News
Carsen Talks Education Flashpoints on Capitol Journal
Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen recently appeared as a guest journalist on Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal, a highly regarded program analyzing the week's significant stories. Dan discusses controversial "school flexibility" legislation, school takeovers, the federal lawsuit against the state takeover of Birmingham Schools, and the Southern Education Desk series on re-segregating schools.
Segregated Schools Fact of Life
New research shows southern schools are increasingly resegregating. In one town in Mississippi the black students attend one high school and the white students attend another. It was a conscious decision that's spurred a lot of debate about the concept of separate but equal.
Supreme Court Weighs Future Of Voting Rights Act
Race is front and center at the U.S. Supreme Court today and so is Shelby County, Alabama. The county is suing the U.S. Justice Department, challenging a requirement that it get prior approval from the federal government to change voting laws or maps.
Kyle Whitmire: Tough Questions for the Voting Rights Act
Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court asked tough questions Wednesday about the need for portions of the Voting Rights Act. The court is hearing a challenge to the law filed by Shelby County, Alabama. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire talks about the case.
Segregation Academies: Past And Still Present
Ever since the Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional in its 1954 Brown vs. Board of Ed decision, the racial makeup of our schools has been in flux. Forced integration made the South’s public schools some of the most integrated in the country, but now – here and across the nation – our schools are re-segregating. The Southern Education Desk is taking a deep look at the issue with a multi-part series exploring this complex trend. In the second installment, WBHM's Dan Carsen examines a strategy resistant whites once used to sidestep public school integration, one that still shapes communities today: private so-called segregation academies.
Clinton After Desegregation: A Small Southern Town’s Struggle With The Past
Half a century ago, the civil rights movement launched its legendary struggle for racial equality. Many of its biggest battles were fought here in the south and one of its greatest victories was overturning the federal law that allowed racially segregated schools. But now, 50 years on, studies show schools are resegregating, especially in the south. This week on WBHM, we ask: Why? And what does it mean for students?
Interview: Justin Brown on Sibelius and conducting the ASO
This weekend, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s masterworks series features two works by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Music Director Laureate Justin Brown talked with WBHM’s Michael Krall about the concert, as well as his new role with the ASO. Brown says that right from the start, Sibelius made a mark on the Finnish nation….
John Archibald Visits Alabama’s Worst Cities
Birmingham News columnist outraged some readers with his list of Alabama's Best and Worst Cities. He's making amends by visiting some of the underdogs.
Kyle Whitmire: The Fight Over Gambling, Renewed
Alabama's on-again, off-again battle over gambling is definitely on-again this week as Attorney General Luther Strange took action to try and stop four casinos in the state. One is a familiar target -- VictoryLand. The other is newer -- The Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire has more.
Alabama Versus The Volcano
Climate change is forcing some Alabamians to consider a move. Coastal areas and islands like Dauphin are losing land as the sea rises, flooding is more frequent, and hurricanes could be more dangerous than ever. But for one couple, natural disasters are no deterrent. They've left the Yellow Hammer state for a new life in one of the riskiest places on earth.
John Archibald: Don’t Forget Common Sense in Gun Debate
Gun violence and school safety are taking center stage in Alabama this month. First, the fatal shooting of a school bus driver in Midland City; now, charges against a man accused of holding several Chelsea Middle School girls at gunpoint in a school locker room. And that's just the beginning...
Kyle Whitmire: A Bankruptcy Deal in the Works
Jefferson County commissioners say they have a deal to lower interest rates on a portion of the county's debt. It's a sign a plan to exit municipal bankruptcy could be on the way. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire explains.
Interview: Dr. Robert Corley
In Birmingham's historic Kelly Ingram Park, there's a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. One of the names on the stone pedestal is Robert Corley. Among other things, Dr. Corley teaches history at UAB. He was a founding member of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute board and has served on the city school board. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen recently sat down with him while researching stories for our special Civil Rights anniversary coverage. Corley says today's students are missing some of that vital history.
New UAB President Ray Watts
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a new president. The University of Alabama Systems Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Ray Watts as UAB’s seventh president Friday morning. WBHM's Andrew Yeager spoke with Watts shortly after Friday's meeting .
John Archibald: Politics over substance in Montgomery?
With the Alabama Legislature back in session, issues range from cost of living raises for teachers to no fewer than five separate bills dealing with guns. Birmingham News columnist John Archibald says Alabama has hard, weighty problems, that require thoughtful, creative minds. But fixing those problems is something the Alabama Legislature does NOT do well.
Kyle Whitmire: A Penny Sales Tax for Another Five Years
No relief for Birmingham shoppers as the Birmingham City Council, reauthorizes a one percent sales tax for five years. We hear more from The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire
Long Hostage Drama Over in Midland City, Alabama
The FBI says it will conduct a review of events leading up to the death of a South Alabama man who held a young boy hostage for nearly a week. Law enforcement officers stormed Jimmy Lee Dykes' underground bunker in Midland City yesterday afternoon. They freed the five-year-old hostage, a boy identified as Ethan, and sources say they killed Dykes because they were convinced the child was in imminent danger. Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said late last night that Dykes was armed when officers entered the bunker to rescue Ethan.
Do We Still Need Black History Month?
Eighty-seven years ago Dr. Carter G. Woodson created what at the time was called "Negro History Week". The second week of February coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and was meant to recognize the contributions of African-Americans. Now, it's Black History month, but some question why -- in 2013 -- it's necessary.
Top 10 Places to Live in Alabama
What do you like about where you live? Maybe it’s your neighbors or the schools. A favorite restaurant or shop. Birmingham News columnist John Archibald has been crunching the numbers and his list of Top Ten Places to Live in Alabama.
Kyle Whitmire: A Big Week for Bankruptcy
This week is an important one for Jefferson County's efforts to exit bankruptcy. Two county commissioners spent time in New York meeting with hedge fund managers. On Wednesday a trail gets underway on creditors' request to lift a stay preventing legal action against the county. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire explains the situation.
UAB Close to Naming New President
UAB is close to naming a new president. Sources tell the Birmingham News that UAB Medical School Dean Ray Watts will get the job.
Kyle Whitmire: Why the Legion Field Box is so important?
Two Jefferson County Commissioner deny a report they're split over a proposed redistricting plan. But there's no denying that which district Legion Field ends up in has major political implications. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire explains.
Hospital Never Events
Are you putting your life at risk when you go the hospital? It's a question surgeon Marty Makary hears a lot and one he tackles in his new best-selling book titled "Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won't Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care."
MLK Unity Breakfast: Disunity?
For 27 years people of all races, ages and gender have celebrated Martin Luther King Junior's birthday by attending The Unity Breakfast, in the heart of downtown Birmingham. This year's breakfast has special significance because of the 50th anniversary of some of the major events of the Civil Right movement. But attendees at today's Unity Breakfast will see a public show of disunity.
Southern Schools Mix MLK and Robert E. Lee
Schools around the country are closed today in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But schools in the Deep South are also observing the birthday of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi all officially roll the holidays together and leave it to schools to communicate the confusing marriage to students.
A New Direction for Alabama’s Medicaid System
When Alabama lawmakers kick off the new legislative session next month, they’ll have to tackle Medicaid. The program provides healthcare for almost a million low income residents. It takes up about a third of Alabama’s non-education spending and the costs keep rising. As WBHM’s Andrew Yeager reports, a panel met this week to recommend changes to Medicaid, but whether they’ll work is still unclear.
Found Footage Festival
Meet the Instant Adoring Boyfriend, Blue Berry the Creepy Clown, and crowd favorite, the Sleazy Hypnotist. They didn't start out to be funny, but they are. These characters and others star in the Found Footage Festival that stops in Birmingham this weekend. WBHM's Greg Bass has the details.
Jefferson County’s Closed-Door Bankruptcy Meetings
Jefferson County is trying desperately to exit municipal bankruptcy. Earlier this week commissioners met in closed-door sessions with their attorneys to presumably work on another plan to present to creditors. Meanwhile, sewer rates are skyrocketing in another nearby county.
Snow Arrives in Birmingham
Snow is falling in Birmingham and across north central Alabama, with forecasters predicting between one and four inches of accumulation. That's prompting many schools to close early and cancel activities. UAB will suspend normal operations and cancel classes after 3:30 pm today and will resume a regular schedule at 10 a.m. Friday.
Kyle Whitmire: Inching out of Bankruptcy
A big question this year is whether Jefferson County will exit municipal bankruptcy. County commissioners spent a good deal of time this week working toward that effort in closed door meetings. We talk about it with The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire.
Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil Rights Columnist Dies
Eugene Patterson garnered national attention for his moving column after the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. A family spokesman says he died Saturday night, surrounded by family and friends at his Florida home. Patterson was 89.
Eden Rise
A small Black Belt town is the scene of a civil rights era killing and years later the defendant is brought to trial in a Birmingham federal court. Sounds like Alabama history, but it’s actually the plot Eden Rise, the first novel from award-winning historian Jeff Norrell.
