Tuskegee, Alabama

Tuskegee is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 11,846 and is designated a Micropolitan Statistical Area. It has been the site of major African-American achievements for more than 100 years. It is where, in 1881, Lewis Adams founded the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers, which later became Tuskegee Institute and then Tuskegee University, with the mission of educating a newly freed people for self-sufficiency, and was the birthplace of Rosa Louise Parks in 1913. Today it remains a center for African-American education and became a part of the National Parks System in 1974. One of the most famous teachers at Tuskegee was George Washington Carver, whose name is linked to new forms of research into Southern farming method and crops. Tuskegee and Tuskegee Institute were also home to the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the first squadron of African-American pilots in the U.S. Military. The city is the county seat of Macon County, and is known as the home of Tuskegee University "The Pride of the Swift Growing South".

Tuskegee, Alabama
City
Nickname(s): 
Thou Pride of the Swift Growing South
Location in Macon County, Alabama
Location in Macon County, Alabama
Coordinates: 32°25′53″N 85°42′24″W
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyMacon
Government
 • MayorOmar Neal (D)
Area
 • City15.7 sq mi (40.7 km2)
 • Land15.5 sq mi (40.1 km2)
 • Water0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation
463 ft (141 m)
Population
 (2005)
 • City11,590
 • Metro
22,810
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
36083, 36087, 36088
Area code(s)334
FIPS code01-77304
GNIS feature ID0128211
Websitehttp://www.tuskegeealabama.org/

Notable residents
  • Andre Thornton, born in Tuskegee, major league baseball player[1]
  • Lionel Richie, born & raised in Tuskegee, then graduated from Tuskegee University,R&B singer, songwriter, composer, producer and occasional actor.
  • The Tuskegee Airmen
  • Lt Gen Russell C. Davis former Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard.
  • Rimp Lanier, former Major League Baseball player.
  • Tom Joyner, nationally syndicated Radio DJ
  • Eric Motley, former US State Department official and director of the Aspen Institute
  • Evander McIvor Law, American Civil War general

References
  1. Reichler, Joseph L., ed. (1979) [1969]. The Baseball Encyclopedia (4th ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-578970-8.


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