I’m really excited to interview author Deborah Douglass about Birmingham, Alabama. Deborah’s tips for the best things to do in Birmingham are awesome because she researched the civil rights trail and uncovered the fascinating history of events from a generation ago and how they shape us today. Her book provides a guide for people to learn about these landmarks and visit them yourself.
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Kelly Ingram Park overlooking 16th Street Baptist Church.
Birmingham, Alabama
We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, the local visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.
If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.
Civil Rights Heritage Trail sign where Fred Shuttlesworth preached.
Getting around Birmingham
The local airport is Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), which is a ten-minute drive to downtown. Use our Expedia tool below to find flight, hotel, and rental car options.
Deborah says that, if you’re staying downtown it’s a good idea to rent a car. There are plenty of options for parking. For the best offers, visit Avis, Budget, or Hertz.
Uber and Lyft are excellent ways to get around.
When you only need a car for a couple of hours, you can rent by the hour with Zipcar. Join now to get $25 loaded into your account.
Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail.
Places we talked about on the podcast
Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Deborah Douglass about Birmingham, Alabama. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.
- Red dots = best places to eat in Birmingham, Alabama
- Green dots = best things to do in Birmingham, Alabama
- Yellow dots = best places to stay in Birmingham, Alabama
Who is Deborah Douglass?
Deborah D. Douglass is the Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at DePauw University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. While teaching at her alma mater, Northwestern University’s Medill School, she created a graduate investigative journalism capstone on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and taught best practices in Karachi, Pakistan.
She is the founding managing editor of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Deborah is the author of “U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler’s Guide to the People, Places, and Events That Made the Movement” (Amazon referral link) by Moon Travel Guides. She is among 90 contributors to “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019.” (Amazon referral link)
Photo credit Ven Sherrod
Here are a few articles that she’s written:
- Honoring MLK: King Day celebration is incomplete without economic focus
- Lessons From MLK for a Better Post-Coronavirus Economy
- “Madam Vice President”: Kamala Harris Makes History
You can connect with Deborah on her website and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
Click here to download our one-page guide of Deborah’s tips for Birmingham.
Big thanks to today’s affiliate partner – AwardWallet
This episode is brought to you, in part, by AwardWallet. Using airline miles and hotel points makes travel affordable, but keeping track of all of those loyalty programs can be a challenge. That’s why I use AwardWallet to track my miles and points balances, reservations, and special goodies like free hotel night certifications and airline companion passes.
Having everything in one easy-to-use dashboard helps ensure I don’t let any rewards expire and makes logging into my accounts super easy. Go to WeTravelThere.com/awardwallet to start your free account.
Built in 1910, Rickwood Field is the oldest professional baseball park in the U.S.
Stay tuned for our next episode
Listen to the next episode when Luciana Fani of Travel Massive Albania shares the best things to do in Berat, Albania. In this episode, Luciana and I talk about exploring the Berat Castle, rafting in Osum Canyon, and visiting the Onufri Museum. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.
What’s your favorite part of Birmingham? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!
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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.
Related episodes
To learn more about cities in Alabama, please listen to our other episodes:
- Space Camp, Campus 805 & Craft Brew Trail in Huntsville, Alabama
- Alabama Civil Rights Trail – Edmund Pettis Bridge, Experience Givers & 16th Ave Church
- Roller Coasters, Impersonations, and the Beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama
- Hot Air Balloon Festival, Tom’s Wall & The Princess Theatre in Hartselle, Alabama
