1. In 1936, civil rights pioneer, John Hulett, was born in Montgomery, Alabama. He was a key figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott that took place between 1955 and 1956. Hulett was also instrumental in the desegregation of Montgomery schools and was one of the first African Americans elected to the Montgomery City Council.

2. On July 28, 1868, a group of soldiers led by Union General George Crook defeated Confederate General John Hood's troops at the Battle of Limestone Station. The battle took place near Athens, Alabama, and was a significant victory for the Union Army during the Civil War.

3. In 1984, Alabama native, Condoleezza Rice, became the first African American woman to serve as a foreign affairs advisor to a U.S. presidential candidate. Rice would go on to serve as National Security Advisor and U.S. Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.

4. On July 28, 1965, Mobile, Alabama police arrested African American Civil Rights activists, including future Congressman John Lewis, who were participating in a peaceful march for voting rights. The march was part of the larger Selma to Montgomery March that helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year.

5. In 1983, Alabama born astronaut, Guion Bluford, became the first African American to fly in space. Bluford served as a mission specialist on the Challenger space shuttle and went on to fly on three additional space shuttle missions.