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Alabama
Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Alabama.
280Documented
5In custody
155Released
3Awaiting trial
Eras of repression in Alabama
Where Alabama’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.
1930s 176
1960s 36
1970s 26
2020s 11
1950s 11
1980s 4
Recent dashboard entries from Alabama
The newest published events and reporting located in Alabama, updated automatically from the live dashboard.
Protest
About 400 march silently to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in an 'All Roads Lead to the South' voting-rights action
Protest
Thousands attend protests in Selma and Montgomery for voting rights
Prosecution
The Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 federal fraud and money-laundering counts; the civil-rights group pleaded not guilty, called it a vindictive, politically motivated prosecution, and moved to dismiss the case
Prosecution
Fairhope "No Kings" costume protester Renea Gamble acquitted on all charges
Arrest
Woman in an inflatable costume arrested at the Fairhope No Kings protest
Protest
About 5,000 rally at Railroad Park for a Birmingham No Kings protest
Protest
A No Kings rally draws a crowd at the Houston County Courthouse in Dothan
Protest
Jeana Gamble arrested in a costume at an Alabama "No Kings" protest; acquitted of all charges
Documented cases
280 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.
P
Patricia Ann Shuttlesworth
Released
Patricia Ann Shuttlesworth, a teenage daughter of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, was hauled off a Greyhound bus...
R
Ruby Fredericka Shuttlesworth
Released
Ruby Fredericka Shuttlesworth, a daughter of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, was arrested and jailed with her sis...
F
Fred Shuttlesworth Jr.
Released
Fred Shuttlesworth Jr., the young son of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, was hauled off a Greyhound bus and jaile...
J
Judson Simpson
Released
Judson Simpson was a Black sharecropper and Share Croppers' Union member wounded and arrested in the 19 Decemb...
L
L. Simpson
Released
L. Simpson was one of four Alabama sharecroppers whom a Birmingham dispatch dated December 29, 1932 reported r...
W
Will Smith (Birmingham relief protest, 1933)
The June 22 report individually lists eight Black workers arrested during home raids after the Cotta-Seville c...
J
Jane Speed
The report describes her arrest during the May 1, 1933 Birmingham demonstration and refusal of bail. The Black...
S
S. T. Stargell
S. T. Stargell was a Black worker held in Jefferson County jail for investigation of the fire that killed his...
L
Laura Stark
Released
Laura Stark was the Southern district secretary of the International Labor Defense in Birmingham, Alabama. Pol...
J
James Stevens
James Stevens was arrested during Birmingham police raids against the Southern Worker newspaper. The Daily Wor...
B
Bill Stone
Bill Stone was a white participant arrested in the October 22, 1933 police raid on an interracial unemployment...
W
Will Sullen
Released
Will Sullen was a Birmingham worker arrested in the October 1934 literature raid. The October 25 Birmingham di...
C
Comit Talbert
Comit Talbert was a Black sharecropper, Sharecroppers Union member and cotton-pickers strike activist in Opeli...
L
L. C. Tate
Released
L. C. Tate was a jailed leader of Mine-Mill Local 137 in the 1937 Thomas Furnace (Republic Steel) strike at Bi...
D
Donald Thigpen
Released
Alabama prisoner who faced a March 10, 1978 execution date alongside Johnny Imani Harris; at Harris's request...
W
Wheeler Thomas
Released
Wheeler Thomas was a Birmingham worker arrested in the October 1934 literature raid. The October 25 Birmingham...
L
Louise Thompson
Louise Thompson was the International Workers Order's organizer in the South. The Daily Worker of May 14, 1934...
E
Eugene Thornton
The July 23 Talladega dispatch individually identifies him among four Samoset Cotton Mill union men already he...
P
Pete Turney
Released
Pete Turney was a Black Birmingham worker and union activist imprisoned for possessing a leaflet that called a...
F
Fred Walker (Birmingham chain gang)
Fred Walker was identified by the Daily Worker of February 12, 1935, page 4, as a class-war prisoner in Birmin...
L
Lanny Walters
Lanny Walters, a Black Communist, was jailed for addressing an interracial meeting in Tarrant City in 1935.
E
Erwin Warren
Erwin Warren was a Birmingham, Alabama dairy worker and trade unionist. The Daily Worker of April 6, 1936 repo...
R
Robert Washington
Released
Robert Washington was a Black organizer and local International Labor Defense leader in Alabama. Police jailed...
G
George West
George West was jailed near Tuskegee with his father Robert. A March 1921 report alleges racial hostility and...
Institutions in Alabama
Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Alabama that appear in the census’s case files.
Birmingham City JailBirmingham, Alabama
20 cases
Kilby PrisonMontgomery, Alabama
11 cases
Atmore State PrisonAtmore, Alabama
8 cases
Holman PrisonAtmore, Alabama
7 cases
Montgomery City JailMontgomery, Alabama
4 cases
Jefferson County Jail (Birmingham, Alabama)Birmingham, Alabama
4 cases
Montgomery County JailMontgomery, Alabama
3 cases
Etowah County JailGadsden, Alabama
1 case