That is what was proposed by Mayor Larry Langford earlier today during the City Council meeting. He said that he would be asking the Birmingham Airport Authority to rename the current facility for civil rights icon the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.
Aerial of Seibels/Bryan Birmingham International Airport. Bob Farley/f8photo
The proposal would change the name from the current, seldom used one - Seibels/Bryan - Birmingham International Airport (for former Birmingham mayor George Siebels and Brother Bryan. (No, we didn’t know either until we did the research ourselves…)
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5 comments so far ↓
1 Ike // Jun 24, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I have the deepest respect for the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, and he truly is a man who deserves several prominent structures to bear his name.
However, given the number of smaller regional airports (like Tuscaloosa) that abandoned commercial flights in favor of shuttle buses, the “Shuttlesworth Airport” sends the wrong message to a city that wants to impress an Olympic committee.
2 Jarrod // Jun 24, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Sounds like a good enough idea. Shuttlesworth is worth a tribute like that.
3 Anonymous // Jun 25, 2008 at 8:08 pm
please leave the name as it is Fred Shuttlesworth has a street and building named after him Most people not from Birmingham dont know who he is BUT theyll know where Birmingham International Airport is!
4 Anonymous // Jul 18, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I think this is quite an honor for Rev. Shuttesworth and an expensive name change for the taxpayers of the City of Birmingham. I think at this point the money would have better served the City and community if used for something that was a higher priority. It’s my understanding this name change will cost the City approximately $300,000. Why couldn’t this have gone toward getting the County of of debt? Why not leave it Birmingham International Airport which has served the City well for a long time. The Rev. Shutlesworth has already been honored with other tributes for his contribution to the civil rights movement. I think you should leave it alone and use the money for a better cause!
5 Andre // Jul 18, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I often wonder why most folks who comment anonymously always want to put our URL in. FYI - While the email address is required, the URL is not.
But I think I’ll chime in with an opinion piece over on my Birmingham tomorrow (yes, a post on Saturday).
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