Reconstruction, Redemption, Reformation: Memory Places, Monuments, and Words from the Alabama State Capitol Steps
Location
Demaray 254
Keywords
Day of Common Learning
Description
This paper considers the legacy of the Alabama Capitol steps and the surrounding environment as the symbolic intersection of contrasting and competing views of Alabama’s history and future. Until the 1980s the Capitol area had been an extended memorial to the Confederacy. Since 1980, however, a significant number of counter memorials were established to commemorate the civil rights movement and the negative legacy of slavery. The establishment of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in 1983 on the third Monday of January placed the King holiday on the constitutionally mandated day for the Inauguration of Alabama’s Governor. Consequently, Alabama Gubernatorial Addresses have engaged with both the Confederate and Civil Rights legacies of the state since 1986. This presentation will examine the inauguration speeches given from the steps as well as images of the various memorials.
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Reconstruction, Redemption, Reformation: Memory Places, Monuments, and Words from the Alabama State Capitol Steps
Demaray 254
This paper considers the legacy of the Alabama Capitol steps and the surrounding environment as the symbolic intersection of contrasting and competing views of Alabama’s history and future. Until the 1980s the Capitol area had been an extended memorial to the Confederacy. Since 1980, however, a significant number of counter memorials were established to commemorate the civil rights movement and the negative legacy of slavery. The establishment of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in 1983 on the third Monday of January placed the King holiday on the constitutionally mandated day for the Inauguration of Alabama’s Governor. Consequently, Alabama Gubernatorial Addresses have engaged with both the Confederate and Civil Rights legacies of the state since 1986. This presentation will examine the inauguration speeches given from the steps as well as images of the various memorials.
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