Main Street Now – Birmingham, Alabama (2024)
Over the past decade I have attended every in person Main Street Now conference. Through that experience I have developed both expectations and an appreciation for the unique strengths and lessons that each host city has to offer. Birmingham was no exception. In a post spanning two parts I will share about my experience with the leadup to the conference and through the end of the Opening Plenary. The second blog post will deal with the educational sessions through the time that I had to leave early for work responsibilities back in New Jersey. Above all else I was deeply grateful for the hospitality extended by the State of Alabama and its people. This was a truly once-in-a-lifetime event for the more than 2,100 people who were able to participate – making this the largest Main Street Now conference ever held.
Birmingham wasted no time to let us know what to expect upon our visit. The message board at the airport set the tone for those who read it, alerting us to be prepared for landscapes, cooking, and history.
“Greetings and welcome to Sweet Home Alabama! Our great state is known for its beautiful landscapes, Southern cooking and its important footprint in U.S. history. We hope that you enjoy your experience here.”
Governor Kay Ivey
In the baggage section of the airport was a fascinating stone monolith. The stone was positioned to show famous words by Martin Luther King, Jr. on the primary face as people entered the baggage section.
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
On the reverse less visible side was an inscription from a writer about the virtues of home:
“Home is a hearth where the spirit basks in warmth… A song humming softly; a lighted lamp and a welcome. It is a place to be glad in.”
Nell Hughey Reasher
These two inscriptions juxtaposed on a monolith in the form of a house, clearly reflected on the qualities of home – a web of mutuality and a single garment of destiny where the spirit basks in warmth and a place to be glad in. That set the tone so well as we prepared to see Birmingham for the very first time.
People I was traveling with were on another flight. So I had time to talk with a greeter at the airport and a dozen or so attendees of the Main Street Now conference as they arrived. With each new person there was a predictable little dance about whether a shuttle was available to the center of town. After that some lingered longer and engaged in friendly conversation.
In our short Uber ride to the hotel I was pleased to see the Sloss Furnace. This National Historical Landmark is the only furnace of its kind with this highest level of historic designation nationally. It also provides an important insight into the history of Birmingham. The presence of the three ingredients for making steel – iron ore, coke, and limestone – were present in this place allowing industry to get started. Early rapid growth of Birmingham earned the title “Magic City.” As an aside, another Magic City was started in Appalachian Kentucky at the foot of the Cumberland Gap in the 1890s. While coal was abundant there the iron ore was inadequate and that Magic City in Middlesborough never truly took off quite the same way as Birmingham.
After settling in at the Kelly Hotel it was a quick Uber ride to the Welcome Reception. City Walk BHAM is a piece of transformative infrastructure, a linear park, and a placemaking success story reclaiming acres and acres of land for public use beneath the elevated interstate highway. Conference attendees were welcomed by the Miles College Drum Line. Of all my years attending the Main Street Now conference, this was one of the most invigorating and soul stirring ways to kick off our few days together. Hopefully future conference hosts take note about the importance of music, and more specifically how pitch perfect a drum line is to get this conference started.
What makes the Welcome Reception so unique is an opportunity to meet people from across the Main Street network. This includes most if not all of the senior leaders of Main Street America. I was so happy to meet CEO Erin Barnes in person for the first time. While there I made an effort to make sure as many people form the New Jersey delegation also connected and had access to leaders.
The Boys in the Band closed out the Welcome Reception. A small but committed group were dancing at the amphitheater. And almost everyone still in attendance was dancing. I even joined in a brief time at the very end.
I had no plans for dinner that night. So on my mile long walk back to the hotel I had company with the Civil Rights legacy of this unique city. This walk also afforded me an opportunity to explore the landscape of Birmingham on foot and to be left to my own thoughts for the very first time since arriving.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail provided reminders of an important march route, how “Fred (Shuttlesworth) and Bull Connor were made for each other,” and the central role that Birmingham City Hall played in the drama that unfolded locally and which had repercussions felt broadly throughout the US and beyond. During the 1963 Birmingham Campaign this was a destination point for the “Project C” marchers. They converged here to demand an end to the city’s racial segregation laws. Some of the child protesters were put in a holding cell in the basement if City Hall. Marches continued on City Hall to protest police brutality and to put an end to racially discriminatory hiring practices within the police force.
Just a few blocks away another marker stopped me in my tracks. This is where on Mother’s Day on May 14, 1961, Freedom riders arrived by bus, declaring segregation in bus terminals to be unconstitutional. At a corner near the Greyhound station, they were met and attacked by a mob of Klansmen. As the plaque recounted, “The riders were severely assaulted while the police watched, yet the youth stood their ground.” This theme of young people playing a prominent role in the push for civil rights is one we would be reminded of frequently during our visit.
The Freedom Riders were in the vanguard of efforts to overturn policies that were unjust. U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy initiated negotiations to secure a driver and state protection for the Freedom Riders. They continued undaunted from Birmingham on May 20, 1961, under police escort.
As we continued on the Civil Rights trail we were greeted by words of Rev. Shuttlesworth, “You have to be prepared to die before you can begin to live” which were shared on the eve of the 1963 Birmingham Campaign and quoted by Dr. Matin Luther King, Jr., in his book, “Why We Can’t Wait.” Another quote from U.S. President Barack Obama implored: “Your destiny is in your hands. That’s what we have to teach all our children.” One final set of markers poignantly reflected how, “The Birmingham Movement was a defining moment for African Americans determined to win equal citizenship in their own country. Pictures and stories from the Birmingham struggle touched the hearts of the nation and the world. Often injured by violence, the non-violent leaders of the local Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and the national Southern Christian Leadership Conference effectively used sit-ins, boycotts and marches in their struggle for civil rights. Together, they and their army of non-violent foot soldiers – thousands of ordinary men, women and many children – put their faith to the test and their lives on the line to end state-approved segregation throughout the South and across the United States.”
A final set of markers showed how economic power and political power were intertwined, and how music and church meetings provided a soundtrack for the Birmingham Movement.
While it was late at night by this point and most of everything downtown was closed, I was happy to come across The Pizitz Food Hall. From the outside it appeared to be an important gathering place and incubator for food based businesses who might not be able to afford a storefront of their own. The design of the signage, storefront, and mosaic tile entrance were especially appealing. Herringbone brick on the sidewalk outside with stone accents further created a welcoming public space. After spending so much time reflecting on history, here was food entering the narrative for the first time in a significant way.
Next door to the food hall entrance was a flexible space called “The Gallery.” At the time nothing was in the space but the cheerful lighting, window graphics, and minimal seating. This at least made the sidewalk and street feel warm and activated. Spaces like this are so important for building community. It reminded me of a similar space on the ground floor of the Howell Opera House in Howell, Michigan. Though I digress.
One last interesting piece of infrastructure we saw in the food hall lobby was a wayfinding map. Over 34 attractions were highlighted ranging from entertainment and public meeting spaces, to hospitals, theaters, museums, breweries, and even a book store thrown in to the mix. Guides like this are so important to help identify important places in a community, those that attract significant visitation, and to help orient people to their surroundings. I highlighted all the sites that I was able to visit during my 3 day stay.
- BJCC
- Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
- The Sheraton Hotel
- The Westin
- Boutwell Auditorium
- Birmingham Museum of Art
- City Hall
- Birmingham Public Library
- Jones Valley Teaching Farm
- 16th St Baptist Church
- The Tutwiler
- Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
- The Redmont Hotel
- The Carver Theatre, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
- The Lyric Theatre
- Red Mountain Theatre Co.
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- The Alabama Theatre
- Mcwane Science Center
- Reed Books
- Birmingham Police HQ
- The Empire Hotel
- Birmingham Intermodal Facility
- Good People Brewing Co
- Regions Field
- Ronald McDonald House
- Children’s Hospital
- Syndicate Lounge
- Iron City
- Workplay
- Trim Tab Brewing Co
- Bartow Arena
- Birmingham VA Hospital
- Negro Southern League Museum
The Empire Building, at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 20th Street North, had the tagline the “heaviest corner on earth.” The four buildings were completed here around the same time in the early 1900s. They were some of the tallest buildings in the American South. The Empire Building completed in 1909 was given the title of the tallest building in Alabama. By 1912 this was surpassed by the John Hand Building. While the claim of being the heaviest corner is unverifiable as a matter of sheer weight, clearly it holds a special place to this day as evidenced by listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Heavy has additional connotations with major banks and the U.S. Steel Corporation occupying this prime property at different times. Clearly these tenants were heavy-hitters in Alabama and more broadly.
The next morning we had an Opening Plenary at the Alabama Theater. As I walked through downtown in the early morning I was amazed how heavy the humidity hung in the air. I had probably the best view as people streamed in through the small compact lobby. Overhead were the words “Thank you for attending, enjoy the 2024 Main Street Now Conference.” This small detail was a thoughtful touch appreciated by me and many attendees.
The Opening Plenary is typically when the greatest number of people are together at one time in one room at the conference. This year organizers did a particularly fine job keeping the program tight and compact. Birmingham’s poet laureate Salaam Green kicked things off. Her remarks were part celebration of the historical role Birmingham has played in shaping the conscience of the nation, part a celebration of all of those in attendance and the important learning over the next few years, and most importantly a call for action. In prior years a poet provided remarks about Boston but did not go so far as to link the city with the gathering of Main Street leaders. Salaam Green did make that connection with surprising effect. She created an electrifying feeling in the Alabama Theater that carried through the remainder of the Opening Plenary. In so doing she also set a new standard for all poetic invocations at future conferences. Notes from her remarks follow.
Welcome to Birmingham y’all. It’s nice to have you in Birmingham where the tea is sweet and the people who are even sweeter… Birmingham my Magic City and today it is your magic City…
I’m glad that each one of you heeded the freedom call to come to Birmingham,
to walk our paved paths of faith,
to forge toward the role of justice,
to stand underneath our light of enduring hope,
to embrace the ancestors’ prayers of fortitude and joy,
and to sit in the reflection of iron and steel.
I’m glad that each one of you are here to press into the promise that Birmingham brings people here to heal.I am also a certified racial healer where I do racial healing throughout the country, throughout the community and throughout the state and the city. Today, I would like to invite you into a poem entitled “Birmingham, America’s Classroom.”
Birmingham, America’s classroom.
Where dreamers like you and us come to dream.
Birmingham, America’s classroom, business is in session.
Where history meets a renewed sense of hope,
where progress meets promise,
where innovation and impact meets imagination,
where Birmingham stands on business.Sometimes the teacher the world needs is not here to save but here to serve.
Sometimes the teacher the world needs remains hopeful, even when hope evaporates like warm raindrops.
Sometimes the teacher the world needs becomes breathless and no one ever knows.
Sometimes the teacher the world needs comes in the form of a 151.9 square mile city,
a curious community of over 190,000 humans full of wisdom and strength.Birmingham, America’s classroom.
Birmingham, the torch that carried fire to the coal.
Birmingham, the smile that comforts a lonely soul.
Birmingham, no matter how imperfect extends a handshake that uplifts and resolves to love.
Birmingham, America’s classroom.Sometimes the teacher, the lessons, the remembering America needs, is in the memory of a Magic City, a city in the south,
black and proud, egos put to the side,
not here to save, but here to serve.
Heroically reminding us,
We are important,
We are treasured,
We are justice,
We are somebody,
We are civil rights,
We are faith,
We are legacy,
We are truth seekers,
Beacons of light.
Beholding to compassion.
Birmingham is in session.Where history meets a renewed sense of hope,
Where progress meets Birmingham’s promise,
Where innovation and impact meets imagination,
Where Birmingham continues to stand on business.Birmingham America’s classroom,
Where young boys and young girls put their lightsabers into businesses across great mountain and throughout the Main Streets of downtown,
Where people,
all races,
all creeds,
all nationalities
all take pride and the front porches and mega shops,
From food to farm to table promoting economic growth.
Birmingham, America’s classroom,
the teacher the world needs now,
Where storefront storytellers raise their voices and make good news.Birmingham, America’s classroom,
from downtown to West End,
to North Birmingham,
the East Side,
and points in between Main Street.
Main Street Birmingham is in session,
And the world is listening. (extended applause)Where history meets hope,
Where progress meets Birmingham’s promise,
Where innovation meets impact and imagination,
Where the world comes to create,
Where the world comes to get free,
Birmingham, America’s classroom.Where the world comes to do business,
Where the world comes to belong,
Where the world comes to heal.
Birmingham has a sign that simply states,
for the people, by the people.
Singing a manifesto of Shuttleworths’ Revolution,
where the rhythms of Angela Davis and A.G Gaston sing,
So that we can stand today in Birmingham, America’s classroom.Birmingham, America’s womens teacher
Birmingham, America’s awakened lesson plans,
Birmingham America’s resolved blueprint.
Birmingham, America’s Unapologetic curriculum
Birmingham America’s classroom.The teacher that keeps on teaching,
the voice that keeps on speaking,
the pen that keeps on writing,
the pace that keeps on turning,
the students that keep on learning,
the lessons that keep on confronting,
the community that keep on evolving,
the artist that keep on creating,
Birmingham, America’s classroom.Memories etched in the mind of a nation,
A people, a great people,
who come to Birmingham to belong,
who come to Birmingham to dream again,
who come to Birmingham to believe, (speaker audibly says “shh” and lowers voice)The bells are ringing,
Salaam Green, Poet Laureate of the City of Birmingham
Roll call is calling,
Are you busy?
Where dreamers like you, like me, like us, come here to dream.
Sometimes the teacher the world needs is not here to save, but here to serve.
And this is Birmingham.
And this is America’s classroom.
Are you listening?
Birmingham is in session.
Permission was granted to share the transcribed remarks with the following statement included: . Should anyone wish to reach out to discuss press, media, and speaking opportunities. Salaam shared directly with me in her own words: “I’m also happy to speak further with you regarding any text or context from the poem that may be helpful to your work.” Salaam Green, first Poet Laureate, City of Birmingham, Alabama. For more info about the City of Birmingham poet laureate initiative visit: www.birminghamal.gov/poet. Contact: Marie Sutton at marie.sutton@birminghamal.gov. Salaam’s Website: theliteraryhealingarts.com and contact info: salaamgreen@gmail.com.
Making all of these remarks extra poignant is that the Alabama Theatre was only open to African Americans after the city’s segregation order was rescinded in 1963.
Notable among the remarks was the young, articulate, and inspirational Mayor Randall Woodfin. He described Birmingham as “a city of 23 communities made up of 99 neighborhoods… Neighborhood revitalization is our #1 focus.” Then the Mayor continued, “Revitalization is not just about place, it is about people… My request is that you take this opportunity to connect, collaborate, and create new strategies… Our greatest asset is the people we serve… Our communities are counting on you.” This call to learn and serve was a perfect refrain to the earlier poem that had been read.
Carol Quillen, new President & CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave a talk that could only be described as electric. She acknowledged the important role that Main Street plays as part of our broader preservation movement in the US. Quillen remarked, “Preservation makes human lives better one building at a time, one Main Street at a time – door by door, brick by brick.” At times her passion for preservation came through in her talk in a way that everyone in the room could hear. How refreshing to have a leader of this caliber at the top of the largest historic preservation organization in the US, and within which Main Street started as a program. This further built on positive remarks by Jay Clemens at the Main Street Now conference in Boston the prior year.
Every speaker in their own way perfectly set the stage for Erin Barnes, the new President and CEO of Main Street America to give her remarks. In an address that could best be characterized as historic, she clearly articulated her vision for the movement in the years ahead. This focused on five key points:
- NUMBER ONE—and most important aspiration for myself and this movement—is to stay humble and learn. If there’s one thing that we can expect, it’s that the unexpected will happen sooner or later. Whether it’s something disruptive like a natural disaster, or a new kind of technology, or a major political shift, or just that everyone decides they no longer want craft beer and they only want artisanal bubble gum, there will always be someone who anticipates the shift, sees it coming, and gets it right. There will always be new ways of doing things. Let’s not get so locked into our expertise that we lose sight of this. Instead, let’s keep our eyes and ears and hearts open.
- NUMBER TWO: Invite others to the table who might not otherwise volunteer but might be sitting on some truly great ideas. Think about who might have been excluded in the past and do the work of bridging that divide with genuine curiosity. Main Streets are a product of deliberate co-creation that’s rooted in listening and trust. We can only create inclusive places that are welcoming for everyone when we create them with everyone.
- NUMBER THREE: Think beyond the ways we usually see ourselves—as engines of local economic development, historic preservation, and small business support—and start thinking of ourselves in new ways that communicate the complexity of our work. We are healers against the epidemic of loneliness, and we are first responders on the front lines of climate emergencies like extreme heat, tornadoes and floods, and we are drivers of a new civic infrastructure of connectedness that’s centered on place, and we are choreographers, and we are storytellers, and we are designers of public space. (I want this list to go on, and I want you to help me create it. My three requests of you are below, but one is related to this item: tell me how you communicate the complexity of this work and of your job.)
- NUMBER FOUR: Welcome newcomers, and I mean truly welcome all newcomers. This means local and regional tourists, and it means young professionals and families who are relocating to our communities. But even more it means new immigrants and migrants who come to our communities to work in the service sector, or in our agricultural fields and packing plants. Take the time to get to know these newcomers as people, ask them about their traditions and their favorite foods, and ask them what ideas they have for the place they now call home. These newcomers bring with them a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial spirit. Ask them what they need to help start a business — it just might become your favorite place on your main street!
- NUMBER FIVE: Be thoughtful and honest with each other about the intended and unintended ways in which our work shapes our communities. If something didn’t work out as planned, be bold in naming it and be proactive in how we can be better next time. We’re all learning together, and we can learn a lot from each other. And share ideas and opportunities around how we can expand our reach. We have great tools in our toolbox. So how can we apply them toward affordable housing? Toward workforce development? Toward inclusive processes? There’s so much expertise in this room and in our movement. Let’s unlock it together and see what else we can grow.
This call for inclusion, co-creation, and radical honesty when we get things wrong, along with a willingness to make them right, is a firm foundation for Erin Barnes as CEO, but for everyone else in the Main Street movement to emulate.
From those powerful remarks we went to the Great American Main Street Awards. Of the eight semifinalists the three winners were announced. This moment took on special significance for me having been one of those winners and going up on stage last year. The winners this year were Newtown Macon from Macon, Georgia; Monroeville Main Street from Monroeville, Alabama; and Madison Main Street Program, from Madison, Indiana. Of the three, Indiana was most noteworthy having been one of the three original Main Street programs in the US. As participants walked off the stage they were accompanied by the “Mighty Wurlitzer.” Again, music enhanced and created an elevated experience being used so purposefully.
The Opening Plenary could have easily ended here and been remarkable. Then something fairly unprecedented happened – Governor Kay Ivey walked on stage and addressed the audience in person. I’ve seen recorded messages from Governors at prior conferences but cannot remember a single time a Governor was present. She was joined by the Alabama Speaker of the House for a brief moment. This brought to a close the opening of the conference. What followed were several more action-packed days of learning in “America’s classroom.”