Alabama bicentennial finale honors history, looks towards future

MONTGOMERY — On the steps of the Alabama State Capitol on Saturday, elected officials, dignitaries and hundreds of members of the public gathered as one to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Alabama becoming a state.

The ALABAMA 200 bicentennial finale kicked off with a parade traveling from historic Court Square Fountain up Dexter Avenue to the foot of the Capitol, where Governor Kay Ivey personally greeted the participants with a trademark smile and wave as they paraded by.

The parade featured over 70 entries showcasing diverse Alabama communities and legacies, including marching bands from around the Yellowhammer State, floats, living history on wheels (such as the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park replica and a lunar rover replica from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center), elected officials and Alabama celebrities.

The more than 150-member Bicentennial All-Star Band concluded the parade, with an original composition entitled, “Something in the Water,” by Anthony Krizan, Cheryl DaVeiga, Jerry Foster and Robert W. Smith.

LIVE: Alabama Bicentennial Parade in downtown Montgomery https://t.co/zlawntRFx3

— Alabama NewsCenter (@alnewscenter) December 14, 2019

The parade was followed by the dedication of Alabama Bicentennial Park, spanning each side of Dexter Avenue nearest the capitol.

In a program beginning shortly before noon, State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), the chair of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, gave a very thoughtful, frank history of Alabama’s capitol grounds. From the darkest days to its proudest moments, Orr eloquently outlined it all.

Governor Kay Ivey took the podium after Orr to a standing ovation.

In classic Ivey fashion, the governor gave a buoyant speech celebrating the state’s 200th birthday.

“73,000 days. 2,400 months. 200 years,” Ivey began. “That, my fellow Alabamians, is how long we have been a state.”

“It’s such a brief time in the history of the world, and, yet, during these many years that parallel the life of our great country, Alabamians have been at the forefront of so many pivotal events that have shaped not only America but the world,” she continued.

“Ours is a state that is like none other,” the governor stressed. “We can be compared to those beautiful mosaic quilts from Gees Bend. Unique in their own special way, yet, when sown together, they are as beautiful as they are distinct.”

“As a daughter of rural Alabama, I grew up with a deep love for the diversity of our people, our state and even our shared history,” Ivey outlined. “Camden, my hometown, is in the heart of the Alabama Blackbelt, and it was there where the values of faith, family and the foundations of service were instilled in me as a young child. It was rural Alabama that taught me that your word is your bond. I also learned that the people of Alabama are hard-working, generous and always ready to lend a hand to someone in need.”

The governor explained that Alabama has come a long way just over the last 50 years, and much more so over 200. However, the state’s best days are still to come. Continued progress starts with each and every Alabamian working together in the present, she advised.

“I intend to leave our state better than when I started,” Ivey proclaimed.

She will be placing a letter to the future governor of Alabama of 2069 to open in the City of Montgomery’s time capsule, just as then-Governor Albert Brewer left such a letter in 1969 that Ivey read from on Saturday.

“I’d like to assure Alabamians of the future that we are carrying forward the legacy of the past and continuing to seek ways to make Alabama better,” Ivey remarked. “And one of the first, but most lasting, ways we acknowledge both our history and our future is through the unveiling of Alabama Bicentennial Park.”

“The park is the bicentennial’s legacy project as well as being a gift to generations to come,” she added.

The park features a total of 16 sculptures, each with a bronze plaque representing a different part of the state’s history — the good and the bad. Each sculpture was subsequently unveiled one-by-one, led by various elected officials, dignitaries such as NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Jody Singer and representatives from schools around Alabama.

Of the sculptures, Ivey detailed, “They focus on watershed moments in our history, but as often as not they show everyday citizens going about their lives and showing their commitment to hard work, innovation and doing what is right.”

“The images present stories of different places and times, but each region of the state is represented so that all who visit will see something that tells of his or her home,” she said.

NEW: Alabama Bicentennial Park Dedication LIVE from downtown Montgomery https://t.co/nwhfdgyEKO

— Alabama NewsCenter (@alnewscenter) December 14, 2019

After the unveilings, Ivey took the podium again for powerful closing remarks.

“For our first 200 years, we have more times than not been a state in constant motion,” the governor commented, “changing too slowly for some, too fast for others — but changing, nonetheless, in meaningful ways that have helped usher in progress while also bringing about transformation.”

She added that Alabama is proud to be the home of some of history’s finest authors, musicians, actors, athletes and the like.

“But, we are also proud of the unsung heroes, those hardworking, God-fearing men and women who don’t have household names that are memorized in school,” Ivey continued,” but whose blood, sweat and tears helped build the state we know and love today.”

“As we mark our 200th birthday at this intersection of the past and the future, we acknowledge this is our story. It is not only a story of our past, but more importantly, it’s about where we intend to go,” the governor stressed. “And it is up to each of us as we help chart that course.”

Ivey concluded, “Let us now go into our third century confident of this: our future is guaranteed to be brighter if we travel this road together.”

The bicentennial finale seemed to be a major priority and day of excitement for the governor personally. Just as she made a point to greet the paraders, Ivey also stuck around after the park dedication to say hello to members of the public and thank them for attending.

.@GovernorKayIvey sticking around afterwards to thank people for attending personally. Shaking hands and speaking with members of the public who took time to come celebrate Alabama’s 200th birthday pic.twitter.com/v0ky5BoyKH

— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) December 14, 2019

You can view a comprehensive live-tweet thread from the festivities here.

The ALABAMA 200 finale concludes with a free concert on Saturday starting at 4:00 p.m. at the capitol. That will include a state-of-the-art light show presented by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians that will help tell the story of Alabama in a never-before-seen way. Alabama’s Taylor Hicks, who won the fifth season of “American Idol,” and Jett Williams, the Montgomery-born daughter of Hank Williams, will host the concert, which features a bevy of Yellowhammer State musical artists.

Encores of the light show presentation are also scheduled for Sunday for 5:30 and 6:3o p.m. at the Alabama Attorney General Building.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn