Alabama NewsCenter – Bishop Calvin Woods: The lasting legacy of a Birmingham civil rights giant

By Barnett Wright
The Birmingham Times

Visiting his grandfather, Bishop Calvin Woods, in Birmingham’s Central Park neighborhood, Mike McClure Jr. and his other younger family members did what most children did when they were around their elders: Have fun.

Woods’ daughter, Angela, is McClure’s mother. “One of the things that’s incredible to me is for the longest we didn’t know you were this civil rights icon. You were just Granddaddy,” McClure told Woods during a recent interview. “So, for me, I want to say, ‘thank you,’ and I think it’s so important for people who are reading this to understand that you can be great and still have a family life. You know, I remember coming over for Christmas or literally moving back to Birmingham, just sleeping in one of the rooms at your house. I know you don’t want me to say this — (I remember you) chasing us down the hallway with your teeth,” McClure said as both of them laughed. “Or I can remember you shooting squirrels. Or putting all of us in the car, taking us to Krystal or McDonald’s.”

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