Today’s guest columnist is Michael Calvert.
Predictions are always risky—especially about the future—but here are my predictions for downtown and the larger City Center.
In 1982, when I became CEO of Operation New Birmingham, REV’s predecessor, many people asked if I would bring back department stores and other retailers. I said downtown had evolved beyond its past as a retail center. Continue reading The transformation of downtown Birmingham
Today’s guest columnist is Daniel Coleman.
If economic growth comes from increased productivity, where does productivity come from? Capital and labor.
Capital can come from anywhere. Our issue in Birmingham is with “labor.” We have some great entrepreneurs here, with great ideas, who cannot find the workers they need to build and grow their companies. Continue reading Why Birmingham is not competitive
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
Today’s guest columnist is Terry Barr.
My brother asked me the other day if I remembered a place on Birmingham’s north side—1st Avenue, to be exact.
A place run by an old Bessemer guy, a friend of our mother, named Jim Anderson. His place was called: Seeds 4: Never Before Store. Continue reading Did you know Birmingham had a counterculture?
Today’s guest columnist is Hunter Williams.
Regional cooperation is the rising tide that will lift all ships in the Birmingham Metro area.
Unfortunately, our ships seem to have been stuck in the mud and the mire for quite some time. Continue reading Mistrust and inequity in Birmingham region
Today’s guest columnist is Allison Dearing.
If you haven’t watched ‘Maid’ on Netflix, please stop what you are doing and watch it now.
‘Maid’ passed ‘The Queens Gambit’ to be the most watched limited TV series on Netflix. Continue reading What if Netlix’s wildly popular ‘Maid’ lived in Birmingham?
Today’s guest columnist is J. W. Carpenter.
Birmingham has had its ups and downs—but in the 1950’s and ‘60’s racial strife set us reeling.
Now after 60 years we’re beginning to see a new Birmingham—a region with great potential.
Quality of life has come so far in the past ten years. Continue reading Battling a disturbing Birmingham ranking
Today’s guest columnist is Katrin Brand.
Last year, on a bright October day two German travelers arrived tired and weary from their long car drive through the south.
They were late, opening hours were almost over, but they were allowed half an hour to roam around.
The sun was already low, and in front of them the derelict reminders of the long gone age of iron and steel were glowing in a bright and rusty red under a clear blue sky. Continue reading International journalist praises Birmingham’s spirit
Today’s guest columnist is Jay Glass.
Within central Jefferson County near Forestdale there is a wooded elevated area, which at only 699 feet above sea level, belies its name of “Cat Mountain.”
It was there on June 16, 1911 that a Black man named John Holland came to his death at the hands of several white men. Continue reading 1st time JeffCo white men executed for murder of Black
Today’s guest columnist is Daniel Coleman.
Since returning to Birmingham full time in late 2017, I have made a conscious effort to integrate myself into the day-to-day life of my hometown.
I joined the boards of three companies and four non-profits, worked closely with the finance department at City Hall, joined Birmingham-Southern College as an adjunct professor, and then, a year later became its 16th president. Continue reading Birmingham’s colonial economy