Join Will McCollum and Joshua Jenkins to learn how the intersection of race and labor in Birmingham’s early industrial history set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. McCollum is a PhD candidate in Anthropology who has conducted archaeological work on the former Smythe mining camp located in Red Mountain Park, and Jenkins is the Alabama and Mississippi Field Representative with the National Parks Conservation Association.
The program will start at Red Mountain Park's Frankfurt Drive entrance. The group will then walk to the Smythe mining camp excavation site, Mine No.13, and the Bruno Outdoor Classroom.
Will McCollum is a PhD candidate in anthropological archaeology at the University of Chicago. He conducts archaeological and historical research surrounding the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century majority-Black iron ore mining camps that were once in Red Mountain Park and that, taken together, comprise some of the earliest industrial settlements in Birmingham. McCollum is especially interested in the ways that aspects of the Antebellum enslaved labor system persisted in Postbellum Birmingham as the industrial capital of the supposedly New South.
Joshua Jenkins is based in Birmingham, working in Alabama and Mississippi. He is supporting new park campaigns and heritage areas, building deeper connections focusing on the links between parks and community needs/desires.
Accessibility: This program will include 1.5 miles of walking and periods of standing on dirt trails with small rocks and roots. There are minimal uphill and downhill changes on the trails. There is a bench at Mine No. 13 and bench seating at the outdoor classroom. A portable restroom is available near the outdoor classroom.
Please wear weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes and bring a water bottle.
This program has limited space available. Please register to attend.
If you register but are unable to attend, please email programs@jeffcogreenway.org so we can open the spot for someone else.
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