Sewell celebrates plans to nominate Alabama Civil Rights sites to World Heritage List

Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, celebrated the announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior of its plans to nominate five Alabama Civil Rights sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Alabama sites designated for potential nomination include:

• Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama  
• Bethel Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama
• 16^th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama
• Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama
• Greyhound Bus Terminal, Anniston, Alabama

“As a daughter of Selma and Representative of Alabama’s Civil Rights District, I take very seriously my role as a protector of our rich Civil Rights legacy, which is why I have made it a top priority to secure federal funds and protections for Alabama’s historic civil rights sites”said Rep. Sewell. “I am thrilled that these five locations are moving through the process of becoming UNESCO World Heritage sites. Such a designation, if approved, would ensure that what happened here in Alabama will be a part of world history for generations to come.”

“The U.S. sites that mark the civil rights movement are integral in helping us tell a full and complete story of American history,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “We are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of preserving these stories as part of our enduring effort to pursue a more perfect union. A nomination of these sites to the World Heritage List would further recognize the pain, redemption and healing associated with these historical sites and honor the civil rights heroes who bravely sat, marched and fought to secure equality for all Americans.”

If designated, the sites would join other cultural and natural sites of universal importance, such as Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador on the World Heritage List.

Other civil rights sites announced by the Interior Department for potential nomination include: Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas; Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia; Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas; Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home in Jackson, Mississippi; Robert Russa Moton High School/Museum in Farmville, Virginia; and Lincoln Memorial and Grounds in Washington, D.C.

The Interior Department will collaborate with partners and consult with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage on the completed document before making a final decision on whether to submit the nomination for the Civil Rights Movement Sites to the World Heritage Committee. If submitted, the final decision on inclusion on the list will be made by the World Heritage Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations elected from the members of the World Heritage Convention, and advised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. 

The National Park Service is the principal government agency responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention on behalf of the Department and in cooperation with the Department of State. Inclusion of a site in the World Heritage List does not affect management of the sites, which remain subject only to U.S. law. 

Detailed information on the World Heritage Program and the process for the selection of U.S. sites can be found here.