Civil Rights Sleuths: Instagram Photo Hunt


As part of the citywide celebrations honoring the 50th Anniversary of the pivotal year in the Civil Rights Movement, the Birmingham Public Library is having a contest in which participants must use their smartphones and the Instagram app in order to find and photograph historically significant locations from around the city.

During the contest, participants will discover some of the famous and not-so-famous places that played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement during 1963. Each branch of the Birmingham Public Library will  have a packet with information about a location that is not far from each library. These locations all figured into the day-to-day activities of the Movement in 1963. Several of the locations included in our Instagram photo hunt were iconic factors in the Movement.

The Civil Rights Sleuths contest will begin on Monday, March 18th and concludes on April 12th. Participants are allowed to compete as teams in the contest and there will be a prize: a $50.00 gift card that is good for any shop or restaurant at the Summit.

In order to participate in the contest, you or a member of your team will need to have the Instagram app installed on your smartphone.

Once you have the Instagram app on your phone and are ready to begin, participants should proceed to their nearest branch of the Birmingham Public Library system. The contest rules are below:
  • Visit any library in the Birmingham Public Library system between March 18th and April 12th and ask for the 1963 Packet that has information on a historic location near the library and an assignment.
  • Identify the location or object to be photographed. Ask the librarian if you need assistance in finding the location. Some of the landmarks no longer exist, but we have indicated that in the packet.
  • Proceed to those locations or find the intended objects.
  • Photograph the location or object with your smartphone. You may take a photo of yourself at the location or take a stylized photo.
  • Although not mandatory, you may want to comment on your photos in order to give the images some context for your followers.
  • A winner will be chosen at random from the contestants that complete at least five of the 22 tasks outlined in the packets. The library’s Instagram account (@bplpics) will notify the winning Instagram account by commenting on a photo from the winner on April 16, 2013.
We will showcase several of the best images that are produced during this contest through several social media outlets once the contest has begun. Best of luck to all of the participants!

If you have any questions about the contest, please contact Sandi Lee at the Springville Road Library 205-226-4081.

Comments