TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- In recognition of Women’s History Month, The University of Alabama is hosting a forum March 1 at 7 p.m. in 151 Shelby Hall celebrating the work of women in the modern civil rights movement.

Forum speakers will include notable civil rights activists Shirley Sherrod of the Georgia Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Carolyn McKinstry of the 16th Street Baptist Church Foundation and Winifred Green of the Southern Coalition for Educational Equity in New Orleans.

All three speakers have also been involved in the Rural Black Women’s Initiative.

The forum is sponsored at UA by the Crossroads Community Center, Community Service Center, Women’s Resource Center, department of women’s studies, Student Government Association, Campus Programming Council and Ferguson Center Student Union.

The event is free and open to the public.

There will be a reception immediately following the panel discussion and participants will have the opportunity to meet the guest speakers and talk to them about their experiences.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.