South Titusville in Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
St Paul Lutheran Church
Jefferson County
| | Civil Rights Evangelism for Justice | |
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, March 11, 2026
1. St Paul Lutheran Church Marker
Civil Rights Evangelism for Justice
Rev. Joseph W. Ellwanger, the dynamic pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church from 1958 to 1967, was a member of the Central Committee of Strategists for the Birmingham Civil Rights Campaign of 1963. On March 6, 1965, Rev. Ellwanger led the Concerned White Citizens of Alabama in a demonstration against voter suppression and intimidation at the Dallas County Courthouse in Selma, believed to be the first all-white protest for African American civil rights in Alabama. His remarkable actions and the fortitude of his church congregation influenced passage of the 1964 Civil Rights and 1965 Voting Rights Acts against Jim Crow segregation.
Key Moments in Rev. Ellwanger's Fight for Racial Equality (1958-1967)
1958-Joined the Birmingham branch of the sole statewide bi-racial group. the Alabama Council on Human Relations
1962-Joined the Inter-Citizens Council to document police brutality 1963-Served in the spring campaign of demonstrations and marches led by the SCLC and Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights
1965-Led 72 White people in a Selma voting rights protest: met with Pres. Lyndon Johnson and Gov. George Wallace to support voting rights legislation
Erected 2024 by Commissioner Shelia Tyson, Jefferson
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1958.
Location. 33° 29.677′ N, 86° 49.619′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in South Titusville. It is at the intersection of 6th Avenue South and 2nd Street South, on the right when traveling south on 6th Avenue South. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 131 6th Ave S, Birmingham AL 35205, 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: Washington School (approx. 0.2 miles away); Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter From Birmingham Jail (approx. 0.3 miles away); South Elyton Baptist Church (approx. 0.4 miles away); Colored Memorial Park (approx. 0.4 miles away); Disabled American Veterans (approx. 0.7 miles away); The New Pilgrim Baptist Church / New Pilgrim Baptist Church Timeline (approx. Ύ mile away); Old Elyton Courthouse Bell (approx. Ύ mile away); Wilson's Raiders (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, March 11, 2026
2. St Paul Lutheran Church Marker
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, March 11, 2026
3. St Paul Lutheran Church Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on March 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 15, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
