NAACP Asks for Jefferson County Courthouse Murals to be Removed

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/09/JeffCo-Murals-Commission.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:300;s:4:"file";s:36:"2015/09/JeffCo-Murals-Commission.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:5:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:36:"JeffCo-Murals-Commission-336x168.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:168;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:36:"JeffCo-Murals-Commission-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"JeffCo-Murals-Commission-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:36:"JeffCo-Murals-Commission-470x235.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:235;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:36:"JeffCo-Murals-Commission-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Ashley Cleek
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:178188;s:14:"optimized_size";i:123688;s:7:"percent";d:30.59;}s:5:"sizes";a:8:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:64:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/09/JeffCo-Murals-Commission.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:62812;s:14:"optimized_size";i:38592;s:7:"percent";d:38.560000000000002;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:72:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/09/JeffCo-Murals-Commission-336x168.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:16063;s:14:"optimized_size";i:12176;s:7:"percent";d:24.199999999999999;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:72:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/09/JeffCo-Murals-Commission-600x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:46945;s:14:"optimized_size";i:33786;s:7:"percent";d:28.030000000000001;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:72:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/09/JeffCo-Murals-Commission-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:25316;s:14:"optimized_size";i:18717;s:7:"percent";d:26.07;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:72:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/09/JeffCo-Murals-Commission-470x235.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:27052;s:14:"optimized_size";i:20417;s:7:"percent";d:24.530000000000001;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1616946237 
1443160423

Members of the Jefferson County Commission say they’ll address a petition by the local NAACP chapter and other groups calling for the removal of two murals in the courthouse. This latest push comes in the wake of the killings of nine African Americans at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, that sparked a debate over symbols of the Confederacy throughout the South.

More than 60 people packed a county commission hearing Thursday afternoon as people urged county leaders to remove the two towering murals by the courthouse entrance.  Painted in the 1930s, one shows a tall white woman in white dress standing above slaves in a cotton field. The other shows a large white man standing above the workers in an iron plant.

One of the 1930s-era murals in the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Ashley Cleek,WBHM
One of the 1930s-era murals in the Jefferson County Courthouse.

 Valerie Hicks Powe says she would come to the courthouse with her mother as a little girl and ask why the white people were so big and the black people so small.

“[You] can’t change history, but it is time to change the image being in the courthouse,” said Hicks Powe. “I don’t think it should be destroyed, but I think it should be somewhere where people can look at it and discuss it as we are.” Hicks Powe recommends putting the murals in a museum.

 Former Birmingham resident Anne Garland Mahler started a petition to remove the murals.  She explained the symbols still have weight.

 “In a courthouse where people are seeking justice and equality, there are images right when you walk in that communicate the very opposite,” Mahler told the commissioners.

The Jefferson County Historical Commission has said the murals should stay since they represent part of the region’s history.

Three of the five commissioners support removing the murals.

The commission said they would address the situation within two weeks.

 

IVF could help her start the family she wants. Will Alabama’s personhood law derail it?

Despite a law meant to protect IVF in Alabama, patients and advocates worry the protections won’t hold — and warn of future attacks on reproductive rights.

Struggling Birmingham-Southern College says it will close at end of May

The College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close the longtime institution, officials announced in a news release. The announcement came after legislation, aimed at securing a taxpayer-backed loan for the 168-year-old private college, had recently stalled in the Alabama Statehouse.

What happens when a rural hospital shuts its doors? Look to Pickens County

Residents in the west Alabama county warn that the lack of emergency care can have deadly consequences. It's a fate that could befall a growing number of rural communities.

Q&A: A bad deal made Jackson’s water problems worse. It wasn’t the only Mississippi city harmed

Reporter Sarah Fowler talks about her investigation that found at least eight Mississippi cities were harmed by deals over faulty smart water meters.

What issues are driving you to the polls this year?

What issues are top of mind as you head to the polls this year? What do you want the candidates to be talking about?

Anti-DEI bill becomes law as lawmakers return for the second half of the session

Alabama lawmakers returned from spring break this week to take on several priorities for the Republican majority. Chief among them was a bill that would ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools, universities and government offices.

More Front Page Coverage