I attended Gary Palmer’s victory celebration at the Birmingham Marriott and I was blinded by the “white.” There may have been an African-American there, but I didn’t see one. This should not be a surprise since Alabama’s 6th Congressional District is 88.8% white and 7.7% African-American. Continue reading The worst thing to happen to America and Birmingham→
Have you ever heard someone say, “Birmingham’s limited because we don’t have the wealth of other cities?”
That’s just not true.
Many of us think of Birmingham as this impoverished town with low wages and a poor standard of living. But the facts and actions of our citizens tell another story.
I don’t know if I was prepared for what was in store for me when I began publishing ComebackTown 2 1/2 years ago. I had a simple goal to provide a forum to begin a conversation about a better Birmingham.
Who could possibly be against a better Birmingham?
And why would strangers personally attack me and my guest bloggers for trying to make things better? It’s perfectly fine to disagree–but why the personal attacks?
I’ve had more than one guest blogger beg me to remove their blog because they were embarrassed by the comments posted on al.com. As I told them, you could find a cure for cancer and some folks on al.com would still call you the devil.
I’m eager to give Birmingham’s business community the credit it deserves and to explain why I enjoy growing my career here.
I would like to answer the question how a small but vibrant city is keeping talented young professionals inspired and growing.
Being a young professional has a lot of challenges and being a young female entrepreneur has even more. There’s a lot of pressure in being independent and starting your career – especially if you’re dealing with student loans, a lack of available jobs, and wanting to support a family of your own. It takes balance, passion, and perseverance. Continue reading Young professional: How to make it in Birmingham→
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Dave Pelliccio. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
I would like to begin with the use of a four letter word. However, I am pretty confident that you will not be offended and my mother will not wash out my mouth with soap. The word is….JOBS. When David Sher wrote the post “This Number will Scare the Bejeebies out of You,” I read it knowing that I had to respond in some way. I felt as if I identified with it and more importantly, can provide a real experience to support David’s facts. Continue reading A 4 letter word: Why young professionals leave Birmingham→
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
When I became commissioner of the Southeastern Conference in 2002, I knew little about Birmingham and its surrounding communities. I was drawn to the position by the prestige of the conference, the commitment of the league’s institutions and the passion of its fans. I was aware of its proud history, impressed by its success and intrigued by its future.
If you do, your bejeebies will be obliterated when you see the one depressing statistic that best describes the economic health of metropolitan Birmingham.
Please note we’re nottalking about just the City of Birmingham or Jefferson County. We’re talking about the Birmingham Hoover Metropolitan area—defined by our seven counties: Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, and Walker.
So the folks in our suburbs are impacted by this number just as much as our local residents.
I’ve never seen anything like this Uber thing.
