Tag Archives: TedxBirmingham

Guest blogger

Other cities have horrible flags – what about Birmingham?

5 Comments
Matthew Hamilton
Matthew Hamilton

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

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

The American flag has been a symbol of our nation’s identity, strength, and unity for more than 200 years.

Our flag often elicits some of our deepest emotions—making us feel passion and pride.

Did you know that most major cities – including Birmingham – also have their own flag?  But have you ever felt pride for our city because of our flag?  Continue reading Other cities have horrible flags – what about Birmingham? →

David Sher posts, Government structure

I’ll do anything to help B’ham schools except send my kids there

9 Comments
David Sher
David Sher

On March 1st I attended a TEDxBirmingham event at the Alys Stephens Center.  Fifteen speakers gave passionate speeches with the common theme to rediscover the magic of Birmingham. Quite frankly, it was an event I will never forget.

One of the speakers, Victoria Hollis, who’s the Program Manager at the Birmingham Education Foundation (ED), urged the audience to take ownership of Birmingham Schools.  She gave the analogy of a small child falling down on the playground. She said even though the child wasn’t yours, you would still rush over and pick the child up.  At the completion of her talk, the audience gave her an enthusiastic standing ovation.

A friend, who was sitting next to me, tapped me on the shoulder and implored me to go home and write a blog for ComebackTown about Victoria and her talk.

This is that blog.  But it’s not the blog my friend thought I would write. Continue reading I’ll do anything to help B’ham schools except send my kids there →

Guest blogger, What's great about Birmingham

Single father sees Birmingham through rose colored glasses

1 Comment
Shariff Simmons
Sharrif Simmons

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

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

I’m not originally from Birmingham. I was born on Long Island, New York, raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, studied at Ealing College in West London, had a  brief stay in Atlanta, even lived in Tampa Bay for a while, but when I moved to Birmingham in 2004, I decided to stay. Making Birmingham my new home was motivated by several factors, the most important of which, being a single father to a preternaturally gifted child, was to pursue a course of action that would nurture his talents and provide him, at the very least, a competitive education in a developing community. I use the word developing here, because when I arrived 10 years ago, Birmingham was not the city it is today. Continue reading Single father sees Birmingham through rose colored glasses →