Bull Connor’s Tank Returns to Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM: For the first time in decades, Bull Connor’s police tank was once again on the street of Birmingham.  This time, its blue police paint faded, and exterior rusting, the vehicle wasn’t quite as intimidating.

The City of Birmingham pulled the personnel carrier out of a “vehicle graveyard” in Georgia.  It’s one of 2 vehicles that will go on display at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.  Crews will restore the tank, and include it in the BCRI’s “Expanding the Legacy” Campaign Renovation Project.  Other items in exhibit will include shards of glass from the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and a cross and shovel used in a Huntsville hate crime. 

The new BCRI exhibit opens during the Institute’s Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration in January.