A New Leader for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Tuesday Birmingham will mark the 52 anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which killed 4 girls and helped galvanize support for passage of the Civil Rights Act. For staff at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, they’ll observe this anniversary under new leadership.
Andrea Taylor began as the new president and CEO of the institute last week. She’s a Massachusetts native, a Boston University graduate and trustee of the school, and most recently an executive at Microsoft. Her career has included stints in media and philanthropic organizations.
Taylor says she wasn’t necessarily looking for a new job.
“I was asked to look at a job description and see if I could recommend some other people for consideration,” said Taylor. “When I looked at it I said, well, maybe I might have some interest in it.”
Taylor says she believes the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute could gain more recognition on a national and international level. She found the organization is well known around the city, Alabama, and to a certain extent in the South, but less so outside the region.
“Everyone who does know about it and who has visited here has nothing but positive things to say,” said Taylor. “It’s something that I think is a jewel that is not as widely known as it could be and should be.”
Taylor says she hopes the institute can move beyond the reputation among some as simply a history museum. “One of the things that I would hope we can do is make it more of a organic, living, breathing center and locus of activity,” said Taylor.
She says the organization can be a place where people understand the history but spur conversations about current civil and human rights issues.
Marathon Woman
Taylor is also proud of finishing the New York Marathon in 2009. She had never been a runner and trained for two years for the event. She says it’s a matter of pursuing a goal, not unlike a career goal.
“I came away from that experience with a new sense of confidence as a mature adult about your ability to set a goal, see something out on the horizon that you think you want to achieve,” said Taylor. “There’s no reason why you can’t get started, achieve that goal and then feel very good about it.”
Hear an extended interview with Andrea Taylor:
Trump names former Florida AG Pam Bondi as his new pick for U.S. attorney general
After former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration, President-elect Donald Trump named Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, as his next pick for U.S. attorney general.
Police report gives details, timeline of the sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth
The woman who accused then-Fox News host of sexual assault in 2017 said that she "remembered saying 'no' a lot," according to a police report. Hegseth is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense.
Alabama Black Belt’s sewer crisis a tougher fix for residents in manufactured homes
Poor sanitation has long plagued residents in Alabama’s Black Belt. For people with manufactured houses, finding a solution has been more challenging.
In Birmingham, Black men’s groups work to save young men from the cycle of gun violence
As the city inches closer to its homicide record, community members are trying to address a sense of fatalism and lack of opportunity felt by some young men.
What is the ICC and can it really arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?
The ICC also issued warrants for Yoav Gallant, former Israeli defense minister, and Hamas leader Muhammad Deif. But it doesn't have an enforcement mechanism and relies on states to make the arrests.
Former Brazilian president indicted over alleged coup plot
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro and several others have been charged with attempting to overthrow incoming government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
