Butler Chapel AME Zion Church - Tuskegee, AL
Posted by: 
hoteltwo
N 32° 25.113 W 085° 41.965
16S E 622290 N 3587574
Marked describing the history of the Butler Chapel AME Zion Church in Tuskegee, AL.
Waymark Code: WMJ7AF
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 10/05/2013
Views: 3
Inscription:
Before the mid-1960s, Tuskegee’s black population faced many challenges when attempting to register to vote. Furthermore, the State of Alabama redrew the town’s political boundaries in an effort to prevent registered blacks from voting in local elections. In response to this discrimination, several thousand people gathered at Butler Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church on June 25, 1957 for the first meeting of the Tuskegee Civic Association’s “Crusade for Citizenship.” Rev. Kenneth L. Buford, minister of Butler Chapel, along with several other speakers, urged their listeners to boycott white businesses. Local citizens challenged the boundary changes in court and won. National court cases and legislation eventually secured blacks the right to register to vote. By February 1964, Macon County had a predominately black electorate and several black citizens had been elected to offices, including Rev. Kenneth L. Buford, who served on the Tuskegee City Council.
Marker Name: Butler Chapel AME Zion Church
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
Erected by the Alabama Historical Commission.
Date Dedicated / Placed: 2001
Marker Number: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
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