For your public space: two Alabama-themed traveling exhibits on American history

Celebrate America250 by hosting two Alabama-themed traveling history exhibits.  

One is titled Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces That Changed a Nation. It explores eight Supreme Court of the United States rulings on cases that began in Alabama.

And the other is titled Alabama and the Holocaust. It explores the state’s role in combatting Nazi aggression and antisemitism.

Both exhibits will tour the state in celebration of America250. Their statewide tour presents a unique opportunity to significantly advance your educational mission at minimal or no cost to your organization. 

Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces That Changed a Nation is a multimedia traveling exhibit celebrating Alabama’s role in eight landmark United States Supreme Court rulings. 

Researched by Dr. Steven Brown, Professor of Political Science at Auburn University, Alabama Justice presents the stories of and constitutional protections that emerged from the following cases:

• Wallace v. Jaffree (Establishment of religion)

• NAACP v. Alabama (Freedom of association)

• New York Times v. Sullivan (Freedom of the press and criticism of public officials)

• Powell v. Alabama (Right to effective counsel)

• Gomillion v. Lightfoot (Forbidding racial gerrymandering)

• Frontiero v. Richardson (Forbidding gender discrimination)

• Reynolds v. Sims (Fair legislative reapportionment)

• Katzenbach v. McClung (Upholding the Civil Rights Act of 1964)

Alabama Justice also profiles Alabama’s three U.S. Supreme Court Justices: John McKinley, John Archibald Campbell, and Hugo Black.

Alabama and the Holocaust is a traveling exhibition exploring the state’s response to the Nazi genocide of the 1930s and 40s. 

Alabama and the Holocaust is researched by Dr. Dan J. Puckett, Professor of History at Troy University and author of In the Shadow of Hitler: Alabama’s Jews, the Second World War, and the Holocaust. 

Alabama and the Holocaust presents: 

• Hitler and the Nazis Come to Power

• The Nazi Persecution of the Jews

• Reaction to the Nazi Regime

• Alabama’s Jewish Community

• Jewish Attempts to Aid German Jews

• Immigration and Refugees

• Refugee Scholars at HBCUs

• The Berlin Olympics

• The Coming of the War

• Wartime Alabama

• The Press Reports the Holocaust

• Racial Issues in the War

• Antisemitism in the War

• Zionism in Alabama

• Responses to the Final Solution

• On the Front Lines

• Victory and Liberation

• Displaced Persons

• Legacy

Currently under development, Alabama and the Holocaust marks its debut with this tour.

Exhibition requirements 

The recommended space for each is 400 to 800 square feet, but the panels are modular and the configuration is flexible. Contact Phillip Ratliff at ratliffphillip@gmail.com to discuss. 

Relevance to the curriculum 

From both exhibits, students of all grades will learn about United States history. Students of civics and of Alabama and US history will especially benefit. 

Both exhibits are supplemented by a Teachers Guide that aligns exhibit content to the Alabama Course of Study.

The catch — and it’s not much of one

We are able to offer the exhibits at no charge to venues in Alabama for the exhibits themselves. We do ask that venues handle delivery and installation costs and that they carry appropriate insurance. 

In addition, we encourage venues to promote the exhibits and to build programming and other tie-ins around them — which might include hosting Dr. Brown or Dr. Puckett as speakers. 

Consider applying for grants to cover transportation and programming costs 

Mini grants from the Alabama Humanities Alliance are available to cover transportation expenses. Contact AHA grants director Graydon Rust at grustgrust@alabamahumanities.org for more information on applying. 

Act now! Book these exhibits and expand your impact. Contact Phillip Ratliff at ratliffphillip@gmail.com to discuss hosting either or both exhibits.