Stories about real people from Birmingham's Past and Present
I've seen generations of Birmingham leaders come and go, and most fade easily from memory. But from time to time, when we stood at a crossroads and needed them most, we have had a few with the vision, integrity and leadership we desperately needed. … [Continue reading]
By Carl Carter The one-gallon glass bottles of water were lined up across the wall of our basement, below a small window that looked out at ground level. They had once held Clorox and were covered in dust. My parents had placed them there so that … [Continue reading]
By Carl Carter, APR When the Birmingham suburb of Hoover formed its own school system in the late 1980s, the city immediately faced a problem that threatened the system’s very existence: The school facilities inherited from Jefferson County were … [Continue reading]
Fairly recently I was having a discussion with a friend, and she said, “I will always remember 2017 as the year the entire world went crazy.” This statement was made, not only in the context of our current national and international affairs, but in … [Continue reading]
By Carl Carter, APR When I arrived at The Birmingham News with a newly minted journalism degree in the mid ‘70s, one of the first people I got to know was Carol Nunnelley, then covering City Hall. We and dozens of others worked hard on a newspaper … [Continue reading]
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, full of fun and all about love – tangible as the blue and purple glitter that my daughter trailed from her Valentine mailbox all day long. I will be dealing with that glitter for at least a year. But it’s okay, because … [Continue reading]
By Lindsay Fernandes I was a college kid at a football game. Auburn v. Ole Miss, at Ole Miss, and I was seated in their student section. I was there because a friend of mine had cousins attending the school, and they got us tickets. I did not know … [Continue reading]
By Lindsay Fernandes My grandmom died when I was eighteen years old, and I was in her hospital room when it happened. She had been heavily medicated but responsive. Nodding, blinking, sighing, or squeezing my hand to indicate that she heard us, … [Continue reading]
By Lindsay Fernandes When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a teacher who was universally disliked for being really boring and really hard. His monotone reminds me of that teacher from The Wonder Years who put everybody to sleep. He loved … [Continue reading]
By Lindsay Fernandes So I was trying to figure out how to begin here, and in my jumble of thoughts I hit upon the word “raw.” For one thing, that’s how I feel. Raw. Along with millions, literally millions of others. For another thing, that’s what … [Continue reading]