Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church
(Now Deliverance Temple)
— Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail —
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
1. Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church Marker
Built 1959, 1410 & 1414 6th Ave. N.
Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church hosted strategy and mass meetings during the Birmingham Movement. It also served as the departure points for the April 12, 1963, Good Friday march to City Hall, led by the Reverends Fred L. Shuttlesworth, Ralph D. Abernathy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (called "The Big Three" in the modern Civil Rights Movement). Police arrested Dr. King during the march. While in jail, he wrote his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail” in response to local clergy who criticized the timing of the mass demonstrations and Dr. King's presence in the city.
“In 1963, the Negroes of America wrote an Emancipation Proclamation to themselves."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his book, "Why We Can't Wait."
Lesson C5: How did Dr King use jail, a place that its freedom a way to win freedom for pressed people.
Erected by the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. (Marker Number C5.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Churches & Religion • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical date for this entry is April 12, 1963.
Location.
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. St. Paul United Methodist Church (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ballard-Hamilton House and Office (about 500 feet away); Poole Funeral Chapel (about 500 feet away); Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and Parsonage (about 600 feet away); St John AME Church and Day Care Center (about 600 feet away); Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (about 600 feet away); Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth (about 700 feet away); Jim Crow on the Books (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.
More about this marker. Part of the C-Route - Destination.
Regarding Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church. The Civil Rights Activist Committee “Home of the Foot Soldiers“ is the Information Center for the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail.
The church is now known as the "Deliverance Temple Interfaith Church."
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
2. Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church Marker
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
3. Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church & marker
Credits. This page was last revised on April 15, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 10, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 218 times since then and 59 times this year. Last updated on April 15, 2024, by Dr Tom Ellison of Birmingham, Alabama. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 10, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
