Jeff Drew recalls his youth on Birmingham’s ‘Dynamite Hill,’ hosting MLK and integrating Ensley High
Jeff Drew and his parents played active roles in the civil rights movement. In response to a request from family friend Martin Luther King Jr., Drew became one of the Black students who integrated Ensley High School. (Joseph Allen / Alabama NewsCenter)
Jeff Drew grew up on Birmingham’s “Dynamite Hill” in the 1950s and 1960s during some of the darkest days of the battle to dismantle the city’s system of segregated housing. The Smithfield community gained its ugly nickname because of multiple bombings conducted by the Ku Klux Klan to try to scare off Black families who were working to integrate the neighborhood. Drew’s family was often threatened by the Klan, and their house became a secret meeting place for civil rights activists, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who stayed frequently at the home.
As a young boy, Drew had no clue that King, whom he called “Uncle Mike,” would become a monumental figure in the cause of equal justice and human rights. But when Drew grew to be a teenager and King asked him to help integrate all-white Ensley High School, there was no hesitation.
In remembrance of King, and in commemoration of Black History Month, Drew shared his remarkable story with Alabama NewsCenter.
Dynamite Hill: Jeff Drew talks about his family’s role in Birmingham’s civil rights movement from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
