16th Street
Baptist Church
Encounter the church’s history through its own storytelling and tours. Approach it as a living community as well as a historic site.
Explore history & plan a tour ↗BCTP · THE PRACTICE OF REMEMBRANCE
What will you
carry forward?
A name remembered. A tree cared for. A conversation that continues. Connect what you encounter here with something you can do in your own community.
At your pace. No account, public pledge, or personal disclosure required.
BCTP participated in the Jefferson County Memorial Quilt Project, culminating in the 2025 Bound Together exhibition.
01 / FIND A WAY IN
Start with a connection.
Not a reading list.
Choose what draws you here. Each path offers one starting point, one question, and one practical action.
02 / GIVE INTENTION A NEXT STEP
A commitment
you can keep.
Not a pledge to do everything. Pick one action, decide when to return to it, and take your plan with you. You can change your mind.
MY PRACTICE OF REMEMBRANCE
Small enough to begin.
Meaningful enough to return to.
Your action card will appear here. It is a personal plan—not a public promise or a measure of your commitment to justice.
03 / LET PLACE DEEPEN THE QUESTION
History is closer
than we think.
Start nearby or explore from home. These independent institutions offer different ways to encounter history. You do not need to visit them all.
16th Street
Birmingham Civil
Rights Institute
Place local stories within the longer struggle for civil and human rights. Leave time to reflect, rather than rushing to the next stop.
Plan a visit ↗EJI’s
Legacy Sites
Explore the Legacy Museum, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and Freedom Monument Sculpture Park—or begin with EJI’s public education online.
Explore the sites ↗Learn from home ↗
A COMPANION FOR ANY VISIT
Before · What am I coming to understand?
Read the site’s own introduction. Check booking, accessibility, photography rules, and content guidance. Decide what support or breaks you may want. A church’s worship and community activities take priority over tourism.
During · What is known, and whose voice is present?
Notice one name, object, or story. Distinguish documented history from your interpretation. Respect the site, other visitors, and restrictions on recording. You are not required to photograph, post, or finish every exhibit.
After · What responsibility comes home with me?
Choose one question to research or one useful action. Ask whose guidance is needed. Return to your action card rather than treating the visit as the end of the work.
Check current hours, admission, access, and age guidance directly. These links are not a joint tour, partnership, or endorsement.
CARE COMES FIRST
You can step away.
You can reach out.
BCTP is an arts and memorialization initiative, not a counseling or crisis service. These links connect you with outside support; you never need to share your story with BCTP to use them.
A small pause, if you want one
You might look away from the screen, notice the room around you, get some water, or contact someone you trust. Choose what feels comfortable. Skip anything that doesn’t help; there is no exercise to complete and no “right” response.
This is an optional pause, not treatment. You can go straight to support instead.
A CONVERSATION WORTH PREPARING FOR
Make room for people.
Not just opinions.
A simple BCTP planning aid for adult community conversations. It is not a clinical intervention or a replacement for a trained facilitator.
Selections stay on this page. No personal stories or responses are collected or saved.
Before inviting people: essential agreements
- Explain the subject and any difficult content ahead of time. Do not surprise people with graphic images.
- Make passing, taking a break, and leaving acceptable. Never require a personal trauma story.
- Speak from your own experience. Do not ask someone to represent a whole community or defend their humanity.
- Ask people to respect privacy; explain that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in a group. No recording or sharing someone’s story without their explicit consent.
- Plan accessible seating, breaks, and a quiet space. Ask about access needs without requiring diagnoses.
- If harm occurs, pause. Name the impact without demanding reconciliation or forgiveness. Ask what is needed before continuing.
- Arrange experienced facilitation for high-conflict settings. Youth conversations need age-appropriate materials, safeguarding, and a qualified educator—not this adult template alone.
WHEN YOU’RE READY FOR MORE
A small, considered library.
You don’t need to read everything. Start with one resource relevant to your next step.
Explore the resource library
About this space & the sources behind it
This is a BCTP-designed tool, not a curriculum endorsed by another institution. Its structure connects historical learning, place, dialogue, and practical follow-through. Research included EJI’s public education, the visitor resources linked above, Sites of Conscience’s dialogue-to-action resources, and the Smithsonian’s Talking About Race.
BCTP’s artist conversations and the supplied Spirit & Place resource lists also informed the library. LaShawnda Crowe Storm’s Lynch Quilts Project is included as one distinct artistic practice, not the framework for this page. Spirit & Place’s Powerful Conversations on Race is concluded legacy work, not an upcoming program.
Links reviewed October 9, 2026. Confirm services, fees, availability, and access directly. External resources may include descriptions or images of racial violence. This page uses no graphic historical photographs, forced disclosure, public commitment counters, or autoplay. The interactive tools are educational planning aids, not therapy.