Dale Hawkins Long is a survivor of the September 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, where four of his friends were tragically killed and twenty-seven people injured. He and his late brother, Kenneth escaped unscathed. Dale just recently returned from a week’s visit to Birmingham where he participated in several events commemorating the 60^th anniversary of the bombing.

Dale’s experience in Birmingham led him to dedicate his life to volunteering. The recipient of numerous awards for volunteer service, for over almost five decades he has been a mentor with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. In 1989 Dale was honored to be named the National Big Brother of the Year. In 2007 he was the recipient of the Cliford B. Norman, National Local Board Member of the year.  Just recently he received the inaugural Alpha Phi Alpha, Big Brother of the Year at the 97^th General Convention in Dallas.

In 2020 he was summoned to Birmingham by Roche Productions and renowned French documentary filmmaker, David Korn-Brzoza who specializes in historical and geopolitical documentaries. Dale was interviewed to be part of a two-hour film that captures the history of the Ku Klux Klan from its origin to the present day. The film explores some of the major cases and abuses of the Klan during the Civil Rights era, including the 1963 church bombing. It was broadcast in France and 17 countries on the European cultural TV channel ARTE.

In December 2021 he once again journeyed to Birmingham for an interview by Oxford Films, a London based company as they produced a three-part documentary in celebration of the British Broadcasting Company’ (BBC) 100 Year Anniversary. Again, he discussed the 60’s era Civil Rights Movement and the tragic, KKK bombing of 16^th Street Baptist Church. The three- part documentary narrated by art historian,  Simon Schama was broadcast recently on BBC2. Efforts are being made to show it in US markets soon.

Dale is a speaker on the national platform who has shared his role in American History as a primary source of Jim Crow, 60’s era Birminhgham with organizations including the National Urban League, Congressional Black Caucus, the United Methodist Church’s General Conference, the University of Michigan, Rutgers University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Dallas, Texas Southern University, Southern Methodist University, the University of Wyoming, The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, The National MENTOR Summitt, ONCOR Electric Delivery, The American Heart Association and the City of Dallas. In 1990 he shared the podium at the White House with President George H. W. Bush as the President announced one of his Youth Engaged in Service initiatives. In 2004 during the 40^th anniversary commemoration of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, President George W. Bush included in his White House addresses one of Dale’s childhood memories of growing up in Birmingham. For volunteer work Dale has garnered media attention from Forbes, Essence, Time and Ebony Magazines, the Dallas Morning News, PBS, CNN, C-Span, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Sphinx Magazine, the NBC Nightly News and is listed in the 2011 Grio’s 100.

Dale was born in Tuskegee, Alabama and reared in Birmingham where he graduated from high school in 1970. He accepted a music scholarship, becoming a member of the famous “Ocean of Soul” Marching Band of Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, where he earned the Bachelor of Science Degree in 1974.

He is a member of the Garland Branch NAACP, the Leadership Dallas Alumni Association, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, a Life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a Life member of the Texas Southern University National Alumni Association - Dallas Chapter and Kidsinbirmingham1963.org.

A resident of Garland, Texas he is the former Community Outreach Coordinator/Public Information Officer for the City of Dallas Public Works Department where he retired in April 2018.  Previously he worked for a contractor on the NASA Space Shuttle Program, Houston, Texas Instruments in Dallas, The City of Garland, Texas and a contractor with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Light Rail Design and Construction Project.

Dale and his wife Ellen Scott Long are proud parents of adult daughters Kendra Dale and Amber Nicole and are members of Hamilton Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.  In his spare time Dale enjoys reading, music and photography. A retired marathoner, Dale now does “power walking” and practices yoga.