Editing Tuscaloosa County, Alabama (section)

===Civil Rights era===
Blacks by 1960 represented 28.7% of the county population, and they were still disenfranchised throughout the state. African Americans in Tuscaloosa were active in demonstrations and other civil rights activities throughout the 1960s, seeking [[desegregation in the United States|desegregation]] of public facilities, including the county courthouse. The university was at the center of significant moments in the civil rights movement, including the admission of [[Autherine Lucy]] and the pro-segregation demonstration that followed as well as the [[Stand in the Schoolhouse Door]] incident in which then-governor [[George Wallace]] attempted to stop desegregation of the institution by denying entrance to two [[African-American]] students.

The late 20th century brought positive economic news when [[Mercedes-Benz]] announced it would build its first U.S. assembly plant near [[Vance, Alabama|Vance]]. The facility opened in 1995 and began assembling the R-Class Grand Sport Tourer in 2005. From 2006 to 2015 it produced the [[Mercedes-Benz GL-Class|GL-Class]] vehicles; and since 1998 and 2015 respectively, has produced the [[Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class|GLS-Class]] and [[Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class|GLE-CLASS]]. The plant brought thousands of jobs to the area through its own direct hires as well as those of the many component suppliers it attracted.