A blueprint for Birmingham’s future

NOTE: These are my remarks as I unveiled our Blueprint strategic plan and provided updates on major city initiatives.

I’m so honored to spend a few moments this evening talking about Birmingham’s journey.

Throughout the calendar year, the City of Birmingham has acknowledged and celebrated the groundbreaking change of the year 1963, a watershed moment for the civil-rights movement.

It was the year we saw unimaginable evil enacted upon precious, innocent souls. We saw the specter of intolerance divide our communities and continue to block progress.

But what we also saw was a movement that broke the chains of bigotry. We saw children mature into heroes before our eyes, bravely marching, singing, fighting for the freedoms we now enjoy.

Some of those heroes are sitting among us today. And without them, I wouldn’t be standing here.

What we saw in 1963 was a community rewriting their destiny. They knew they had to do better, to be better, not just for themselves but for generations to come.

And with that same passion to rebuild their community,

The same spirit to uplift neighbors,

With the same foresight to look beyond the moment and to work to establish a stronger future,

With those lessons learned, tonight we share our Blueprint for 2024 and beyond.

It’s a plan driven by the spirit of change that powers our legacy and created with the same forward-thinking vision that made Birmingham a beacon for progress worldwide.

And as we continue to change the world, first and foremost, we have to take care of home.

Last month, we marked a very significant milestone — we’re now two years into our second term. And tonight, I want to take us on a journey of how far we’ve come, two years into our second term here in 2023.

And we start this journey by sharing the story of the mother or grandmother and child or grandchild.

In 2019, I encouraged all of you to picture a mother or grandmother in Birmingham. She isn’t just any mother or grandmother, she is a mother or grandmother many of us know. A woman whose roots run deep in her neighborhood — the neighborhood she’s lived most of her adult life, and the neighborhood she’s currently raising her child or grandchild in.

She loves her neighborhood deeply but she wants better for her neighborhood. And she deserves better.

When we were elected into office in 2017, this was that mother or grandmother’s reality:

Back then, when she stood on her porch and looked to her right, she saw an ugly, dilapidated home that’s been vacant for years.

She would look to her left and see an overgrown empty lot, that possibly had rodents in it.

She would look in front of her home and would see a cracked sidewalk that’s broken and buckling. Her child or grandchild wasn’t able to ride a bike across it.

Further out, her streets were in disrepair and haven’t been paved in years. She was always nervous about driving across it, for fear that the potholes would damage her car.

She walked her child or grandchild down to the neighborhood park, but there wasn’t adequate playground equipment. They’d hurry home before dark anyway because the street lights didn’t work.

When it was time for dinner she was reminded that she lived in a food desert and doesn’t live in proximity of stores that provide healthy food choices. Other than a Dollar Store down the street, options are few.

At night, when she and her child or grandchild would lay their heads down, their sleep was unfortunately often interrupted by gunshots.

That was then. But this is now.

By the end of our first term here’s what we did for that mother or grandmother:

We got more aggressive with our weed abatement program as well as increased our funding for our land bank to build a single family home on that same empty lot to her left.

We invested in our sidewalks to make sure that sidewalk was walkable and bikeable for that child or grandchild. We also put millions into street paving to make sure that street is paved and pothole-free.

We made sure to close out neighborhood park projects that have been delayed for years — Wylam Park and One Pratt Park among them. In addition, we continued our partnership with Alabama Power to extend our LED light program for our neighborhood parks.

Simply put, our first term was marked by tearing down things that didn’t work and laying the ground work for a better path forward. That not only speaks toward outdated internal processes that no longer served the city well, but it also meant removing dilapidated housings and reimagining major sites like Banks Middle School, Carraway Hospital, Ensley High School, Southtown, and Ramsay McCormack, to name a few. It also includes the empty lot upon which Protective Stadium now sits.

That was a step in the right direction, no question. But there was more work to be done for that mother or grandmother and child or grandchild.

Two years ago, you honored us with the opportunity to continue the work we did those first few years and even through Covid. But through covid and those years we grew together. And in some instances we even cried together.

We made it through the hard reset that came with major moments such as Covid, civil unrest, my re-election and even the World Games, committing to progress together.

And that takes us to today, 2023. What have we done for residents like that family?

First, we listened to our residents and took major steps in addressing the food deserts in Five Points West, with the opening of Food Giant.

A simple basic need — food. Fulfilling it in Five Points West.

In the words of the our own icon AG Gaston — we found a need and filled it.

Let’s go back and talk about that child or grandchild. Everything we’ve done has been to increase opportunities for our children and grandchildren.

And let’s start with Birmingham Talks.

Birmingham Talks is a free citywide program that works with children from birth to 3 years old to help build lifetime literacy. They work with both our children and parents, as well as caregivers, to stimulate vocabulary and brain development.

Why this program? Well, the answer is simple. Because we have the data that continues to show us that the building blocks between ages 1 and 5 is where we need to make investments.

Simply put, we’re planting the seeds for a lifetime of learning earlier.

Birmingham Talks has secured more than $3.5 million in funds and pledges, including a historic $1 million investment from the City of Birmingham.

Once that child or grandchild gets older and makes it to the third grade, if there are gaps, he’ll have the assistance of Page Pals. Thanks to the assistance of our Department of Youth Services, led by Galvin Billups, Page Pals is a reading program designed to produce more effective 3rd grade student readers both inside and outside the classroom.

I want to be honest and very direct with you when I say this: This is a critical, critical age to increase literacy, and through the help of volunteers, we are providing free tutoring to those students.

Young, bright, talented students like Jada, who we just heard earlier, and who did an incredible job.

That’s who we’re fighting for.

If you’re wondering to yourself, ‘hey that’s cool, how can I get involved?” We got you.

Stop what you’re doing right now and sign up right now bhamyouthfirst.org — we’re building a coalition of 750 tutors. The good news is that we’re a little over halfway there, but it’s so important that you join this cause, not just for the future of our workforce, but for the future of our most precious resources, our children.

We have representatives from DYS with us here tonight — please see them for an opportunity to sign up for Page Pals and help our children grow. We need you. And more importantly they need you.

And as that child or grandchild gets older, we have to touch on an initiative that’s near and dear to my heart — the Birmingham Promise. It’s our free scholarship and $15 an hour apprenticeship program. Through the Promise, we are ensuring that graduates of Birmingham City Schools can attend any public college or university in Alabama tuition free.

Just to date, $5.5 million in scholarships have been distributed to nearly 1,000 Birmingham City Schools students since 2020.

Don’t miss that, everybody — I said, one thousand Birmingham City Schools students have attended college free of charge since 2020.

This is how we build a workforce.

This is how we retain talent in our state.

This is how we break generational curses and provide opportunities for the next generation.

And on the subject of our workforce, we continue to make breakthroughs.

The City of Birmingham is one only 32 cities nationwide to receive nearly $11 million “Good Jobs Challenge” grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. These funds will help us build a pipeline of healthcare and digital healthcare workers, giving underserved communities opportunities to receive high-quality health-care jobs.

These are the building blocks for our future.

Now, let’s turn to the neighborhood in which that mother or grandmother resides.

As that mother or grandmother stands on her porch and looks out at the street in front of her, she’ll see that not only has her street been paved, but that 173 miles of streets have been paved since 2017, which includes 50 miles of streets being paved in 2023.

173 miles — that’s a stretch of road longer than the distance between Birmingham and Atlanta. And our crews have made that ride so much smoother.

Also, more than 8,900 potholes have been repaired this year alone.

As she drives around the city she’ll see that 1,500-plus blighted structures have been torn down in the past six years, including 104 in 2023.

And let’s stick with the topic of housing for a bit. Because that once vibrant neighborhood that mother or grandmother resides in is now seeing new residential opportunities.

In July, we were awarded a $50 million Choice Neighborhoods Grant for the Smithfield/College Hills/Graymont community. Birmingham is the first city in the state of Alabama to receive this federal grant, and we’re partnering with organizations like HABD, UAB and the United Way to provide more high quality housing options, totaling $283 million.

Make no mistake, Birmingham is the economic center of the state of Alabama. This secures our role as the key player in this region.

Our critical home repair program, which helps low-to-moderate income residents with issues like leaky roofs and adding wheelchair access, has raised its scope to 250 homes, which has tripled the number of homes we have serviced in the past three years.

Additionally, we have allocated more than $6 million for the program.

On the subject of homes, we have more great news to share. We know that homelessness has been a pressing issue in our city. That’s why I’m happy to announce that City of Birmingham has named three finalists in the search for facilitators of the Home For All safe sleep pilot program.

After a nationwide call for proposals, Faith Chapel Care Center, AIDS Alabama, and Urban Alchemy were selected.

In January, the city approved a $1 million bid for the purchase of micro-shelters for our chronically unhoused residents. They will be assembled on a dedicated site for safe sleep, shelter, and support. Because that’s what they deserve. And I sincerely want to thank all three finalists and the team for their commitment to serving our unhoused population.

And we can’t forget about the massive $141 million boost from the federal American Recovery Plan Act. Affordable housing, blight removal, healthy food initiatives, grant matches — it’s all federal funds being directed back into our communities. Serving you.

Speaking of the American Rescue Plan, I want to take the time to thank the council for using the American Rescue Plan dollars for supporting neighborhood-centric plans and program for boosting quality of life in neighborhoods.

Look everybody, there’s a lot to celebrate. From our city playing host to international events like the World Games 2022, where 99 nations and 3,400 athletes came to our hometown for an historic event, to our booming entertainment scene, with major names like Drake and Garth Brooks feeling the magic of our city.

Birmingham has so much momentum. But we also know there’s a lot more work to be done.

I mentioned earlier that when that mother or grandmother and her child or grandchild lay their heads down at night, their sleep is often interrupted by gunshots. Let me be totally transparent with y’all — public safety is still a major issue in our city, particularly as it relates to gun violence. And although I applaud BPD for their work for taking nearly 17,000 guns off the streets during our administration, I’ve often said public safety cannot just be a BPD issue. It’s a community issue, and we all must buy-in.

We have spent $8 million annually for gun violence prevention, re-entry programs and mental health services for our students.

Our conflict resolution programs, which first started with high school males, have expanded to female students, elementary schools and students who live in the housing authority, all thanks to the Common Ground program.

We have contributed millions as a partner with the Jefferson County Department of Health, UAB and the Offender Alumni Association for VIP Squared, a hospital-linked violence intervention program that is nearing the end of its first year.

We continue our support of the RESTORE juvenile re-entry program, which provides support for youth ages 16 to 19 who are currently part of the state’s Department of Youth Services.

And in an effort to provide more positive influences and skills for our young people, $1 million has been committed to the Safe Haven programs at Birmingham recreation centers, and we continue to support financial literacy programs to break the cycle of hopelessness and crime.

But there’s more.

We’ve launched the Connect Birmingham program, where we’re encouraging business owners to register their security cameras with us to help identify issues in case of a crime or incident. I want to emphasize that the privacy of those who participate in this program will be protected. Nor will footage be used without your knowledge. But this is an important step in keeping our streets safer.

By the way, Connect Birmingham is a program for residents who have cameras for their homes as well. And I highly encourage you to participate by visiting birminghamal.gov/connectbirmingham.

So as we look ahead, what does the blueprint tell us?

Well, we spent our first term listening to your needs. Seeing the community through the eyes of that mother or grandmother. And from there, tearing down what wasn’t working.

Old buildings, old systems, old ways of thinking. Old barriers that blocked progress.

In term two, we’re rebuilding.

We’re restoring faith in our young people by providing them with opportunities to achieve their potential.

We’re making roads smoother. We’re making parks more accessible.

We’re building homes — and most importantly, we’re building systems to allow new homeowners to achieve their dreams.

We’re rebuilding our reputation in the tech and small business space, opening our doors for entrepreneurs to thrive and create. We’re showing the entertainment world that Birmingham is indeed a destination city.

This blueprint isn’t just a chart of lines and boxes. It’s a road map for our success.

A path paved by the blood, sweat and tears of our fearless forefathers and foremothers. We’re simply building upon that foundation that they laid.

We’re building a better, brighter, bolder Birmingham

For that mother.

For that grandmother.

For that child.

For that grandchild.

For you, your family, and for generations to come.

From 1963 to 2023, we’re rewriting our future. This blueprint is Birmingham’s manifesto for our next great breakthrough.

Thank you.