Memories of an Imperial City: Race, Gender, and Birmingham, Alabama

Abstract

AbstractSeptember 15, 2013, marked the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. The bombing remains one of the most infamous events in the history of white supremacist violence in the United States. While conventional accounts of the event and its aftermath often consider the legal restructuring of the US state following the passage of subsequent Civil Rights legislation, little has been written about the transnational significance of Birmingham in shaping the character of US power abroad. This article argues that memorialisation and cultural architecture of Birmingham represent a significant crucible forging a particular style of liberal empire. Tracing a cultural genealogy of Birmingham through the writings of former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and famed scholar‐activist Angela Davis, I demonstrate how Birmingham, as a site of historic black struggle, has been remembered alongside the place‐making of empire.