Tag Archives: Alabama

A Right to Read: Segregation and Civil Rights

Posted on March 25, 2024 by smellincoffee

Alabama public libraries were early stages for Civil Rights projects, given their high public profile and higher deals: libraries were created for the common good, for the benefit of society, meant to serve everyone. How could they bar someone from … Continue reading →

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Distracted by Alabama

Posted on January 10, 2024 by smellincoffee

Jim Brown moved to Alabama in the 1970s to teach history at Samford University, and became fascinated by Alabama, both by its wild biodiversity and its people and their folk traditions, from shape-note singing to basket-weaving and herbalism. Distracted by Alabama … Continue reading →

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My Selma

Posted on January 5, 2024 by smellincoffee

Willie Mae Brown was a child during the Civil Rights movement, which reached its high point in 1965, with the Selma to Montgomery march that resulted in the Civil Rights bill of 1965, with great assistance from the local sheriff and … Continue reading →

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TW on the Road: saying hello to Santa at a retirement community for Civil War veterans

Posted on December 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

In years past I’d heard of a Confederate Memorial Park somewhere in Marbury, but assumed it was something like we have in Selma: a place where the dead were buried and a placard or statue put up. After the tornado … Continue reading →

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Uncensored Memoirs of a Trailer Park Refugee

Posted on November 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

Ahh, boyhood. A time for digging out forts in the sides of hills, running from water moccasins at the creek, and repeatedly bashing .45 ACP rounds to see what’s inside. I stumbled upon this book while researching a Selma suburb … Continue reading →

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Chasing ghostly history

Posted on September 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

“Everybody good where you are? Okay. We’re going dark. All lights out.” In the long-abandoned upstairs hallway of King Memorial Hospital, known more recently as Dunn’s Rest Home, a group of ghost-hunters and urban explorers all pocket their cellphones or … Continue reading →

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Breaking Bad & Bama Baseball

Posted on May 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

If you’re an obsessive fan of Breaking Bad — and is any fan of Breaking Bad not an obsessive one? — this little book is a quick treat, consisting of summaries with commentary of each respective season, along with character … Continue reading →

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The Other Side of the Bridge

Posted on March 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Other Side of the Bridge© 2022 Timothy E. Paul124 pages This is one of the stranger books I imagine I’ll read this year. Its title, setting, and opening disclaimer make the reader suspect that it’s a story set in … Continue reading →

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Monroeville and TKAM

Posted on February 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

Monroeville and the Stage Production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” © 2023 John M. Williams160 pages The first time I ever visited Monroeville, I had the dumb luck to arrive on a day when the courthouse-turned-museum was hosting a theatrical … Continue reading →

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Early Alabama

Posted on February 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Early Alabama: An Illustrated Guide to the Formative Years © 2019 Mike Bunn184 pages Published in time for the celebration of Alabama’s bicentennial, Early Alabama invites readers back to when the Heart of Dixie was still a wilderness, save for … Continue reading →

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