Macon County, located in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama, has long been recognized for its place in history and for achievements by African Americans who have changed the world. Booker T. Washington established what is still thriving today, Tuskegee University. One of the institution’s renowned professors, Dr. George Washington Carver, worked and lived in Macon County. The county is also home to Tuskegee National Forest, Tuskegee Lake, and the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Museum.
People Who Shaped Macon County
Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856 – 1915) was a former slave who led Tuskegee Institute in Macon County, in time becoming the leading voice among African Americans in the United States. He championed black progress through education and entrepreneurship. His autobiography, Up From Slavery, captured the attention of a generation.
George Washington Carver (c. 1864 – 1943) was one of the leading African American scientists of the early 1900s. He studied agriculture and developed techniques to combat the soil depletion brought about by crops such as cotton. A professor at Tuskegee Institute, he was a promoter of environmentalism.
The African American pilots and their support crews who made up the Tuskegee Airmen helped shape the course of both World War II and larger military history with their contributions. They earned a reputation for excellence and distinguished themselves in combat while protecting American bombers from enemy fighters.
Fred David Gray continues to inspire new generations interested in Civil Rights and equality. An attorney who handled the Montgomery bus boycott case, Browder v. Gayle, he was elected in 1970 to the Alabama House of Representatives. In 2001, he was the first African American to serve at president of the Alabama State Bar.
Places in Macon County
Originally established in 1997 as the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center, the center was initially formed to serve as a permanent memorial to the victims and survivors of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, conducted between 1932 and 1972.
Remaining survivors, including Mr. Herman Shaw, were present at the White House on May 16, 1997, when President Bill Clinton issued a formal apology on behalf of the United States Government for the wrongs done by the study.
Mr. Shaw and the survivors’ lawyer, Fred D. Gray, spearheaded efforts to create a memorial that also encompasses the rich history of the entire community. Under this new vision, there would also be recognition of the three cultural groups that have contributed to the shaping and reshaping of Macon County – Native Americans, European Americans, and African Americans.
Over the past decades as the History Center has grown, it has added educational programs, workshops and activities, including temporary museum exhibits ranging from traveling Smithsonian exhibitions, to a locally produced Tuskegee Airmen Art showcase of national and international artists. Part of the U.S. Civil Rights History Trail, its programs have attracted the attention of individuals and groups from all over Alabama, America, and the world.
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Located at 104 South Elm Street, the center was established in 1997 to honor victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. A site on the U.S. Civil Rights History Trail, the museum explores the histories of different races in central Alabama: African Americans, Native Americans, and European Americans.
Formerly Tuskegee Institute, the school has been named a National Historic Site by the National Park Service. Several internationally known African Americans either studied or taught here, including Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and the Tuskegee Airmen.