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Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
 

Globalization
⎯⎯⎯
21st Century Economy

 
 
Globalization Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
1. Globalization Marker
Inscription.
Globalization
The late 20th century introduced to Alabama a new era of international connections Statewide opportunities in higher education engineering jobs in Huntsville and healthcare innovation in Birmingham attracted immigrants and visitors from around the world Refugee Vietnamese fishermen and their families found homes on the Gulf Coast. Hispanics, drawn by agricultural construction and poultry processing jobs became the state's largest immigrant community.

The benefits of new global trade policies were not immediate. In the six years after passage of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, Alabama lost seventeen thousand manufacturing jobs, with the largest cuts coming at apparel and textile plants.

New opportunities arrived with the 1999 announcement that Mercedes Benz would manufacture automobiles at a facility in Tuscaloosa: County. Within a decade Alabamians were assembling vehicles or engines for three more auto manufacturers at locations around the state, setting a new direction for economic development and creating a mandate for high-tech workforce development.

21st Century Economy
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Alabama neared its bicentennial, the state's economy flourished in ways that were unimaginable three decades earlier. Forty thousand Alabamians worked in the automotive industry. Already assembling the newest generation of warships, Mobile became a center for aviation manufacturing and the fastest growing container port in North America. The Tennessee Valley built rockets for commercial satellites and was home to trailblazing research in biotechnology. Already a leader in the fields of healthcare and medical research, Birmingham emerged as a hub for e-commerce and software development. Nearly twenty-eight million out-of-state visitors flocked to the state mountains, beaches, golf courses and historic sites.

Growth was uneven, however. Lacking the educational infrastructure and healthcare resources needed to attract new industry some rural parts of the state struggled to gain a foothold in 21st-century, prosperity.

Automation has rapidly changed the way Alabamians work in the manufacturing center. People monitor and repair robots that do the lifting, assembling, and welding formerly performed by humans.
 
Erected 2019
21st Century Economy Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
2. 21st Century Economy Marker
by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1994.
 
Location. 32° 22.624′ N, 86° 18.092′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It can be reached from North Bainbridge Street near Dexter Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Located in Alabama Bicentennial Park in front of the Alabama Attorney General's Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 Dexter Ave, Montgomery AL 36130, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:
Globalization / 21st Century Economy Marker to right of light pole. image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
3. Globalization / 21st Century Economy Marker to right of light pole.
The Alabama State Capitol is in the background.
Made in Alabama / Space Race (a few steps from this marker); Alabama's Third Century / Alabama Voices (a few steps from this marker); Alabama Bicentennial Park (a few steps from this marker); Segregation / Civil Rights (a few steps from this marker); World War II / Defense Economy (within shouting distance of this marker); Great Depression / New Deal (within shouting distance of this marker); United States Flag Raised Over Alabama Capitol (within shouting distance of this marker); To the Memory of General Marquis De La Fayette (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.
 
Another marker is no longer nearby. A Nation Divided / Cradle of the Confederacy (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).
 
Globalization / 21st Century Economy Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
4. Globalization / 21st Century Economy Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on September 27, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 27, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 314 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 27, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
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Jul. 9, 2026