Category Archives: Commentary

Proclaiming the real issues

Posted on April 23, 2008 by | 3 comments

Andre Natta headshotThe inboxes at The Terminal received several emails late yesterday afternoon, a couple of them including the responses received by two citizens after they sent in their concerns to Mayor Langford’s office about his proclamation declaring this coming Saturday a citywide day of prayer in sackcloth and ashes. They’re posted over here.

After sleeping on it, maybe I’m not that worried about Saturday evening at Fair Park Arena Friday evening at Boutwell Auditorium – mainly because I’m not sure that getting upset and frustrated will do much to solve the issue at hand. After reading the emails and the responses, it’s clear that there will be no consensus on the issue any time soon.

Now the typos in the proclamation – they bother me. I still haven’t quite gotten to über wordsmith status, but I’ve written more than enough posts to know that what you put out there on paper – whether as a hard copy or virtually, is a visual representation of you as a person. The typos and grammatical errors found in both the proclamation and the email responses from City Hall yesterday speak more about the attention to detail paid to the issues affecting our city currently.

There are times when the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed, and there are other times when the intention is understood but the follow-through is questionable.

There is no question that the city of Birmingham needs to come together to address the crime epidemic that has us listed as the sixth most dangerous city per capita in the United States by some.

Yes, there is a major role that our area’s religious leaders need to play in getting us out of the moral cesspool that is our inability to believe that life can get better in Birmingham. This is despite the fact that the hours of worship are still one of the most segregated and divisive times in our society today, both in terms of denomination and race (but that’s another post).

Yes, there is even a need for the man that holds the biggest and loudest bully pulpit in the city to use his influence to encourage this dialogue to take place. He could even show up at an event like the one he’s announced for Saturday in his role as the leader of the city and speak of how he supports an initiative.

But I’m certainly not sure if he should be organizing the event himself, whether the money being used to pay for the sackcloth is donated or not.

Everyone agrees that something needs to be done to quell this issue. Langford’s police chief admits that there’s not necessarily a one-solution fixes all approach, but I think that his philosophy is more along the lines of what needs to be the focus of the problem as it exists now.

It’s not that we don’t like some of the things that Mayor Langford is doing. Yesterday’s proposal to pay for city bus services as the heat of the summer and the pain of paying higher prices at the pump both begin to expose themselves to the people of Birmingham was something desperately needed. But as mentioned in today’s Birmingham News article, this proposal will not necessarily encourage new riders to begin to use the system – though taking advantage of rising gas prices to get the word out may just be the incentive needed to expand ridership. Maybe then there would be more voices lent to the case made by the Transit Advisory Committee to improve the system that we currently have.

The ideas are great, however (as we’ve learned here during our short existence) sometimes it’s better to pay attention to the content of the message instead of how it’s being packaged for the audience receiving it.

André Natta is the publisher and managing editor of The Terminal.

What do you think? Let’s hear your thoughts about it over on Magic City Question!

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Posted in Birmingham, Commentary, politics

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With apologies to Mr. Dylan…

Posted on April 16, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Editor’s note: Today’s my Birmingham guest blogger is Barry Copeland.

Barry Copeland - Bob Farley/f8PhotoWhen Bob Dylan’s famous lament on the nature of hypocrisy first made the charts, those of us who are now called Baby Boomers memorized all the words. Positively 4th Street pretty much laid it all bare and Dylan’s words seemed to capture what we in the 60s thought typified the hypocracy we saw all around us – in the media, in the government, in any institution with authority. What could sum up the youthful, disillusioned attitude of those watershed years better than, “You’ve got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend. When I was down, you just stood there grinning!”

Those who observe the passing scene on 20th Street in downtown Birmingham today could make an effective case that we’ve just rolled back the clock 40 years. It’s 1968 all over again, and it seems as though everything that has been happening in my town is bad. Not just bad, in fact, it’s awful. It’s almost as if you could pick an issue – any issue – and bet safely that it’ll be the subject of conversation somewhere in some forum in the coming week. The issue could be elected officials, or proposed projects, the actions (or inactions) of any legislative body, our environment, our schools, our businesses, our infrastructure. The list of negative things to cuss and discuss is endless. I think, in fact, that we may be at the point now where an alternative view is not only a pleasant change – it’s becomming essential for the maintenance of our collective regional sanity.

So, with apologies to Mr. Dylan – and consistent with a move up to 20th Street (the most important street in Alabama, I would offer) – here is Vol. 1, No. 1 of Positively 20th Street. And let the emphasis be on the word Positively for that’s what this little blog will be about. What’s good in Birmingham.

I like the idea of the city’s “Believe in Birmingham” web site, and I like what Mayor Langford says on the site. “We can’t expect anyone to believe in us until we believe in ourselves.” Amen! Admittedly my view is limited, but I’m convinced there are many great things happening in Birmingham these days that deserve a forum, and that is the intended purpose of “Positively 20th Street.”

Here’s one such conversation starter, with the promise of more to come in future posts. Do you know that the UAB community is now about the size of the city of Gadsden? Actually, on any given day, UAB now claims approximately 17,300 students and another 18,000 faculty, staff, physicians, etc. Add to that about 786 patients a day, on average, and their families, and you have Gadsden. It’s a very fluid population, but the economic impact is hard to ignore – and we ignore it at our peril. UAB’s economic impact is now about 12-to-1, meaning, In layman’s terms, that for every dollar the state invests in UAB, roughly $12 will be returned into Birmingham and Alabama’s economy. So when the state invests $50 million, as it agreed to do last year, the impact of that investment in our region and state, over time, is something in the neighborhood of $600 million. What’s not to love about that?

UAB – and so much more – is good for Birmingham. And to that point, you may expect more – later.

Barry Copeland is executive vice president of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. Check out his blog over at Positively 20th Street, where this entry was originally posted on April 14. Head on over there and share your comments on this first post (or you can let him know through our comments section).

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Why the rush?

Posted on April 10, 2008 by | 1 comment

It does feel a little rushed when you take a look at just how quickly the majority of the Birmingham City Council moved to authorize Mayor Langford to use $48 million originally earmarked for construction of a domed stadium for improvements to the Fair Park Arena property. The problem is not the proposal itself (they are welcome news to residents and existing merchants – for now) not the fact that the business community that Langford turned to for an independent analysis of locations for that facility is due back with a report soon (that may not provide the support for his preferred location). It’s the long term implications of shifting focus.

Most of the 2+ years I spent working in Birmingham’s nonprofit realm was spent making sure that people didn’t sell the city’s west side short. The term City of Perpetual Promise seemed to be created for the side of town that boasts some of its most beautiful gems of architecture and its most realistic chance of truly realizing a civic renaissance. It is the sleeping giant waiting to be awakened from its slumber.

While most people would drive down I-20 to get across town, I’d get on 8th Avenue North and just keep on driving west; getting a chance to paint pictures in my head of what a reenergized Western commercial corridor would look like as cars drove through Smithfield and by a renovated Legion Field and thinking of what it would look like with renovated buildings along Tuscaloosa and Lomb Avenues (if you made that left turn on Arkadelphia) and throughout Ensley’s historic downtown area. Along the way, I met and worked with merchants and residents who saw and believed in that same vision.

Whether we always agree with our elected officials or not, when they take office, there is normally some level of genuine interest in doing right by their city and their constituents. Many of these same constituents are probably tired of waiting for their moment to come where someone will come in and save their community. Despite believing that it can happen, they will look at an investment that is city-led as another example of why no one wants to help.

There are currently several organizations throughout the city that have been working on improving the quality of life for its residents for many years. Many of these organizations are operating with far less financial support than necessary. While it is great that the mayor has taken the initiative to push for projects to be completed that would inject new life into portions of the city, perhaps spreading the wealth through organizations like Urban Impact, Operation New Birmingham and Main Street Birmingham would bring about a balanced approach throughout The Magic City. There are many who believe these organizations have taken too long and that a quick fix would solve the problem of urban decay quickly. But it will be that, a quick fix and (unless the public is engaged) one that will lead to other issues that we may not be ready to deal with yet.

Revitalization of Fair Park is not insane at all. New businesses have recently invested in the area, including Serra Honda, an expanded Schaeffer Eye Center and the newest Applebee’s restaurant in the area. There is also movement beginning on the site of the HOPE VI development near downtown Ensley. There is a captive audience that would benefit from this renewed effort to energize the community. The question is how will it benefit those long-time businesses and individuals that have invested in the future of their neighborhoods, for the long term?

André Natta is the publisher and managing editor of The Terminal.

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Posted in Birmingham, Commentary, development

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Let's dream those dreams

Posted on April 7, 2008 by | 3 comments

Today’s Birmingham News sings the praises of the Railroad Reservation Park’s pending construction (interesting how the name keeps getting shorter depending on where you look). I would go one step further than they did in their description. It is in fact an example not just of what the city center can and will become, but what can happen throughout the city and the region if people show faith in the potential success in a project. Three parks, one currently operating and two beginning to see the light of day, benefited in part thanks to the efforts of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham and their belief that projects like these needed to be done and supported.

The organization announced a new initiative during its annual meeting on Thursday evening that would enable more projects like “Birmingham’s Central Park”, Ruffner Mountain Nature Center‘s expansion and Red Mountain Park‘s creation to become reality. The Community Catalyst Fund serves as an opportunity for Birmingham to dream bigger than it ever has before and achieve those dreams for ourselves and future generations.

The possibilities for these unrestricted funds are only as limited as your mind allows it to be. Many projects seem to die a slow death here only because you cannot see past the naysayers. What if we had the ability to seed an arts funding source that could encourage murals, ecoscapes and galleries throughout the region?

What if the money existed to help jump start a facade improvement program that could augment existing dollars for building rehabilitation, enabling a community to put its best face forward to those that did not believe the rumors of its pending rebirth?

What if the money were used to encourage alternative transportation methods in the region, while allowing Birmingham to become more viable for the large manufacturing plants that many seem to think is needed?

What if the money were available to bring even bigger exhibits to an expanded Museum of Art, encouraging a truer sense of collaboration among our existing cultural facilities? Or if resources were made available for more of the metropolitan area’s growing arts community to create and display their work, no matter what it is?

Is it not time to stop pointing the finger at what is wrong and instead roll up our sleeves and ask what needs to be done to make it better?

The News said that much more fund raising lies ahead for the Railroad Reservation Park. A city that once mined for ore should also be mining for ideas as it reaches forward into the 21st century and carves a space out as a leader – one that it has always had among some, but now also in the hearts of those that call it home. City, county, state and federal officials should (and have) been willing to support projects with their access to general funds, but we cannot ask them to lead the way by themselves anymore.

Hopefully when we’re asked to answer the bell, we are ready to provide the energy and the monies necessary to power the engine for the future of The Magic City. The new Community Catalyst Fund is one way to do just that. Check it out and see what you can do to help some more of that magic make some dreams come true.

NOTE: Let us know what your big dream for Birmingham is over on Magic City Question…

André Natta is the publisher and managing editor of The Terminal.

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Posted in Birmingham, Commentary, development, regional

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Will we finally see The Promised Land soon?

Posted on April 4, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Today we honor one of the most important and influential men in the history of our country by remembering the occasion of his death, what it meant to nation in 1968, and how it still affects us today.

The bullet that ended Dr. King’s pursuit of equality and justice for all, whether fired by James Earl Ray or not, still reverberates around the world 40 years later. There are several things that would say that King’s dream is one that is deferred to this day for many, particularly African Americans.

We cannot however deny the continuous signs of hope that many would point to, most notably in a city that has come to symbolize the turning point in the American Civil Rights movement. Dr. King described this label best the night before he died, saying that we here in Birmingham, Alabama “aroused the consciousness of this nation.”

For nearly 30 years, the person that has served as the elected leader of the city of Birmingham has been an African American. There are several men and women of color holding prominent positions throughout city government and among our region’s organizations, with many continuing to reach for the dream “that is deeply rooted in the American Dream.”

While we may have forced the nation to take a good look at itself in the mirror from the heart of Dixie in 1963, it’s interesting to point out that while the African Americans account for more than 70% of the population of the city of Birmingham, they only account for less than 5% of the owners of businesses in the city. Are we able to provide the support that we need for these businesses to survive and thrive, allowing more dreams to be fulfilled? Are we

Have we realized the dream or will we ever see The Promised Land?

Dr. King seemed to think that it was possible. He felt that he’d seen progress in the fight for equality, most notably in the remarks made in his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech the night before he died.

When will Birmingham reach The Promised Land? When will we stop looking at the glass half empty and begin to clamor for the changes that will make King’s dream a reality. Perhaps we must unfortunately take the stance that he did on the night before he died. We may not see it come to reality, but we must continue to fight for it if only for the benefit of those that come after us. To only provide lip service to it twice a year without action leaves the dream unfulfilled for people of all color and economic background and the chance for true freedom out of reach.

André Natta is the publisher of The Terminal.

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A dream fulfilled?

Posted on April 4, 2008 by | Leave a comment

Editor’s note: This is the first of two editorials written today about 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It was written by The Terminal’s editorial assistant for this spring, Leah Walcott. Ms. Walcott is currently a senior at Miles College in Fairfield, AL.

“I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullifications; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and girls as sisters and brothers…”

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., March on Washington 1963.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We would like to celebrate his life and the many achievements that he made in Birmingham. As I sit back to read the famous “I Have a Dream” speech given August 28, 1963, I ask myself is Dr. King’s dream actually fulfilled here in the birth place of Civil Rights. For the most part it is, but there still is much to be desired.

African Americans are allowed to vote, sit anywhere they want, drink from the same water fountain as Caucasians, and date outside their race without getting grief from the public. Young African Americans are able to attend schools with Caucasian children, and they are able to interact with them freely. However I believe, Dr. King would be disappointed to see the violence between African Americans here in our city. He would be disappointed to see that some of our fathers are not taking care of their responsibilities, and leaving mothers to raise their children on their own. It’s sad that so many people take for granted their right to vote, and they feel as though their vote does not count.

He would be shocked to see that schools in the city of Birmingham are infested with violence and teen pregnancy, and the teaching materials are sub-standard compared to other schools.

The neighborhoods on the western side of town are dead. Those places that were once places of refuge have become empty, unused, abandoned buildings.

Even though the racial problems have digressed, we still have other problems to face such as teen pregnancy, the high syphilis rate in Jefferson County, black on black crime and domestic violence.

So I ask you – do you feel Dr. King’s dream is fulfilled?

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Thanks for the ride, now shake the dust

Posted on March 14, 2008 by | Leave a comment

This evening those that are able to attend will stand in a room on the top floor of one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown Birmingham and take in a view of The Magic City that is not enjoyed as often as it once was. We will be able to look out, intermittently through rain clouds, and see sites of current and future development, those new achievements just on the horizon for a glorious city.

Last night as I prepared to write this piece, I decided to check on John’s A Look Back post for today. It was the first time that I’d realized that the first story-related post on Birmingham’s hub was on the birthday of the city’s newspaper of record. From what little I’ve figured out about Mr. Rhodes, I can only think that he would have a slight grin on his face thinking of the irony.

As we begin our second year, continuing with our slightly different style of telling the story of Alabama’s largest city and its people, we hope that people will continue to be willing to say what is on their mind, and begin to do so if they have not started to on the virtual time capsules that are the pages and posts and images of The Terminal.

We hope that our readers take the opportunity to shape the future of Birmingham and Alabama in whatever way they think is necessary and help us in our ongoing job to figure out how to best supply the stories and the resources to help this goal be reached (as well as to remind us that it’s fun).

We believe it is time to shake the dust and show the rest of the Southeastern United States and the country as a whole just how great Birmingham is – already – as well as what is yet to come. We must continue to find new ways to trumpet the good work being done throughout our community without blindly neglecting the issues that face us as we move forward. After all, as Dr. Volker once said, “we would do Birmingham a great disservice if we dreamed too little dreams.”

So in that vein we pledge to you that we will dream big dreams and serve our readership as best we can. We need you to dream and to take up the reins of change yourselves. We are so grateful for you and what you bring to the conversation. Despite what I’ve been told by some, if I did this for myself, we wouldn’t be trying to celebrate with all of you tonight, now would we? We already have some plans in the works that we’ll talk about tonight…

So, what can you do? We’ve never quite been sure how to answer that question – until now. There’s a big one coming up on Monday that we’re interested in getting your feedback about, but until then, we’ll start with these suggestions:

… and enjoy the ride!

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