Guest blogger, Race relations

A city, a mountain, and a Tiny Kingdom

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Reverend. John Bagby
The Reverend John Bagby

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is  Reverend John Bagby.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

Margaret Brown lived in Titusville, a neighborhood in Birmingham. Two months before I was born in 1949, she was hired to come and live with my family, and work in our home six days a week as a maid, or “the help,” as folks in Mountain Brook would have said back then. Continue reading A city, a mountain, and a Tiny Kingdom →

Guest blogger, Sports

Can professional soccer change Birmingham?

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Darin White
Darin White

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is  Darin White.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

On March 9th full-fledged, professional soccer kicks off in Birmingham for the first time ever. The global game, that is played in 209 countries around the world, is coming to Birmingham. Continue reading Can professional soccer change Birmingham? →

David Sher posts, What's great about Birmingham

Pinch me! This is the new Birmingham!

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Vesta on Highland Avenue in Birmingham is a 17 story apartment complex with 318 units and a 500 space parking garage
Vesta on Highland Avenue in Birmingham is a 17 story apartment complex with 318 units and a 500 space parking garage

In the mid 1980’s when I was Chairman of Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), I was asked to make some comments at the opening of one of the first loft apartment projects in downtown Birmingham.

At the time, I don’t think 150 people lived downtown. Continue reading Pinch me! This is the new Birmingham! →

Guest blogger

Let’s save Birmingham & our children

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William Barnes, President & CEO of the Birmingham Urban League
William Barnes, President & CEO of the Birmingham Urban League

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is  William Barnes.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

Birmingham Police Officer Wytasha Carter was gunned down last month.

“He lived for us, and he died for us, and I mean that.” Those were the final remarks during the funeral services of Sgt. Wytasha Carter by William White, one of the officer’s closest friends. Another life lost to our “magical streets.” Continue reading Let’s save Birmingham & our children →

David Sher posts, Government structure, Regional collaboration

Who do we blame for I-20/59 shutdown?

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Elevated bridges of Interstate 59/20 divide Birmingham, isolating neighborhoods and creating a clear boundary between two parts of the city.
Elevated bridges of Interstate 20/59 divide Birmingham, isolating neighborhoods and creating a clear boundary between two parts of the city.

ALDOT closed I-20/59 through downtown–and the sun came up the next day.

I don’t know if this has been a fiasco or a nonevent, but I do know it’s time we take control of our future. Continue reading Who do we blame for I-20/59 shutdown? →

Corporate community, Guest blogger, Race relations

Let’s galvanize behind a community effort to grow the Black Business Class

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Bob Dickerson
Bob Dickerson

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous metro Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is  Bob Dickerson.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

If we close Birmingham’s racial wealth gap we all benefit.

If you’re black and you’re reading this then you know exactly what I mean by the racial wealth gap. If you’re white there’s a chance that you might not realize and worse, might not have ever focused on the problems that this gaping disparity cause.  Continue reading Let’s galvanize behind a community effort to grow the Black Business Class →

David Sher posts, Regional collaboration

What we can learn from Vestavia Hills

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Spouts' abandoned retail space on Highway 31 Vestavia Hills
Sprouts’ abandoned retail space Highway 31 Vestavia Hills

I publish an article about our Birmingham region every week, but this piece affects me more directly since I live in Vestavia Hills.

It also impacts my wallet since I spend a lot of money in my community and Vestavia raised our sales taxes from 9 to 10% last year. Continue reading What we can learn from Vestavia Hills →

Corporate community, Guest blogger, Technology, UAB

Time to brand Birmingham for the 22nd century

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Danny Markstein
Danny Markstein

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is  Danny Markstein.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

Over the years – and especially recently – there has been a lot of conversation about branding Birmingham. Many other cities have engaged in processes to develop, launch and maintain their brands – with wildly varying levels of success. Continue reading Time to brand Birmingham for the 22nd century →

To begin a conversation about a better Birmingham