In Part I, described a trip that my wife, Lida, and I took to St. Francisville, LA, Natchez, MS, and Mer Rouge, LA, in July. Mer Rouge is the hometown of Lida’s great-grandmother, Eliza Davenport, (Click here to view her portrait.) but we had never been there. We knew little about Eliza and even less […]
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RSS feed for this sectionFrom the “Red Sea” to the Red Mountain – Part II
In Part I, I described a trip that my wife, Lida, and I took to St. Francisville, LA, Natchez, MS, and Mer Rouge, LA, in July. Mer Rouge is the hometown of Lida’s great-grandmother, Eliza Davenport, but we had never been there. We knew little about Eliza and even less about the town. We arrived […]
From the “Red Sea” to the Red Mountain – Part I
Since mid-July I have been experiencing something that must be quite rare in marriages: a growing fascination with the genealogy of my ancestral in-laws. Before she died in 2010, my mother had compiled a detailed family tree of her Wheeler and Glass lines. My half-brother, Carl Stewart, Jr., is now the official keeper of the […]
The Golden Age of Hitchhiking
The Alabama Humanities Foundation will sponsor a traveling exhibition called “Journey Stories” in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution beginning June 25 in Jasper. This post is the first in a series that will highlight our own personal journey stories. Our stories may include how our ancestors traveled from far away lands to come to America, […]
Thoughts on Alabama’s Deadly Tornadoes
On April 27, our state was ravaged by numerous tornadoes, damaging homes, destroying businesses, and, worst of all, taking lives. Our executive director, Bob Stewart, recently offered his thoughts on the tragedies of that day in an editorial published in The Birmingham News on Sunday, May 8, 2011. To read the full article, please click […]
Early Female Chroniclers of African-American Life in Alabama
AHF Recognizes Women’s History Month During March, we will feature a series of blog posts focusing on Women’s History Month. Please join us in the discussion and comment with your own opinions and tales. As February—Black History Month—turns to March—Women’s History Month—it’s worth noting that three women played key roles in recording the African-American experience […]
Two “Jules” in the Pioneer Valley
AHF Recognizes Black History Month During February, we will feature a series of blog posts focusing on Black History Month. Please join us in the discussion and comment with your own opinions and tales. Written by Bob Stewart, AHF’s executive director I was fortunate to finish my k-12 education in Tuscaloosa as desegregation was well […]
Two Rereads
This post is written in honor of National Arts and Humanities Month. We are highlighting different humanities topics that we are passionate about and hope you’ll share your passions with us too! Next year marks the 45th anniversary of the publication of two novels by authors who were born in Alabama but who made their […]
NEH Chairman Impressed by AHF, Birmingham
NEH Chairman Jim Leach was a big hit in Birmingham on July 29, delivering a talk on civility and American politics at Samford University and participating in a series of meetings and tours around the city. This was his first visit to Birmingham or Alabama since he was a young child, and he was extremely […]
Changing of the Editorial Guard at AHF
I am very pleased to announce that Jennifer L. Dome is the new AHF public relations and publications manager as of June 28. Jennifer replaces Katie Crawford, who has taken a marketing and public relations position at DAXKO, a Birmingham-based software company. A New Jersey native, Jennifer is a 2001 graduate of Penn State University […]
