The new history book co-authored by Secretary of State John Merrill and Tom Ward is coming to a school near you.
At Wednesday morning’s meeting of the School Superintendents of Alabama and State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey in Montgomery, Merrill delivered almost 650 copies of the history book Alabama: The Bicentennial to 142 school superintendents from across the Yellowhammer State.
To celebrate Alabama’s 200th anniversary of statehood, the book recognizes more than 400 notable Alabamians who have made significant contributions to our state.
Every school that has fourth-grade students will receive a complimentary copy for their media center. Copies of the book will also be delivered to private, parochial and independent schools.
“As the former Director of Community Relations and Community Education for the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education for 16 years, education remains a top priority to me. Through this project, I hope to assist in the education of students across the State of Alabama by providing them with the opportunity to learn more about our state,” Merrill said in a statement.
This morning, @egmackey allowed me to visit with the 142 @AlabamaDeptofEd superintendents at their 1st meeting of the school year! I was excited to present each school with 4th grade students a complimentary copy of my new book, Alabama The Bicentennial, for their Media Center! pic.twitter.com/ChFrmb9WVW
— John Merrill (@JohnHMerrill) August 28, 2019
Although he authored the book, Merrill has not and will not receive compensation of any form.
Seventy-five percent of the proceeds will go directly to Friends of the Alabama Archives, a non-profit auxiliary to the Alabama Department of Archives & History, where a scholarship fund has been created. This scholarship will provide opportunities for underprivileged students to join their classmates on field trips when those students lack the financial resources needed to make the trip to tour the state capitol.
For more information or to apply for the scholarship, contact Georgia Ann Hudson from the Alabama Department of Archives & History at georgiaann.hudson@archives.
Thank you @JohnHMerrill for the Alabama Bicentennial book. The students at @USJtigers in @DCSTigers1 can’t wait to learn more about over 400 famous Alabamians @AlabamaDeptofEd #Alabama200 pic.twitter.com/Yui3NUbAvI
— Kyle Kallhoff (@kkallhoff) August 29, 2019
Additionally, Merrill thanked ALFA, Alabama Power Company and Steve Murray, the Director of Alabama Archives & History, for their help and tremendous generosity in making this project possible.
Alabama: The Bicentennial is available for purchase at the Alabama Department of Archives & History or online at alabama200book.com.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
