1. On May 13, 1955, the Freedom Rides began in Montgomery, Alabama. This was a series of civil rights protests that aimed to desegregate public transportation in the Southern United States.

2. In 1862, during the Civil War, Union forces led by General Ormsby M. Mitchel captured the city of Huntsville in Alabama. This victory helped give the Union control of northern Alabama.

3. On May 13, 1917, a tornado struck the city of Birmingham, Alabama, killing 37 people and injuring over 200. The storm caused widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure in the city.

4. On this day in 1937, the trial of the "Scottsboro Boys" began in Decatur, Alabama. These nine African-American teenagers were accused of raping two white women in 1931, and their trial became a landmark case in the fight for civil rights.

5. In 2013, the Alabama state legislature passed a new law on May 13 that allowed public schools to offer elective courses on the Bible. The law was controversial, with critics arguing that it violated the separation of church and state.