Fountain Heights in Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Poole Funeral Chapel
Destination
| — | Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail | — |
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
1. Poole Funeral Chapel Marker
Poole Funeral Chapel served as a “safe haven” for demonstrators during “Project C's” mass civil rights demonstrations in April - May 1963. In 1957, its owners, brothers John and Ernest Poole, came to the rescue of Lamar Weaver, a White Church leader and civil rights activist. He was attacked and threatened with death by an angry White mob for shaking hands and speaking with Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and his wife, Ruby, as they integrated the Whites-Only waiting room at Birmingham's Terminal Station (pictured here). The Poole brothers and their employees put Weaver in a casket to hide him from the people who had threatened him. They later helped him leave Birmingham. Weaver moved to Ohio.
“The time had come when the walls of segregation had to come down.”
Lamar Weaver
in his book, "Bury My Heart in Birmingham, The Lamar Weaver Story: Warriors of the Civil Rights Movement."
Lesson C8: Why do you think Weaver talked to and was friendly towards the Shuttleworths, even though he knew it might be dangerous? Why did the mob want to hurt him? And why did the Poole brothers help him?
Erected by the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. (Marker Number C8.)
Topics and series. This historical marker
this page online
Location. 33° 31.022′ N, 86° 48.993′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in Fountain Heights. It is at the intersection of 15th Street Borth and 7th Avenue North, on the left when traveling south on 15th Street Borth. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1501 7th Ave N, Birmingham AL 35203, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. 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: St John AME Church and Day Care Center (within shouting distance of this marker); Ballard-Hamilton House and Office (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Paul United Methodist Church (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Baptist Church (about 500 feet away); Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (about 500 feet away); Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and Parsonage (about 500 feet away); Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth (about 600 feet away); Jim Crow on the Books (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.
Regarding Poole Funeral Chapel.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
2. Poole Funeral Chapel Marker
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
3. Poole Funeral Chapel Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 8, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 10, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 732 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 10, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
