Bill to rename Marion post office for Albert Turner, Sr. passes U.S. House

A bill to rename the post office in Marion in memory of civil rights leader Albert Turner, Sr. has passed the U.S. House.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Alabama) introduced the bill in April with the support of every member of Alabama’s House delegation. The bill passed the House unanimously and will now head to the U.S. Senate.

“Albert Turner played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement,” Rep. Sewell said in a statement. “It was his leadership that helped secure many of the freedoms that we as African Americans enjoy today. It is my hope that by renaming the Marion Post Office after him, we can ensure that his legacy lives on for generations to come. I thank my colleagues for their support and look forward to getting this bill to the desk of President Biden!”

“This is a historic day for my family and the fight to keep factual history alive in a period in which our history is being stripped for future generations,” said Perry County Commissioner Albert Turner, Jr. “The work Congresswoman Terri Sewell is doing with historic preservation is monumental. This is a huge thank you for his life’s work in the field of civil rights and social justice.”

Albert Turner, Sr. was born in Perry County, Alabama in 1936. He devoted his life to the Civil Rights Movement, fighting to ensure equal access to the ballot box for African Americans. Turner worked closely with prominent leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., served as the Alabama Field Secretary for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and founded the Perry County Civic League to organize protests and boycotts for the racial integration of public facilities and schools. Turner died on April 13, 2000, at the age of 64.

Once enacted, this legislation will officially rename the Marion Post Office, located at 306 Pickens Street, as the “Albert Turner, Sr. Post Office Building.”

— Information from the Office of U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell