to the church’s website.
“We are here today because we support the vision that Pastor Price talked about and because it really coincides with our vision as well,” said Leroy Abrahams, head of Community Engagement for Regions. “When we think about what we want to accomplish in the community, we want to invest in community development, economic development. We want to invest in education. We want to invest in financial literacy. Two out of three of those priorities will be covered by the center.”
The Visitor and Education Center is to be built just west of the church building and parsonage on what is currently a parking lot. Designed with visitors in mind, the 13,000-square-foot multipurpose center will not only enhance but improve the church’s capacity to accommodate large groups and will include meeting and event space, a commercial kitchen, a café, and a gift shop.
“The breakout rooms and the meeting rooms will serve as a place where they can house those different conferences and still be in the district without us having to shut down operations at the church,” Price said.
As the center of the modern Civil Rights struggle, Price said,” the building will be for those seeking to know about Civil Rights history, scholars who are about Civil Rights history, those who have served Civil Rights history — those curious and committed,” he said.
The goal, he continued, is to “make sure people understand the rich history of Birmingham, Alabama, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, and the Civil Rights District,” which covers a six-block and several landmarks.
Those landmarks include the church where students involved in the 1963 Birmingham campaign and its Children’s Crusade were trained; Kelly Ingram Park, where many protests were held; the Fourth Avenue Business District, home to many of the city’s Black businesses and entertainment venues; and the Carver Theatre, which houses the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
“We think about the history of Birmingham and how this area, the Civil Rights District is a draw for tourism,” Abrahams said. “This could be a hub for economic development in our city that not only brings educational opportunities, but it also helps with business development for the entire community.”
