In the 1960’s, while there were bombs in Birmingham churches, lynching in Mississippi and brutality everywhere, Anniston, relatively speaking was different.

Anniston is an unusual town with a unique story of its struggle with race relations in the 1960's. President John F. Kennedy called Anniston's Bi-racial Human Relations Council created in 1962, "a model for the nation." Over 100 cities nationwide called on Anniston’s city officials to get information on "the Anniston model."

September 15, 2003 marked the 40th anniversary of Anniston's 'incident at the library', a pivotal event in the racial history of Anniston. This 40th anniversary was marked by the publication by NewSouth Books of Beyond the Burning Bus: The Civil Rights Revolution  in a Southern Town, by Dr. J. Phillips Noble and a whole series of events and activities.

This website is about this book,. a series of commemorative events and activities, as well as an ever expanding archives of the Civil Rights era in Anniston

This site tells the story or a courageous group of people – black and white – who worked together, suffered together and ultimately prevailed. They are all true heroes.