The Red Tide of Tuscaloosa, Alabama

If you are on a tour of the US southern states make sure you include Tuscaloosa as part of the itinerary.

Situated in Western Alabama, it a place that’s very manageable. It’s big enough to have the usual amenities but small enough to get to know very quickly. The city is home to the University of Alabama which, whilst it has an excellent record for academic achievement, is perhaps best known as the home of the Crimson Tide – the student supporters of the college football team. Like many university cities the abundance of scholars and perhaps more importantly their spending power makes it a vibrant place to visit.

The downtown area is very safe and very walkable, and one can enjoy the hospitality at any one of the local independent venues of food, drink and music.

On my first port of call, having booked into the Embassy Suites, I visited the Black Warrior Craft Brewing Company for a few ales. Named after the River that runs close to the city the bar offers a wide range of beer including some that are not so alcoholic that you can actually drink more than one. What was pleasant about the establishment was that it seemed just a place to grab a beer and have a chat with friends in a relaxed social environment.

The best compliment I could pay it was that it was just like an old British pub, a community meeting place. I got into a very detailed discussion with a complete stranger about the virtues of boiled peanuts, where they originated from and the benefits of eating them whilst watching sport.

The next morning, I was up early for breakfast at Rama Jamas the infamous diner situated in the heart of the University and with decades of history relating to the Crimson Tide.  Serving breakfasts, burgers and the like since 1996 the place is adorned with memorabilia. The walls are papered with newspaper headlines relating to the college football team and almost every square inch of non-eating or cooking space is covered in pennants, flags, hats and other miscellaneous items.

The food is good, the atmosphere, even at eight o clock in the morning, is good and you feel, once again, at ease with your surroundings. Just around the corner is the enormous, stadium which would put most modern sports facilities in Europe to shame and linked to that is the Paul W. Bryant Museum which details not only the history of the football team but specifically that of their legendary coach. A small but fascinating record of how the college went from relative obscurity to leading the country in football excellence.

This being Alabama, there is a history of Civil Rights, many of which came to the attention of both the national and international media. The first of these occurred at the entrance doors to the Foster Auditorium, University of Alabama in June 1963. The then Governor, George Wallace, in attempt to fulfil his inaugural address of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” blocked the doorway to two African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, who were attempting to register for classes.

After a pubic and widely covered stand off the US President Kennedy, authorised the National Guard to order Wallace aside and eventually some time later he did and the students were allowed to enter. This however was not the end of Civil Rights issues and in 1964 at the First African Baptist Church, many African Americans were set upon by local Klan members One 21-year-old man Maxie Thomas was badly beaten and almost lost an eye. Fifty eight years later it was my privilege to meet and interview Maxie so he could explain in more detail the events now known as Bloody Tuesday.

Tuscaloosa is not a destination to miss.

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