NAACP Asks for Jefferson County Courthouse Murals to be Removed
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.
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.
The United Auto Workers faces a key test in the South with upcoming vote at Alabama Mercedes plant
The United Auto Workers is aiming for a key victory at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama. More than 5,000 workers at the facility in Vance and nearby battery plant will vote this week on whether to join the UAW.
Gambling, ethics bills fall short as legislative session ends
Alabama lawmakers closed the books on this year’s regular legislative session Thursday. While Republican leaders passed many of their priority bills, perhaps the most talked about issue – gambling – died.
A look at what passed and failed in the 2024 legislative session
Alabama lawmakers have ended a 2024 legislative session that saw the Republican majority win approval for a number of their top priorities.
Q&A: Bobby Carter on leading Tiny Desk, his time at Jackson State, early career advice
Carter, a Jackson State alumnus, took over as the new series host and producer for NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concerts” series in April.
Alabama to begin working with a consulting company that’s under criminal investigation
McKinsey & Company, an international consulting business, will help the state of Alabama develop a new strategic economic growth plan. The company is undertaking that project, while also dealing with a probe into whether it engaged in a criminal conspiracy.
‘Stupidity of politics’: Medicaid expansion effort dies in Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers couldn’t come together to pass a bill that could have expanded Medicaid for thousands of residents.
