A young business man sitting next to me on my flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia asked where I lived. I told him I was from Birmingham and he said he was from Philadelphia.
Then I asked…
“What comes to mind when you think of Birmingham?
“He said, “You have dirt roads, don’t you?” Continue reading What do people outside of Alabama think of Birmingham?
We in Birmingham join in mourning of the passing of the legendary South African leader, Nelson Mandela, who died last week at the age of 95.
It’s ironic that we are currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of our Civil Rights struggle the same year as Nelson Mandela’s death.
Many renowned speakers came to Birmingham this year and emphasized that Mandela was inspired by the Civil Rights struggle here in Birmingham. It’s clear that Birmingham played a key role in changing the world. Continue reading Why Birmingham can never have a Mandela
I hear these comments regularly…
“Good column, David, but I’m perplexed why you choose to live outside Birmingham.”
“If you love Birmingham so much, why don’t you move there?”
“Sher, you don’t live in Birmingham. Why should anyone pay attention to you?”
I grew up in Birmingham, but I’ve never kept it a secret Continue reading Why should I have to move back into Birmingham?
How’s it possible for similar Southern cities three hours apart to have totally different outcomes?
Amazingly the fortunes for both Birmingham and Nashville changed drastically in one pivotal year.
The year was 1963—exactly 50 years ago.
1963 was the year the city of Nashville consolidated with Davidson County. In April, Nashville celebrated 50 years of unified government.
1963 was also the year that Birmingham became infamous Continue reading The one big thing Birmingham could learn from Nashville
Recently, I authored an artcle titled, “Surely this article will get me sued.”
It was about the daughter of a friend of mine who while studying abroad was asked by a fellow student why Birmingham had a separate bar association for African-Americans. (Her friend had discovered on the Internet)
I wrote specifically that I was not knowledgeable about our bar associations and I wasn’t being judgmental, but I was concerned with the perception of Birmingham since historically we have had a poor reputation for race relations.
I was immediately accused by commenters of “race baiting”… Continue reading Birmingham: No one wants to talk about race
If you were to ask my five year old Birmingham grandson what he wants to be when he grows up, he’ll tell you he wants to be a super hero.
It’s such an innocent response and kind of sad that one day he’ll find out there are no super heroes—well maybe there’s one Continue reading Why should one Birmingham CEO have to chair four major non-profits?
On August 30, 2013, The Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ) published a list of Birmingham’s 50 most influential executives. (Click here to see BBJ list of 50 most influential executives)
The BBJ tried to answer the question, “Who holds the power in the Birmingham business community?”
The list includes the absolute top corporate and political leaders including Birmingham Mayor William Bell and Jefferson County Commission President, David Carrington; Jay Grinney, President and CEO of HealthSouth, and Grayson Hall, Chairman, President, and CEO of Regions Financial Corporation. Continue reading Birmingham’s 50 most influential execs—maybe not?
Writing about something I know little about that might upset attorneys seems like a recipe for disaster.
However, I think it would be fair to say only Birmingham attorneys would be able to explain the following.
The daughter of a friend of mine is studying abroad. A fellow student discovered on the Internet that Birmingham has a separate bar association for black attorneys…and asked her why. Continue reading This will article will surely get me sued
I couldn’t believe my eyes. The words jumped off the page.
Why my excitement?
I attended Leadership Birmingham in 1992.
At our final session, the last speaker, a corporate leader, concluded his speech and asked if there were any questions.
You’ve seen the headline, Retaining accreditation will be difficult for Birmingham city” schools.
“Birmingham City Schools will have a hard time remaining accredited if board members don’t…start thinking of the system as a whole, said the president of the accrediting agency that recently announced it was placing the district on probation…
… A review team from AdvancEd who was in Birmingham for several days in May found
…that individual board members were not looking out for the best interests of the system as a whole…
“The ramifications are dire Continue reading Good-bye Birmingham Schools?