By David Sher
Birmingham, we just can’t get a break!
Just when we’re on the verge to take a leap forward we lurch towards a big fall.
I hope you saw and celebrated last week’s al.com article proclaiming Birmingham “a burgeoning destination for recent college graduates.”
Details were reported by the Wall Street Journal based on a study from payroll service provider ADP.
Birmingham ranked as one of the top five best “second tier cities” for young professionals.
“WSJ said that the top-ranking cities tend to have a higher-than-usual concentration of technology, health and financial firms. Like Birmingham, they are home to research and healthcare institutions that do a lot of hiring themselves.
“Birmingham is also winning over young professionals. Companies in healthcare, finance and technology are big employers, as is the University of Alabama at Birmingham and its medical center,”
Yes, the Magic City is having a moment.
But if you know Birmingham’s history, you know what comes next.
We rise. We shine. Then – BLAM.
The Pattern Begins
It’s been this way since the very beginning. Birmingham was founded in 1871 with grand ambitions. The vision was for Birmingham to be the Pittsburgh of the South, where coal and iron ore would fuel an industrial empire.
Two years later? Cholera epidemic. Just like that, the dream was put on hold while residents fled or died.
Steel City Rising
But Birmingham bounced back. By the early 1900s, the steel mills were roaring. Tennessee Coal and Iron Company (TCI) made us the industrial heart of the South. Workers poured in. Money flowed. The city grew like magic.
Then came the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously declared Birmingham “the hardest hit city in America.” The steel industry collapsed. TCI struggled. Families lost everything.
The pattern was already clear: Birmingham plus prosperity equals inevitable disaster.
The war brings prosperity to Birmingham
World War II saved us. The steel mills cranked back to life. Munitions factories hummed. Birmingham fed the war effort and prosperity returned.
But then after the war came new problems. The civil rights clashes of the 1960s put Birmingham on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of television screens nationwide. Bull Connor’s dogs and fire hoses embarrassed the city and dimmed our future.
The economy was stagnant. Young people left and then a miracle…
UAB to the rescue
Enter UAB. Starting in the 1960s and exploding through the following decades, UAB became Birmingham’s and Alabama’s new economic engine. Medical research. Healthcare excellence. Thousands of jobs.
UAB is the largest single employer in the state.
UAB generates $12.1 billion in economic impact annually and supports 107,687 jobs statewide.
One in every 20 Alabama jobs either is held directly by a UAB employee or is supported as a result of UAB’s presence.
Young professionals seem genuinely excited about Birmingham.
They’re choosing to stay after college or moving back from bigger cities. The energy is real this time.
And here we are today, riding high again.
The food scene is booming. Amenities like the Coca- Cola Amphitheater are energizing our downtown. Our tech companies are growing.
The energy is real.
Here Comes the BLAM
But history is rhyming again.
Cuts in government and NIH funding are already beginning to play havoc at UAB.
UAB ranks in the top 1% of NIH-funded institutions in America.
In the past six years, UAB has received over $3 billion in NIH Funding.
I can’t imagine what’s going on behind the walls at UAB.
UAB is likely planning to cut jobs, programs, and research.
It’s going to be ugly.
UAB is Birmingham’s economic foundation.
Sound familiar?
Birmingham built its early economy around TCI. When TCI struggled during the Depression, the entire city collapsed with it.
Now we’ve built our modern economy around UAB.
If UAB catches a cold, Birmingham will likely contract pneumonia.
One major institution. One economic pillar. One very big vulnerability.
Where are our champions?
What makes this particularly painful is the silence from Washington. Our senators and congressmembers aren’t fighting for UAB’s funding.
They’re not making the case that these cuts could undermine Birmingham’s and Alabama’s economy.
We need champions who understand that UAB isn’t just a university or a healthcare provider – UAB’s Birmingham’s economic lifeline.
Just like TCI was ninety years ago.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com
easy fix: vote out present Washington majority administration.
We need congressional term limits. I’m tired of the mentality of parties voting to win at any cost. We need congress members who do NOT always vote the party line. Actually I wish we had some known Demo candidates running for a real choice in this red state at the poll. Perhaps a newly retired corporate leader would consider opportunity for change and run unexpectedly in the blue/purple zone?
The article you reference was published in the Wall Street Journal. The same media that reported about Trump’s lewd birthday card message to Jeffery Epstein. I’m not saying it is sensationalistic journalism nor am I saying the story is without basis. What I am saying is simply, do we see evidence that Birmingham is drawing new college graduates? On this very website there has been several articles written how local children go off to other cities to find decent jobs.
Then I read the article again. “Birmingham ranked as one of the top five best “second tier cities” for young professionals.” There it is…Birmingham is a SECOND TIER CITY. Too many times we try to compete or compare our metro with Atlanta, Charlotte, or San Antonio, and not realize we are more akin to Greensboro NC, Buffalo NY, or Reno NV.
Birmingham IS a second tier city. It’s our responsibility to make it a great second tier city. Put all the bickering with Huntsville about who is bigger aside and make Birmingham the best it can be.
Birmingham was mentioned as a city on the rise by Harold Ford on Fox 5 yesterday afternoon
The Wall Street Journal is one of the top investigative sources in the country. And frankly, I doubt very much they would’ve reported on the Trump-Epstein letter if they didn’t have solid evidence for it.
I prefer mid-sized city. Tiers are useless because there is no real criteria. Compared to London and NYC, Atlanta is also second tier and yet compares itself, ridiculously, to NYC all the time.
Peer cities would be those of similar Metro populations….Memphis, Nola, Louisville, Richmond, Oklahoma City. Huntsville is not a peer city in this respect.
But while comparisons to peers can always be helpful as a guide to assess progress, I agree that Bham’s only real job is to be the best version of itself. I would never want this town to become like Atl or Nvill or Charlotte…utterly charmless places…no matter how much prosperity they have enjoyed.
Call the Congressmen and Senators to get in touch with Secretary Kennedy, whoever is leading DOGE now and explain to the President. If they want to keep their Alabama backing this is a ‘MUST DO!’
HELP PREVENT THIS DISASTER FROM HAPPENING!
Never mind the political party and stay away from the road to national anarchy being led by Soyos ? and his followers who he has funded. That would be a total travesty. I could write more about the disastrous political split we have created ourselves but somewhat ‘off subject’ here.
Learn to be good at being second tier.
Get over wanting to be like Atlanta.
I’ve lived in Atlanta and Birmingham- give me Bham any day. Atlanta is not what it’s cracked up to be.
Yes, we need better Congress people no doubt.
Republican will continue to reign for the near future
I was born at 20th and 8th Ave South- and proud of it.
I’ve lived in many places, Mtn Brook, Shelby County, Atlanta- always drawn back to the Ham although prefer suburb over city. Bham at night is dangerous it’s a fact. Bham and Bessemer are in top ten most dangerous cities in the US.
Please elaborate more on the NIH grants for UAB and maybe how that could be improved. I vaguely knew they got grants and imported many Drs and health professionals which is great. How can we improve on that? We do enjoy good medical help in Bham and should protect it. Bham is a leader in medicine but few know many details.
Try to perfect being a second tier city. That’s a worthy goal snd our medical care is 1st tier.
I know from experience that as a rule, put me in a Bham hospital Va Atlanta for any illness.
UAB deserves being defended but maybe there is some waste that needs cutting. Only health professionals and UAB know the truth here.
Maybe you should write on that subject.
Keep trying to build up the Ham it needs all the help it can get. You may want to touch on city management and political leaders locally.
Why are we listed as a top 10 most dangerous city?
Is that fiction or real? Work on this problem.
Tom Phillips
You are on point. Thank you!
Tom, thanks for your
thoughtful e-mail. A lot to think about. On the topic of dangerous, please know that the Birmingham homicide rate has been cut by more than 50% since last year. And specific to downtown, there are so many people downtown in the evenings that finding a parking place is often a problem…particularly on the weekends.
Here, here, David. You are 100% on target. The Alabama senator’s and representatives do NOT have our best interests at heart. They are so entranced by the little dictator that all tgey can do is lick his boots and the hell with Alabama. That’s Tubberville, Palmer, Britt and the whole lot up there. Throw the bums out. Elect independant thinkers, not suck ups.
Please get off that political grandstand of yours. In no way do I want the Soros funded road to anarchy. Work with the presently elective people. at least try to have some effect! Thank you
To top it all off, Birmingham just lost the Stallions today. They’re being relocated for the 2026 season due to lack of attendance. I wonder if Jay Taylor will write another column insisting Birmingham is ready for a pro sports team.
What a crappy article. You are doing nothing but perpetuating the same old fatalistic, doom and gloom, low self esteem stereotypes and tendencies about this town that are so commonly voiced. What is the evidence of the BLAM you speak of? Every single coty and state will be suffering under these cuts in a ton of ways. What would make this town more likely to fail? You know what the answer is? Attitude and perspectives like this, and in a “Comeback Town” article of all places. This is supposed to be a space of optimism and a forum for possibility and solutions. But this is not the first time this kind of an article has appeared here. Despite the name of this site, I really think that you Sir have, consciously or subconsciously, drank the Kool Aid of low self esteem and fatalism and self doubt that so many have over the decades in this town. I am really considering unsubscribing. This is all just a real shame.
He’s just telling the truth. Birmingham used to be on par with Atlanta and New Orleans in 1950, with Charlotte and Nashville in 1980, and now is considered with peer cities such as Chattanooga, Columbus, GA, Mobile, and Little Rock.
You can be angry and call names and hurl insults all you want to, but that doesn’t change the immutable fact that Birmingham’s best days are long behind her. I have accepted that fact and quit letting my hopes get dashed for my hometown. The city is on a carefully managed decline.
JR, thanks for taking the time to comment on this column. The objective of ComebackTown is not to paint rosy pictures of Birmingham. ComebackTown is not the Chamber of Commerce. Many columns are positive, but our Birmingham region has opportunities for improvement. (as do all regions). The difference between Birmingham and many cities who have institutions like UAB is that Birmingham is dependent on UAB. One out 20 jobs in the State are dependent on UAB. I can’t begin to estimate what that number is for our Birmingham area. My daughter works for UAB. My niece works for UAB. When I owned a company, it did business with UAB. When my wife had breast cancer, UAB saved her life. I feel I have a right to ask our ‘local’ political leaders to stand up for UAB. You have a passion for Birmingham and I’m sorry I disappointed you. Thanks for following ComebackTown. Please stay involved and keep commenting.
Strange how BHM is looking in the rearview mirror of the past, with large corporations controlling its fate, TCI, the industrial war complex of WWII, and now UAB holding its fate in their hands.
All three entities were/are dependent on the largesse of the federal government, and now that the money is drying up there are not enough real leaders civic or governmental officials in the city of BHM to pick up the mantle.
No amount of downtown walking spaces, flats, or restaurants are going to draw people to BHM if there are no real jobs that are outside of UAB, and just like the robber barons of past UAB is the modern day version of the gilded age of steel and iron and the city government in its feckless leadership will gladly eat the crumbs that fall from the table of UAB.
David,
Thanks – Spot on! When I saw the danger imposed by the unnecessary and vindictive actions toward biomedical research from Trump and his subordinates (Musk – DOGE, Kennedy, etc.) I immediately wrote to warn our US Senators and selected members of the House. Their response was apathetic and defensive. The consequences of these draconian hatchet jobs on the extramural grant funding programs, especially the arbitrary and harsh cuts to Indirect Costs, will have severe consequences to UAB and the small businesses engaged in the scientific community. This will produce a brain drain of highly skilled scientists. Biomedical science is a key “jewel in the crown” of Alabama.
To Alabama’s Congressional delegation – WAKE UP and demonstrate leadership to do the RIGHT thing, not the politically expedient choice!