At the Coalition for True History, based in Birmingham, Alabama, we are dedicated to ensuring that the legacy of civil rights history remains alive and relevant. Through networking and peer support, tailored resources, and strategic guidance, we empower educators to continue teaching civil rights history with integrity and accuracy.

Through community-wide engagement, we foster a deeper understanding of our shared past and its implications for the present and the future.

The Coalition for True History aims to motivate Birmingham-area schools to improve the teaching of Alabama’s civil rights history so that our students go out into the world with full knowledge of the world around them. We want them to be curious, compassionate, and empathetic as they mature into productive and influential citizens who will create a brighter future for Birmingham.

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The Birmingham area needs more “true history.”

Our research with local stakeholders has confirmed what we suspected: Today’s students and teachers tell us that in the very region where civil rights history was made, their schools give scant attention to Birmingham’s iconic role in bringing about change at the national level.

Why does this matter?

The greater Birmingham area remains a place of deep inequities – in housing, education, health, environment, and justice. For communities throughout Jefferson County to experience positive social change, we need people here to grow up knowing the relevant history.

Local civil rights hero Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth has said it best: “If you don’t tell it like it was, it can never be as it ought to be.”

We want people to understand our shared history and how we got here. We want our future voters and leaders to know, for example:

• The ways that historic housing discrimination led to a city where some of today’s neighborhoods are still disproportionately exposed to toxic air and soil, leading to poor health outcomes.
• That the sheer number of school districts in Jefferson County (13!), and today’s disparities in resources among the districts is, in great part, the legacy of a historic desire to maintain segregated schools.
• That Birmingham’s local hero, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, stands out among the nation’s most influential leaders in claiming and activating human rights, locally and globally
• That the ongoing activism of Birmingham’s Black community and its allies helped bring about the end of Jim Crow segregation – not only in Birmingham, but throughout the country, leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964!

We picture a thriving Greater Birmingham area as its citizens learn about – and then move beyond – its racial history.

As each new generation graduates from local schools, we wish that they enter adulthood informed about this history and its relevance to modern-day Jefferson County.

We believe that improving the teaching of civil rights history is possible, especially if we engage people throughout the whole “system” – that is, key stakeholders including teachers, school principals and other administrators, students, parents, nonprofit staff, museum staff, university specialists, the media, and everyday citizens and taxpayers.

Pulling together, we can call for improvements in how this history is taught throughout Birmingham-area schools.

We have been busy seeking out successes as we pilot new lesson plans and find bright spots where educators are already committed to making a priority of teaching local civil rights history across the curriculum.

The Coalition for True History, a Birmingham, Alabama-based movement, is already:

• Connecting a growing number of educators and allies by alerting people to resources, sponsoring platforms and events for discussing ideas and sharing information, and keeping the Coalition’s goal front and center
• We played an active role in helping to shape the new Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies, the state standards for teaching social studies in the state’s K-12 schools, as accepted by the Alabama State Board of Education in December 2024. A draft of the course of study can be found here: December 2024 Draft. The new standards will go into effect in Fall 2026.
• Offering valuable guidance and support to educators navigating the challenges posed by new legislation
• Discovering ways to build an openness to teaching true history, identifying the most effective opportunities and leverage actions for lasting, large-scale change
• Identifying internal champions who can share their enthusiasm for teaching this history, fostering a larger, more active coalition
• Listening to school principals and other educators to gain insights on best practices, all the while providing them the tools, resources, and plans that make it easy to implement these improvements throughout the school building
• Continuing to test novel ways for teachers to use primary source materials on civil rights in subjects across the school curriculum and throughout the school year
• Assessing how things are going, recognizing challenges and opportunities, and nimbly refining our work in response to those feedback loops

How to join the Coalition: Click here to begin receiving occasional emails.

Here’s why!

If you’re a K-12 teacher, of any subject or grade level:

• Find ready-to-use lessons and curriculum ideas, many designed to work beyond social studies classes
• Meet like-minded peers and gain confidence in teaching this material
• Share what has worked for you!

If you’re a school principal, curriculum specialist, librarian, or other school admin/staff:

• Learn about the tools and ideas you can put to use right now to make your school a champion of teaching this history – across the school building and throughout the year
• Join forces with other educators across the county to promote the teaching of this history, share what you’ve implemented, and counter opposition efforts

If you’re a student, parent, or taxpayer:

• Find opportunities to tell educators and policy makers that you are in favor of schools’ efforts to ensure our students know about the people, actions, and events that made Birmingham the epicenter of civil rights history – and how that can lead to a stronger Jefferson County

If you’re a donor or funder:

• Actively follow the growth of this movement
• Discover ways you may support the innovative work underway to counter current assaults on education from people instilling fear that learning comprehensive history may make students “feel uncomfortable”

Join the Coalition’s mailing list by clicking here.

How YOU can support the Coalition for True History as we motivate Birmingham-area schools to improve the teaching of Alabama’s civil rights history:

• Individuals: Join the Coalition and encourage others to do the same. Share this link or send us your email (at info@KidsInBirmingham1963.com).

Numbers make a difference!

• Nonprofit groups, universities, museums, businesses, and community organizations: Contact us to learn how to be recognized as a Co-Sponsor of the Coalition for True History
• Donors: Join existing sponsors and help grow support for this initiative

Help the Coalition shine a light on the bright spots

Our early research and activities have uncovered dozens of K-12 educators throughout the Birmingham area who are committed to teaching civil rights history in an honest and comprehensive way.

Already we see an increase in interest and actions as the Coalition gathers more folks who want to teach this history and wish to help grow the network and get people involved.

Early signs of success are encouraging. We invite you to join with us to grow and expand the Coalition for True History for a brighter future for Birmingham.

Current Co-Sponsors of the Coalition for True History

Interested in becoming a Co-Sponsor? Contact Ann Jimerson at info@KidsinBirmingham1963.org

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