Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the
state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of
Dixie" and the "Cotton State". The state has diverse geography, with the north dominated by the mountainous
Tennessee Valley and the south by
Mobile Bay, a historically significant port. Alabama's capital is
Montgomery, and its largest city by population and area is
Huntsville. Its oldest city is
Mobile, founded by
French colonists (
Alabama Creoles) in 1702 as the capital of
French Louisiana.
Greater Birmingham is Alabama's largest metropolitan area and its economic center. Politically, as part of the
Deep South, Alabama is predominantly a
conservative state, and is known for its
Southern culture. Within Alabama,
American football, particularly at the
college level, plays a major part of the state's culture.
Originally home to many native tribes, present-day Alabama was a Spanish territory beginning in the sixteenth century until the French acquired it in the early eighteenth century. The British won the territory in 1763 until losing it in the
American Revolutionary War. Spain held Mobile as part of
Spanish West Florida until 1813. In December 1819, Alabama was recognized as a state. During the antebellum period, Alabama was a major
producer of cotton, and widely used
African Americanslave labor. In 1861, the state seceded from the United States to become part of the
Confederate States of America, with Montgomery acting as its first capital, and rejoined the Union in 1868. Following the
American Civil War, Alabama would suffer decades of economic hardship, in part due to agriculture and a few
cash crops being the main driver of the state's economy. Similar to other former slave states, Alabamian legislators employed
Jim Crow laws from the late 19th century up until the 1960s. High-profile events such as the
Selma to Montgomery march made the state a major focal point of the
civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. (Full article...)
The
Car of Tomorrow debuted at a
superspeedway, but it was heavily criticized for its lack of visibility, and drivers raised fears of becoming airborne if hit.
Michael Waltrip won the
pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying but was passed by Blaney by the end of the first lap. The race lead changed 42 times, with
Denny Hamlin leading the most laps out of anybody else (40). Johnson took the lead after driving on the outside lane on lap 183. Johnson led as the final lap began, but Gordon went to the outside of the track, and was
bump-drafted by
Tony Stewart, allowing him to claim his fifth victory of the season, his sixth at Talladega Superspeedway, the 80th of his career, and he took over from
Dale Earnhardt as the driver with the most
restrictor plate wins, twelve. (Full article...)
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary
Black elite.
Born into slavery on April 5, 1856, in Hale's Ford, Virginia, Washington was
freed when U.S. troops reached the area during the
Civil War. As a young man, Booker T. Washington worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and attended college at
Wayland Seminary. In 1881, he was named as the first leader of the new
Tuskegee Institute in
Alabama, an
institute for black higher education. He expanded the college, enlisting students in construction of buildings. Work at the college was considered fundamental to students' larger education. He attained national prominence for his
Atlanta Address of 1895, which attracted the attention of politicians and the public. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community of the South and among more liberal whites. Washington wrote an autobiography, Up from Slavery, in 1901, which became a major text. In that year, he
dined with
Theodore Roosevelt at the
White House, which was the first time a black person publicly met the president on equal terms. After an illness, he died in
Tuskegee, Alabama on November 14, 1915. (Full article...)
... that Freetown, Alabama, was founded by free and formerly enslaved African Americans in Alabama, whose church, built in 1929, burned down in 2022?
... that in 1890 Cornelius N. Dorsette, often referred to as the first African-American physician in Alabama, founded Hale Infirmary, a hospital for Black patients and staff in
Montgomery?
This list was generated from
these rules. Questions and feedback
are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.