Alabama Honors Its 14 HBCUs With a Permanent Wall at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

By Janice Robinson-Celeste

Here is some good news worth sharing with your teen. On October 23, 2026, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute unveiled a permanent tribute wall honoring all 14 Alabama HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities), with each school’s name and founding year. A new exhibit on the schools’ role in civil rights, education and American culture runs through December 12. (Source: WBRC)

What Happened in Birmingham?

BCRI President and CEO Deborah Bowie told WBRC that every one of the state’s HBCUs was in the room for the unveiling, just a week before the Magic City Classic. “All 14 HBCUs are represented,” she said.

Alabama has more HBCUs than any other state, and the wall puts all of them in one place, inside a museum that tells the story of the movement many of their students helped lead.

The 14 Alabama HBCUs on the Wall

These are the schools recognized as Alabama HBCUs:

• Alabama A&M University (Normal)
• Alabama State University (Montgomery)
• Bishop State Community College (Mobile)
• Gadsden State Community College (Gadsden)
• J.F. Drake State Technical College (Huntsville)
• Lawson State Community College (Birmingham)
• Miles College (Fairfield)
• Oakwood University (Huntsville)
• Selma University (Selma)
• Shelton State Community College (Tuscaloosa)
• Stillman College (Tuscaloosa)
• Talladega College (Talladega)
• Trenholm State Community College (Montgomery)
• Tuskegee University (Tuskegee)

Visit Alabama HBCUs on a Family College Trip

If your child is thinking about college, Birmingham makes an easy home base. Start at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute so your teen sees the history first, then visit Miles College and Lawson State nearby. Stillman and Shelton State in Tuscaloosa are about an hour away, and Talladega, Tuskegee and Montgomery are within a few hours’ drive.

• Book campus tours ahead of time and ask about overnight visit programs for high school juniors and seniors.
• Let your teen write three questions for each school, so the visit is theirs.
• Add a game day. The Magic City Classic between Alabama State and Alabama A&M is October 31 at Legion Field (source: Bham Now).

Looking for more trips with meaning? See our list of Black heritage travel destinations, and share this with a family that has a junior or senior at home.

Turning the Alabama HBCUs Wall Into a College Conversation

Seeing Alabama HBCUs honored side by side is a natural opening to talk about college with your child, even if graduation still feels far away. Try these simple steps:

• Ask your child which school names they recognize and what they already know about each one.
• Look up two or three campuses together online and compare the majors, sports and clubs that match their interests.
• Talk about cost early. Our guide on how to fund your child’s college dreams is a good place to start.
• If your teen is getting closer to leaving home, read how to send your teen to college without losing connection.

Small conversations like these help your child picture themselves on a campus long before applications are due.