Just 250 miles from north to south, ALABAMA
ranges from the fast-flowing rivers, waterfalls and
lakes of the Appalachian foothills to the subtropical
bayous and white beaches of the Gulf Coast .
Most of its industry is concentrated in the north
, around rejuvenated Birmingham , and Huntsville
, first home of the nation's space program. The sun-scorched
farmlands of middle Alabama envelop sober Montgomery
, the state capital. Away from the French-influenced coastal strip
around attractive Mobile , fundamentalist Protestant
attitudes have traditionally backed a succession of right-wing
demagogues, such as George Wallace , the four-time
state governor who received ten million votes in the 1968 presidential
election.
Times have moved on since the epic civil
rights struggles in Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma
. Monuments and civic literature celebrate the achievements
of the campaigners, and even Wallace renounced his racist views,
courting - and winning - black votes in his successful campaign
for governor in 1982.
