JCMP is a grassroots coalition. We would love your participation.
Events
Sleep In Cinema presents No Longer Silent with DJ Supreme
Sunday, October 16th 6:00pm
No Longer Silent is back! No Longer Silent is an opportunity to highlight significant and historic silent films with live accompaniment from local music talent to create a one of a kind experience.
Join us on Sunday, October 16th as we team up with Substrate Radio and UAB Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts to present Scar of Shame with live DJ accompaniment by DJ Supreme! Screening will be followed by a panel discussion with JCMP Director, Joi Brown and JCMP Public Education Chair, T. Marie King.
When: Sunday, October 16th - Doors open at 5:30pm. Show begins promptly at 6:00pm.
Where: UAB Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA)
1221 10th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35205
Marking Time Exhibition
September 17-December 11, 2021
For three months, NYU Professor Nicole Fleetwood’s curated collection Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration will be available for viewing at UAB’s Adams-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. Marking Time explores the work of artists within US prisons and the centrality of incarceration to contemporary art and culture. The exhibition features the work of incarcerated and non-incarcerated artists, including Alabama’s own Tameca Cole. The exhibition will be open to the public from September 17th-December 11th, with a special programming partnership event with UAB’s English department and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Legacy Youth Leadership Program happening November 11th, 2021. This evening of spoken word poetry will feature selections from our Liberated Voices Blog.
Soil Collection in Honor of George Taylor
September 24th at 6 p.m.
Stockham Park
JCMP will join the East Lake Committee in honoring George Taylor with a soil collection at Stockham Park. Mr. Taylor was murdered in response to allegations made by three white women who accused Mr. Taylor of threatening them. Upon hearing of the incident, a party of white men armed with revolvers who were present in the park began chasing Mr. Taylor. Of the 15 to 20 shots fired by the pursuing party, at least one resulted in a head wound to Mr. Taylor. Following the incident, he was taken to Hillman Hospital, where he later died. More information on Mr. Taylor’s story can be found in our 2019 Fellows’ research report. We invite you to join us as we take the first steps toward cementing Mr. Taylor’s legacy as a part of our county’s historical memory.
Memorial, presented at Red Mountain Theatre's Human Rights New Works Festival
September 24, 2021 at 8 p.m.
During Red Mountain Theatre’s Human Rights New Works Festival, patrons will have the opportunity to experience a table read of Quinton Cockrell’s play, “Memorial,” which was commissioned by RMT and based on JCMP’s research. This more informal presentation will allow for more opportunities for community feedback on the play, and we encourage anyone who is interested to attend.
Past Events
2021 Fellow Report Release
Thursday, February 25th 6:30 p.m.
Facebook Live & YouTube
Support our JCMP Fellows virtually as they present their research on the history of Birmingham’s Linn Park and discuss what their findings mean for us today. The JCMP 2021 Fellow Class researched the park starting with its founding and all the way up to the Confederate Monument’s removal during the summer of 2020. We will understand how this place has upheld values of white supremacy and created a white historical narrative for the county. And, how residents have used the same space to protest these racist systems. The research will give us a more honest and accurate foundation for our community to discuss these pressing issues.
A Conversation with Ronald McKeithen
Friday, April 16th 12:00 p.m.
Facebook Live
JCMP and Space One Eleven are partnering to present: A Conversation with Ronald McKeithen, a featured artist in the exhibit, Just Injust. McKeithen was formerly incarcerated at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama, and has previously had artwork featured in JCMP’s Liberated Voices blog. The conversation will mark the opening of the exhibit and will be moderated by JCMP Director, Joi Brown and JCMP Research Fellows. The exhibit will be installed in Space One Eleven’s Anne Arrasmith Gallery, located at 2407 2nd Avenue North in Downtown Birmingham, and will remain available for public viewing until May 28.
Space One Eleven will host an opening reception Friday, April 16, 2021 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Masks and social distancing inside Space One Eleven’s facilities are required.
Limited numbers of persons will be admitted at a time for viewing.
The Green Book Project: Art & Poetry Showcase
Thursday, April 29th 6:00 p.m.
Facebook Live and YouTube
In a collaborative project between Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative (GBAEC), Bush Hills STEAM Academy and Jefferson County Memorial Project (JCMP), sixth grade students at Bush Hills STEAM Academy have created original artwork and poetry centered around the Green Book. With the help of teaching artist Jahman Hill, students created book covers and poems while focusing on tenets of advocacy, empathy and self-advocacy. In celebration of the students’ work, JCMP and GBAEC will host a live-streaming event on Thursday, April 29 at 6 p.m. Following the event, the students’ work will be available for viewing on the JCMP website. This project has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Ignite Cycle Fundraiser Ride
Sunday, March 1, 2pm
Community Partner Ignite Cycle has partnered with JCMP in honor of Black History Month. All proceeds from the Spin Class will go towards JCMP. No prior experience necessary!
Riders can purchase a special Philanthropy Ride pass and use that to book their bike.
Film Screening of True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality
Thursday, March 5th, 6pm
Join JCMP and First Church Birmingham for a screening of True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality.
America has become the nation with the highest rate of incarceration in the world and continues to struggle to recover from a long history of racial injustice. Alabama attorney Bryan Stevenson, of the Equal Justice Initiative, has advocated on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned, seeking to eradicate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s FIght for Equality captures the journey of Stevenson as he works to challenge the systems of today.
Free and Open to the Public
JCMP 2020 Fellow Report Release
Thursday, Feb. 20th, 6pm, Birmingham Museum of Art
This event is free and open to the public.
JCMP Fellows will present their new research on our county's history of racial terror, including the discovery of previously undocumented victims. Attendees will receive a free copy of the 2020 Report.
Programming will include a Fellow panel discussion, previews of videos by our first ever JCMP Film Fellows, and break-out discussions with Fellows to discuss their research.
Trip to the Museum and Memorial in Montgomery
Join JCMP and JCMP 2020 Fellows on a trip to Montgomery to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum. Core Coalition member T. Marie King will lead the group during the tour.
We will take a bus down to Montgomery together, leaving at 8am outside of UAB's AEIVA, 1221 10th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35205 and return by 4pm.
Tickets for the museum and memorial are provided but you'll be responsible for lunch!
If cost if prohibitive, please let us know. We will make sure you can come.
Homewood Committee's Understanding Awareness & Empathy Workshop with T. Marie King
Join us on Monday, October 28th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Homewood Public Library (1721 Oxmoor Rd, Homewood, AL 35209) as the amazing T. Marie King guides us through dialogue and exercises that will challenge our beliefs and force us to examine the wo(man) in the mirror. In this workshop, we hope to empower the ability to talk about race and the ability to be more empathetic. We hope to create an environment where participants can identify, address, and eliminate their own individual biases so that we are able to connect with diverse communities. Please join us for this important exercise in understanding more about ourselves and our neighbors.
Hosted by HIVE Alabama Birmingham Islamic Society, Jefferson County Memorial Project Homewood Committee, MAD? Make a Difference Alabama, the Magic City Acceptance Center, and The Listening Project.
Mary Frances Whitfield at AEIVA
MARY FRANCES WHITFIELD: WHY?
May 31 - November 23
Why? presents paintings by the artist that graphically depict horrific racial terror lynchings perpetrated against African Americans. This is the first time these works have been exhibited in Whitfield’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.
Community Film Screening: Slavery By Another Name
The Jefferson County Memorial Project, in collaboration with The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center and The Birmingham Museum of Art, will host a screening of the film, Slavery by Another Name.
Slavery by Another Name is a 90-minute documentary that challenges one of Americans' most cherished assumptions: the belief that slavery in this country ended with the Emancipation Proclamation. The film tells how even as chattel slavery came to an end in the South in 1865, thousands of African Americans were pulled back into forced labor with shocking force and brutality. It was a system in which men, often guilty of no crime at all, were arrested, compelled to work without pay, repeatedly bought and sold, and coerced to do the bidding of masters.
Based on Douglas Blackmon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book about insidious forms of forced labor that emerged in the American South following the Civil War, Slavery by Another Name gives voice to the forgotten victims and perpetrators of forced labor. This event is free and open to the public.
County Wide Book Discussion
From now until September, Jefferson County residents are gathering to discussion a selection of books related to this history. To learn how to start a book club, or a join book club, click here.
Sloss Historical Marker Dedication
This event is free and open to the public.
Please Join the Jefferson County Memorial Project on September 9th as we dedicate a historical marker to the lives of Jake McKenzie and Tom Redmond, two black men lynched at mines owned by the Sloss-Sheffield Iron and Steel Company. During this event at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, through song, art, and speech, we will reflect on the lives of Mr. Redmond and Mr. McKenzie and the system of convict leasing that continued to abuse and exploit black residents long after the abolition of slavery. We hope you will be a part of this community ceremony to remember this painful history and commit to a more just future. As Coretta Scott King said, "the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."
Panel on Mass Incarceration and Donaldson Blog Launch
Join the Jefferson County Memorial Project as we host a community conversation on the criminal justice system and mass incarceration. Through our conversations we will gain an understanding of how mass incarceration impacts the lives of inmates and their families, and explore how community members can be supportive of returning citizens.
For the past year, JCMP members have been working closely with students at Jefferson County's Donaldson Correctional Facility. The students have written about their own experiences and thoughts about racial injustice more broadly. We'll be launching their blog at the event as well.
Community Film Screening Conversations
You joined us for the screening of Slavery By Another Name and now we invite you to participate in one of our two small group discussions. Let's come together as a community as we explore the history of convict leasing, share our stories and move positively into the future.
August 19th, UAB AEVIA, 6-7:30 PM (30 PPL)
August 27th, Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, 6-7:30 PM (20 PPL)
This event is free and open to the public.
Opening Reception: WHY? // UNBRANDED
Join Us for the Opening Reception of AEIVA's Exhibit of Mary Frances Whitfield and Hank Willis Thomas, two artists who can help use better understand this history.
Exhibitions //
Mary Frances Whitfield: Why?
Hank Willis Thomas: unbranded
5p | Panel discussion
6p | Opening Reception begins
8p | Opening Reception ends
FREE, OPEN to the public
MARY FRANCES WHITFIELD: WHY?
May 31 - November 23
Why? presents paintings by the artist that graphically depict horrific racial terror lynchings perpetrated against African Americans. This is the first time these works have been exhibited in Whitfield’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.
Small Group Trainings
This training will be hosted in partnership with our community partners, Pilgrim Church, Covenant Community Church, The Threshold Project, Faith in Action Alabama, and Greater Birmingham Ministries.
JCMP has four goals: Research. Educate. Place. Advocate. Our release of the 30 Residents Report was a culmination of our JCMP Fellow Research. Now, let’s figure out how we can educate our county, via this report, on this history and its legacies. We will host small-group organizing meetings. In these meetings, attendees will:
- Train each other in how to be be trauma informed discussion leaders and discuss this history in respectful and intentional ways
- Work towards a county-wide trip to EJI’s Museum and Memorial
We’ll be adding more times and places in the coming weeks. These events are free and will be capped at 20 participants to ensure intentional trainings and discussions can happen.
Irondale Community Meeting
Please join us at the Irondale public library on Saturday, May 18th at 6pm for the Irondale Committee's first community engagement meeting. We will have a discussion about our proposed historical marker in Irondale to memorialize the lynching of William Wardley. At the event, the Irondale community will:
- Introduce the Irondale comittee
- Hold a question-and-answer session to improve the historical marker projec and address community concerns
- Discuss how we can broaden our coalition to better represent the Irondale community.
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