A choir with a poignant historic link to Wales performed outside a house in Adamsdown as a powerful new mural was unveiled. The gospel choir of the University of Alabama at Birmingham delivered a rousing rendition of two songs in Cardiff on Tuesday morning as part of a cultural exchange showing the deep and somewhat unexpected links between Alabama and Wales.
The relationship between Wales and Birmingham, Alabama, goes back to 1963 when the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan in a vicious attack that marked a key moment in the civil rights movement.
Help came from an unexpected source as the issue became a top priority in Wales, with the Western Mail leading a campaign for donations to repair the church's stained glass window. An article in the Alabama newspaper the Tuscaloosa News on Thursday, September 19, 1963 quoted designer John Petts who said: "Perhaps Wales can show the way to other nations and even win support from many white Americans by making the first move to recreate this damaged church."
