Several people anticipated Frank Matthews’ presentation before Birmingham City Council on Tuesday morning asking for the city to consider a resolution apologizing for slavery. With a noose in hand, Matthews spoke of city founder and Arlington owner Judge William Mudd’s owning 37 slaves as registered in the 1860 census. He did not read his proposed resolution apologize for slavery and its after effects. There was also no discussion about the future of his proposed resolution.
The conversation later returned to last week’s inclusion resolution submitted by Councilor Valerie Abbott at the end of the meeting. Abbott, who has announced the formation of an exploratory committee for this fall’s mayoral campaign, submitted the document during last week’s meeting asking the city to declare itself an inclusive community after attending the annual National League of Cities conference.