50 Years Forward

Looking Back, Moving Forward: Equality for All

This year, Fiesta will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights
Movement and the local Hispanic community. In celebrating our past and
moving forward into the future, Fiesta will feature two films showcasing
the struggles of African Americans in the 1960′s and the struggles of the
migrant farm workers in the 1970′s. These movies will be on a two hour
rotation under a tent located in the quadrant of the park directly in front
of the Jefferson County Courthouse, from noon to 6 p.m. After viewing the
films, patrons will sign the Birmingham Pledge in Spanish, committing
themselves to moving our country forward over the next 50 years. The board
will then be displayed in the rotunda at the Birmingham Civil
Rights Institute during the month of October. In addition, the Birmingham
Civil Rights Institute will have offer free tours in Spanish, for the day
after Fiesta.

The Birmingham Pledge:

•  I believe that every person has worth as an individual.
• I believe that every person is entitled to dignity and respect,
  regardless of race or color.
• I believe that every thought and every act of racial prejudice is
  harmful; if it is my thought or act, then it is harmful to me as well as to
  others.
•  Therefore, from this day forward I will strive daily to eliminate racial
  prejudice from my thoughts and actions.
• I will discourage racial prejudice by others at every opportunity.
• I will treat all people with dignity and respect; and I will strive daily
  to honor this pledge, knowing that the world will be a better place because
  of my effort.