Issue 1, Summer 1986

The image is the cover of a magazine titled “Alabama Heritage”. It corresponds to Issue Number 1 from the Summer of 1986. Background: The background of the cover is a textured, light pink color. Title: At the top of the cover, the title “Alabama HERITAGE” appears in elegant, red cursive font. Subtitle: Just below the title, there’s a smaller subtitle in black font that reads: “Published quarterly by The University of Alabama.” Central Image: The centerpiece of the cover is a colorful quilt. The quilt is square-shaped and features intricate designs. Here are the details of the quilt: Design: The quilt showcases a vibrant arrangement of flowers and leaves. These emerge from what looks like a vase-like structure at the center. Colors: The quilt incorporates various colors, including red, brown, yellow, green, and purple. This cover captures the essence of Alabama’s heritage through its elegant typography and the beautiful quilt design.

Issue 1, Summer 1986

Detail from the Lanford album quilt. [Photo provided by the Birmingham Museum Art and Robert and Helen Cargo]

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Features

This is a pale pink quilted square. The central focus of the artwork is an abstract, stylized tree. The tree has a thick, yellow trunk that branches out into three main limbs. Each limb is adorned with various shapes representing leaves and fruits, rendered in dark brown and maroon tones. To the top left corner of the image, there is an abstract representation of a bird or animal in flight. The figure is characterized by its dark brown color and simplistic form. The background texture resembles a quilted pattern with visible stitch lines creating diamond shapes. Towards the top right corner, the signature “TAM” is visible. In summary, this artwork features an abstract tree with leaves and fruits, an animal figure in flight, and a quilted background with the artist’s signature.
A detail from the Lanford album quilt. [Courtesy Birmingham Museum of Art and Robert and Helen Cargo]

Stitches in Time: The Lanford Album Quilt

By Robert Cargo and G. Ward Hubbs

An old quilt invites questions: When was it made? Why, and by whom? One answers such questions hesitantly, if at all, for quilts, like most personal items  whose histories trail along with them from one generation to the next, are difficult to document. In rare instances, however, one comes upon a quilt whose story is stitched into the fabric itself, left there by the artisans years earlier for anyone interested enough to look. Such is the case with the Lanford quilt, and the story it tells offers a rare glimpse into the life of one small community in the Alabama Black Belt three years before the Civil War began.

The Sporting Life

By Fred Hobson

Southerners, taken as a whole, seem to take sports more seriously than people in other parts of America. Stock car racing, football, baseball and basketball bulk large in the South as important entertainments. These sports provide a lens through which to view the changing nature of Southern society as it moved from agrarian to industrialized. Fred Hobson argues that high school and college sports, in particular, provide the South with an organic, indigenous, almost religious experience. It is an experience that is, he argues, uniquely Southern.

In the black and white photo, a man stands outdoors near a tree. The man is William G. Little, who introduced football to the University of Alabama in 1892. The individual wears a light-colored sweater with the letters “U A” prominently displayed on the front. Dark, quilted pants complete their attire. The background reveals outlines of trees and natural scenery, though it appears slightly faded due to the age or quality of the photo.
William G. Little, who introduced football to the University of Alabama in 1892. [Courtesy W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, University of Alabama]
This vintage image captures the Birmingham Terminal Station and Subway. In the foreground, a large metal sign boldly declares “BIRMINGHAM THE MAGIC CITY.” The station itself stands in the background, showcasing classic architectural features such as a dome and clock tower. Vintage cars line the street leading up to the station, and lush trees flank the right side. The sky is clear, transitioning from deep blue to a lighter hue near the horizon. At the top right corner, there’s additional text that reads: “TERMINAL STATION AND SUBWAY.” The overall scene exudes a sense of nostalgia and urban charm.
“The Magic City” sign erected in 1926 at the Terminal Station in downtown Birmingham. [Courtesy Birmingham Public Library]

Feuds, Factions, and Reform: Politics in Early Birmingham

By Leah Rawls Atkins

Since the birth of Birmingham in a cornfield after the Civil War, the politicos who controlled city government have been the subject of local and sometimes national controversies.  Through the 115 years of Birmingham’s history to 1986, its government has been surrounded by charges of corruption, of demagogy, of political payoffs. The conflicts have been colorful and fierce. In this article, Leah Rawls Atkins traces the history of Birmingham politics from the creation of the city in the Reconstruction South until the eve of the Civil Rights movement. 

In this historical black and white photograph, a large gathering of people is captured in an urban setting. Rows of uniformed individuals stand in formation on the street, surrounded by a crowd of civilians observing the event. Grand buildings with columns and steps serve as the backdrop, suggesting a significant public or governmental location. The atmosphere appears formal and organized.
Huge crowds line Fifth Avenue as the “Hellfighters,” the Fifteenth colored regiment of New York’s National guard, return home in triumph from WWI. [Courtesy Dept. of American Studies, University of Alabama]

The Conquests of Europe: The Remarkable Career of James Reese Europe

By Reid Badger

James Reese Europe was an African American arranger, orchestrator, conductor, and songwriter–a star of the early twentieth century. He took jazz from the saloons and made it respectable; New York’s elite learned to stumble through the tango and the maxixe to the music of Europe’s Society Orchestra. During World War I, Europe led a brass band for the army, and when the war ended huge crows lined Fifth Avenue in New York to watch Europe’s regiment–dubbed the “Hellfighters”–return. Europe’s reputation has suffered in part because he was a transitional figure, difficult for historians to place. He had, however, a pioneering role as the initiator of a number of important directions in American and Afro-American musical history.

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