Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail

— The Cloverleaf beneath Interstates 65 and 85 —

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, signed into law by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorized the construction of 41,000 miles
of the Interstate Highway System over a ten year period - the largest
public works project in American history to that time.

State and city officials sought locations for the new interstates
where transportation paths were reasonable, but also in areas
where land acquisition costs were low. Many of these "right of
way" areas were selected in minority communities throughout
the US. In the South, examples of strategic targeting of black
communities have been documented, including Birmingham, New
Orleans, Miami and Montgomery.

Interstates 85 and 65 intersect precisely at the heart of the historic
black community that was instrumental in the civil rights movement
Known today as "The Cloverleaf," this intersection and the surrounding
interstates construction targeted where the leadership and strength
of the movement was grounded including its strongest churches
organizations, and thriving black neighborhoods.

Entire communities vanished as residents were relocated and
businesses closed. The remaining structures of Holt Street Baptist
Church (home of the first mass meeting of the Montgomery Bus
Boycott), Mount Zion AME Church, First CME Church and Loveless
School stand as sentinels of the ravages of time and politics.

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Show me all markers in:  Montgomery, AL  |  Montgomery County  |  36108  |  Alabama  |  United States of America

Sherman W. White, Jr.
Holt Street Baptist Church
Percy Lavon Julian
Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal AME Zion Church
Black Churches Provide Significant Support for the March and Voting
Loveless School/Henry Allen Loveless
From Bus Boycott to Voting Rights: Community Activism 1955-65
Cleveland Court Apartments
Day Street Baptist Church
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

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