Billy Field Today’s guest columnist is Billy Field.
I first learned about reputation, at least the reputation of a state, in the summer following my 7th grade year, the summer of 1963.
My mother loaded up my sister, my half-blind grandfather (meaning he couldn’t help with the driving), me and my good friend Reid, and we set out across America in a 1961 straight-shift Rambler with a canvas cargo carrier on top, packed with a five-person tent, sleeping bags and fishing rods. Continue reading Are the ghosts of George and Bull keeping Alabama poor? →
Ryan Hankins Today’s guest columnist is Ryan Hankins.
The purpose of expanding Medicaid is to provide access to medical care for a population of adults who don’t have employer-provided insurance and whose incomes are too low to qualify for a subsidy on the healthcare exchange.Continue reading Alabama paying the cost of Medicaid expansion but getting none of the benefits →
Michael D. Waters Today’s guest columnist is Michael D. Waters.
Less than one month after Fob James was first inaugurated Governor of Alabama in January 1979, I answered my home telephone on a Saturday afternoon and a friendly voice on the other side said: “Hello, is this Mike Waters, the governor’s legal adviser?” Continue reading A startling phone call from an Alabama segregationist governor →
Ryan Hankins Today’s guest columnist is Ryan Hankins.
“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” This is the title of the second-longest-running Off-Broadway musical (according to Wikipedia, at least).
The phrase also seems to summarize Alabamians’ thoughts about our state constitution. Continue reading Our Constitution out of control →
Daniel Coleman Today’s guest columnist is Daniel Coleman.
“We must cultivate our own garden .”– Voltaire
If we want to address Birmingham’s growth issues, we need to take charge of our future.
Growth is in our control if we are willing to tend to it. We should not expect economic growth to come from somewhere else. Such growth is ephemeral. Continue reading Birmingham must take charge of its economic future →
Nick Saban, Head Football Coach at the University of Alabama By David Sher
Nick Saban has had a profound impact on the University of Alabama and our State.
The hiring of Coach Saban will likely go down as one of the best hiring decisions in college sports’ history. Continue reading Even Nick Saban can’t fix this Alabama problem →
Marva Douglas Today’s guest columnist is Marva Douglas.
I was 12 years old in 1951.
Too young to vote.
But that really didn’t matter because even if I’d been an adult, I could not have voted.
Voting rights for Black people didn’t come until 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading Terrified 82-year-old says Alabama uses tax dollars against her →
Alabama monument I-20 rest station near Georgia–“We dare defend our rights.” By David Sher
“We dare defend our rights.”
Yes, that is our Alabama motto.
But we don’t seem to be given those rights in Alabama. Continue reading Gas prices soar, Alabama denies our rights →
Carla Crowder Today’s guest columnist is Carla Crowder.
The State of Alabama suddenly has a lot of money.
Federal funds are pouring into the state and lawmakers are figuring out right now how to spend this windfall. This is taxpayer money; we should pay attention. Continue reading It’s not too late for Alabama to save $100’s of millions and cut crime →
Jennifer L. Greer Today’s guest columnist is Jennifer L. Greer.
Think about the worst thing you have ever done. Does it define you?
No. And it doesn’t define Daoud Boone, a military vet, theatre major in college, aspiring poet/playwright, and an incarcerated Alabama man serving a life sentence — without parole. Continue reading Life in prison can’t hold this Alabama man down →
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To begin a conversation about a better Birmingham
