There are many solutions
Editor’s note: This is the mayor’s 2024 State of the City address, as delivered at the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham.
2023 was such an important year for our city. It was the year we marked 60 years — six decades — since the groundbreaking achievements of the civil rights movement.
And through 12 months of celebrations, acknowledgements, quiet reflections and new awakenings, one thing became really clear to me.
Birmingham’s legacy in this world is not defined by the struggles we endured during the darkest days of the movement. It’s so much bigger than dogs and hoses and bombs. Our legacy is in the template we created for change.
It’s not the insurmountable mountains that were placed in the paths of our foremothers and forefathers.
Our legacy is how they got over them.
And as I look at the headlines today.
We see the Middle East. We see Ukraine. The unfairly overlooked crisis in Congo.
We see the pain of injustice across our world. The same strife that enveloped our city 60 years ago.
But the legacy that Birmingham stands on is the audacity of hope.
The catalysts for change.
The desire to overcome.
Hope. Change. And the desire to overcome are the lessons Birmingham continues to teach the world. And it’s important that we as a city practice what we preach right here on Alabama’s red clay. That’s why I’m so very optimistic about the future of our city in 2024.
As much as I’m an optimist, I’m also very pragmatic and a realist. As a leader, that means being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Which brings me to a topic that all of us should be uncomfortable with and that is the economic identity, the economic development, and the economic direction of our city.
So, let’s start with building a foundation for economic growth. During our first Administration, we focused on a lot of things designed to strengthen the City’s infrastructure and ability to move forward. We did a lot of research, especially through the Brookings project, and created solid foundations to attract investment in our City and its people — things like Prosper, the Birmingham Promise, and over $100 million in funding for building a stronger Birmingham. And we are going to continue to build on that. We’ve also been working more closely with other local governments to do things better and more efficiently.
But, there is a need for change. As many of you know, I have believed that economic development functions have not been effective for the city, the county, or the region. Among other things, there are too many organizations working in silos — some doing good work — but the fragmentation is both unproductive and expensive. Let me repeat that. The fragmentation is both unproductive and expensive. I have made it clear that things need to change for everyone’s benefit, and I am committed to playing a leadership role in that.
So the question is what’s next? I’ve been talking to and listening to a lot of people about what’s next. We have studied other communities that have made significant moves in growing their economies — like Oklahoma City, Charleston and Greenville, SC, and Pittsburgh, another former steel town. We’ve learned a lot. I am still convinced that we have to change the way we approach the future of our economy. Some of you have heard me say, or heard that I’ve said, we need to blow up the structures we have. But we also have to be smart about it. And where there are opportunities to build on what we already have, it makes sense to do that. So that’s what we are in the process of exploring.
I do want to end this topic of our economic identity, economic development, and economic direction, on progress made. Over the last several months, there have been serious and frank conversations about what needs to happen in order for our community to build a vibrant economy that serves all our region’s citizens well and also addresses concerns I have for our city. There has been a lot of progress and I now believe that there are opportunities to make significant progress and there can be a clear path forward if we work together, gather other leaders, and respect the interests and needs of all.
Make no mistake — let me be very clear when I say this — Birmingham is the economic center of the state of Alabama. Let us do what’s necessary and be comfortable being uncomfortable. As we continue to secure our role as the key player in this region.
I’m excited about our gains in our infrastructure
One of the biggest questions I get daily is about streets — “hey mayor, when are y’all coming to pave my street?” And my answer is, if we haven’t gotten there already, we’ll be there soon. 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.
I’m excited about our gains in education and where we’re headed.
And let’s start with Birmingham Talks. Now known as Small Magic. 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 continue to show us that the building blocks between ages of 1 and 5 is where we need to make investments.
Simply put, we’re planting the seeds for a lifetime of learning earlier.
Small Magic / Birmingham Talks has secured more than $3.5 million in funds and pledges, including a historic $1 million investment from the City of Birmingham.
From early education, we go to grade school, and a program I hope you’ve heard of. Page Pals is a reading program designed to produce more effective third-grade student readers both inside and outside the classroom.
This is a critical, critical age to increase literacy, and through the help of volunteers, we are providing free tutoring to those students.
If you’re wondering to yourself, I’m glad you asked.
Pull out your phones and go to bhamyouthfirst.org — we’re building a coalition of 750 tutors. 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 our present. Our children.
And of course I 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.
On that note, I hear we have a special guest in the house. MiKayla Givens of Carver High School, is a Birmingham Promise intern with the Birmingham Business Journal.
If you’re here MiKayla, let us see you and celebrate you for your incredible accomplishments.
Just to date, $5.5 million in scholarships have been distributed to nearly 1,000 Birmingham City Schools students like MiKayla since 2020.
But again, my optimism is balanced with being pragmatic and a realist. We average about one thousand graduates a year. Only 450–500 of them attend a college or university. It is incumbent upon all of us not just the school system, to make sure that the other 500 have a path into the workforce or career technical certificate or military, coming out of high school.
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.
I can’t leave this room without talking about public safety.
For the first time in five years, homicides have decreased in 2023. It is our desire and our goal for that trend to continue to decrease. One homicide is too many.
Public safety remains a major issue in our city, and although I applaud Birmingham Police for their work for taking nearly 17,000 illegal guns off the streets during our administration, I’ve often said public safety cannot just be a BPD issue. It’s a community issue.
Every person in this room has a role to play.
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 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.
In 2024 and beyond, we’re not just putting people first, we’re making lives better for everyone in Birmingham.
This is how we progress together.
The audacity of hope.
The catalysts for change.
The desire to overcome.
This is Birmingham, not just from 1963 to 2023. But 2024 and beyond. We’re ready to continue to set the standard.
