SOURCE: Associated Press
In 1961, Alabama marked the 100th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War with white women dressed in hoop skirts parading through a coliseum and a re-enactment of the inauguration of the Confederate president at the state Capitol.
The state’s 2019 bicentennial celebration is very different, with a frank discussion of the horrors of slavery sharing space on a schedule with a Civil War re-enactment promoted by a Confederate heritage group and scores of other events, many focused on civil rights.
The departure from years past is intentional, officials who helped plan the program say.
Although Alabama license plates still carry the words “Heart of Dixie” and the state even today has three holidays linked to the Confederacy, organizers say they wanted to present a balanced view of history for the bicentennial.
“The idea was that we want to celebrate the scope and range of Alabama history,” said Ed Bridges, who directed the Alabama Department of Archives and History for more than three decades and now chairs an advisory committee overseeing the bicentennial.
“The really big idea is to find ways to make Alabama better as we enter our third century.”
Unlike other states that have marked bicentennials with yearlong programs or single events, Alabama planners laid out a schedule of nearly three years’ worth of events culminating with a ceremony in Montgomery on Dec. 14, which will mark the 200th anniversary of the state’s admission to the United States in 1819. As part of the program, more than 1,200 educators are getting new materials and supplemental training for state history lessons.
So far, Alabama is getting generally positive marks for its bicentennial, which is operating on about $10.5 million in government funding over three years and has raised another $3 million in private funds.