More than a decade in the making, 14 Black Belt counties in Alabama are now officially designated a National Heritage Area, which could pave the way for new funding and tourism opportunities.

President Joe Biden on Jan. 6 signed into law the designation of the Black Belt National Heritage Area.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, who has long advocated for the designation, shepherded through the House of Representatives the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Act, which was included in broader legislation signed by the president.

“As the birthplace of the civil rights and voting rights movements, the Black Belt is where some of the most consequential chapters of American history played out,” Sewell said after the Senate and House last December approved legislation that included the designation. “As a proud daughter of the Black Belt, I’m thrilled that this region will be getting the national recognition it deserves, and I remain endlessly grateful to my colleagues for their support in this worthwhile endeavor.”

Civil Rights marchers cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. (U.S. Civil Rights Trail)

National Heritage Areas are established by Congress “for the purpose of assisting efforts to protect and promote communities that are regarded as distinctive because of their culture, history, resources and environment.” The historic areas are authorized to receive up to $1 million in federal funding annually to preserve, protect and promote important sites, a news release said.

The National Park Service (NPS) describes National Heritage Areas as “places where historic, cultural and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes.”

Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas are “large lived-in landscapes. Consequently, National Heritage Area entities collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs,” an NPS spokesman said. As of 2022, there were 55 National Heritage Areas across the nation, including the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area.

According to the legislation, the University of West Alabama (UWA) will work with NPS officials and Black Belt communities to determine a strategic management plan for the heritage area.

“Designating Alabama’s Black Belt as a National Heritage Area is a tremendous achievement and marks the culmination of more than a decade of work and support by countless volunteers and organizations not only across the Black Belt but from throughout the state of Alabama and across the nation,” said Tina Naremore Jones, UWA assistant provost and vice president for economic and workforce development.

“This designation starts a new chapter for us and provides confirmation that this region, with its famously rich soils and landscapes and its undeniably complex history, has even more to contribute to the American story,” Jones said.

Birders flock to Greensboro, Alabama, each year for the Black Belt Birding Festival. (Alabama Audubon)

As many as 21 Alabama counties are considered part of the state’s Black Belt region, according to various definitions. Named for its rich dark soil, the Black Belt was a center for cotton production using enslaved people during the antebellum period and later became a cauldron for the civil rights movement and the site of some of the most important civil rights events of the 1960s, including Bloody Sunday and the Selma-to-Montgomery march. The Black Belt is home to unique natural habitats, rare species of plants and animals, and distinct arts and cultural traditions.

“Our new heritage area will not only provide a platform in which to showcase the rich culture, history and natural resources of the region, but it will ensure a space in which we can all learn and appreciate our shared heritage,” Jones said. “In addition, heritage areas generate positive economic impact by building local capacity through the leveraging of shared resources. At UWA, we look forward to building on the relationships that have formed as part of these shared efforts towards designation. This is an exciting day for our region.”

Learn more about National Heritage Areas here.