1. In 1923, the Alabama State Teachers Association was founded in Tuskegee, Alabama. This organization was dedicated to improving the quality of education for African Americans in Alabama, and played a major role in the civil rights movement.

2. On January 15, 1965, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. led a march of thousands of people from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. This demonstration, known as the Selma to Montgomery march, was a pivotal moment in the struggle for equal voting rights for African Americans.

3. In 1973, the Alabama Heritage Commission was founded with the mission of preserving and promoting the culture and history of Alabama. Today, the commission operates a number of historical sites and museums throughout the state.

4. On January 15, 1997, the Alabama state legislature voted to remove the Confederate flag from the state Capitol building. This decision was made after years of controversy, and marked a significant moment in the ongoing debate over the role of Confederate symbols in American society.

5. In 2018, NASA successfully tested the rocket engine that will power the Space Launch System, a massive new rocket that will eventually take humans back to the moon and beyond. The engine was tested at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, just a few hours' drive from Alabama.