Poverty
An unlikely place, Lowndes County, has the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in Alabama
At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Lowndes County was one of the hardest hit places in Alabama. So when the vaccine became available, doses were rushed to Lowndes and other Black Belt counties by the federal government.
Report: Complicated Alabama Voting Rules Restrict Access To The Polls
A new report details barriers and inconsistencies around voting that significantly limit access to the ballot box for Alabama's poor, rural, and minority voters.
Report: State Improved in Several Child Health Indicators but Still Struggles With Poverty, Racial Disparity
Alabama has made significant progress in infant mortality rates, teen pregnancies and child safety, but poverty and a racial disparity in indicators of wellbeing remain a problem for children in the state, according to a report released today.
Some Million Miles: A Search for Redemption
This short documentary film takes a hard look at a rural community atop Sand Mountain in northeast Alabama ravaged by drugs and poverty. Jared Ragland co-directed the film with Adam Forrester. It screens this weekend at the Sidewalk Film Festival.
Southern Poverty Law Center Dismisses Founder
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a Montgomery-based civil rights watch dog group, dismissed its founder Morris Dees, with little detail on what led to the ouster.
Activists Call for Resignations After Davis Controversy
Local activists called for leaders of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to resign today after the organization canceled plans to honor human rights advocate Angela Davis. The group planned to present Davis with the prestigious Fred Shuttlesworth Award next month.
Alabama Has Nation’s Highest Rate of Cervical Cancer Death
Alabama has the highest rate of cervical cancer death in the country. Black women in the state die from the disease at nearly twice the rate of white women. That is according to a report released today by Human Rights Watch, an international nonprofit.
Residents and Activists Oppose ABC Coke Air Permit
Speakers at the first hearing Thursday asked the Jefferson County Department of Health not to renew the emissions permit for ABC Coke. Companies with air emissions are required to have permits renewed every four or five years, the health department says.
Environmental Groups, Others Oppose Renewal of ABC Coke Air Emissions Permit
The Jefferson County Department of Health has received 10 public comments about the proposed renewal of the air emissions permit for ABC Coke, an industrial plant in Tarrant. Most of the comments since August opposed re-issuing the company’s air emissions permit, according to the health department.
NAACP Suspends Birmingham President Hezekiah Jackson
The national office of the NAACP has suspended the organization’s local Birmingham President Hezekiah Jackson IV. The NAACP issued a statement Wednesday evening saying it is investigating whether Jackson advised residents not to have their soil tested for potentially damaging toxins and if he received payment for those activities.
Committee Probes Whether Laws Limit Access for Voters
An Alabama advisory committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights holds its first hearing Thursday in Montgomery. It’s the first of a series of discussions looking into the ways Alabama’s voting regulations affect people’s ability to vote. There will be testimony from academics and policy makers, and members of the public will be invited to comment.
Series Takes On Alabama’s Racial Achievement Gap
African-American students in Alabama tend not to perform as well on standardized tests as their white counterparts. That’s part of the so-called “achievement gap,” one of the most persistent and touchiest issues in education. But a new data-driven series by Al.com, journalism nonprofit Spaceship Media, and teachers from across Alabama aims to explore and find solutions to those disparities.
Income Inequality in Birmingham, Alabama
Officials say there are three main obstacles keeping people in Birmingham and Alabama from achieving prosperity: education, poverty and crime. These barriers also contribute to the growing wage gap. WBHM's Esther Ciammachilli talks about this with Nick Patterson, editor of the weekly newspaper Weld.
The Junction: Oasis Gardens Ensley
In an alley in downtown Ensley, Hank Layman is transforming a parking lot into something that’s been missing from the community for years: a garden.
Housing Authority Fatherhood Initiative Seeks to Strengthen Families
The Birmingham Housing Authority’s Fatherhood Initiative, a program designed to empower fathers to help build strong families, uses barber shop talks to help men feel at ease talking about the issues men and fathers face.
Alabama Families Living in Poverty Hit Hard by Welfare Reform
The number of families living in poverty in Alabama has risen, but the number of families currently receiving TANF funding has dropped.
WBHM’s “On The Line” Talk Show Tackles Uneven Birmingham Revival
Walk around downtown Birmingham and there’s an energy you wouldn’t have felt a few years ago. Residents are moving to new lofts and apartments. Restaurants and retailers are opening. People do yoga at Railroad Park or take in a ballgame at Region’s Field. They’re visible signs of a Birmingham revival. But that revival is uneven. Talk to some in neighborhoods away from Downtown and they’ll say "revival" doesn’t mean much to them. No fancy lofts, just abandoned homes and potholed roads that never seem to be fixed. And all this takes place against the backdrop of Birmingham’s racial history, with investment, by-and-large, coming from whites in a city that’s been majority black for a generation.
Birmingham Revitalization: An Alternative Model from Cleveland
When a city neighborhood rebounds, it’s typically a story of investors buying cheap property, building and attracting new residents. That runs the risk of pushing out current residents who are often poor. This week as we explore Birmingham’s revitalization, we have at an example from Cleveland of an alternative model – worker cooperatives.
Birmingham Revitalization: Some Neighborhoods Feel Ignored by City Hall
When David VanWilliams moved to Birmingham, he was looking for a fixer-upper and fell in love with the neighborhood of Inglenook. Inglenook sits just north of the airport. Like its southern neighbors, Crestwood and Avondale, Inglenook has turn of the century brick bungalows and wide streets with sidewalks. But unlike those other neighborhoods, potholes mark the road and many houses are in disrepair. Residents don’t have the money to fix them.
Payday Loan Bill Alive, But For How Long?
A public meeting was held in Montgomery Wednesday, March 9, to discuss legislation that would affect payday loans, a U.S. lawmaker from Alabama is chosen to advise Republican front-runner Donald Trump on national security issues and we say goodbye to a beloved, satirical social media entity. All that in this week’s conversation with Kyle Whitmire, […]
The Compassion Experience: A Virtual Exhibit on Global Poverty
Global poverty can seem pretty abstract to the average American. The Compassion Experience aims to change that. This traveling exhibit immerses people in the lives and cultures of children living in poverty around the world. It's on tour across the South and returns to Alabama next week. WBHM's Amy Sedlis saw the exhibit on its last Birmingham stop, and has this preview:
More than a Quarter of Alabama’s Children Live in Poverty, Report Finds
A new study shows that more than 26% of Alabama’s children are living at or below the poverty level. The 2015 Kids Count Data Book released this week by VOICES for Alabama’s Children provides a snapshot of well-being across several indicators including education, health and safety. “Well I think any time you’re talking about the […]
More Robust FEMA APP Released Just In Time for Hurricane Season
The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is launching a new feature to its app that is a one-stop-shop of sorts that will help people prepare for, respond to and recover from hurricanes.
Nick Patterson: Poverty Still A Problem In Booming Downtown Birmingham
Birmingham is in the midst of a revival, with increased economic and real estate development. But in a city where about thirty percent of the population lives in poverty -- that's nearly twice the national average -- the staff of the Birmingham weekly newspaper WELD say the shine of the city's revitalization can distract from some of its biggest problems. Since May, they've been exploring poverty in Birmingham. Nick Patterson, editor of WELD, joins Rachel Osier Lindley to talk about the city's poverty problem.
Federal Complaint Alleges Fund Misappropriation in Birmingham Schools
A Birmingham City Schools parent who's also president of the local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers has filed a complaint against the school system with the U.S. Department of Education over allegedly misappropriated Title One funds.
AL.com, WBHM Event Yields Frank Talk On Hoover School Bus Fees
Today, AL.com and WBHM hosted a lunch discussion on the controversy over the Hoover school system's plan to impose fees on student bus riders. AL.com reporter Jon Anderson and WBHM's education reporter Dan Carsen were on hand to facilitate the sometimes heated discussion and answer questions. Afterward, Carsen spoke with WBHM's News Director Rachel Lindley. To start, Carsen recaps how the situation got to where it is today.
Poverty on the Rise in Suburbia
Many people think of poverty as an urban issue, but a new analysis finds poor families are increasingly living in suburbs. In fact, in the last decade, poverty rose more than twice as fast in suburban communities as it did in urban centers. It’s a trend in Birmingham as well, although the metro area is not at the leading edge of the shift.
Turnaround Schools: Alabama’s George Hall, Pt. 2
Sometimes, poorly run disadvantaged schools defy the statistics and turn themselves around. Sometimes, they even achieve at a level so high they become national models for education in any neighborhood. In the conclusion of our series on "Turnaround Schools," Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen picks up the story of an elementary school that did just that. How did it happen? It wasn’t easy, but persistence, teamwork, and a belief in the students is winning out.
Turnaround Schools: Alabama’s George Hall, Pt. 1
Imagine a school in a poor, crime-ridden neighborhood. It has discipline problems, a dismal reputation, and some of the worst test scores in Alabama. That was Mobile's George Hall Elementary in 2004. Now imagine an award-winning school known around the country for its innovative teaching and high student performance. That's George Hall Elementary now. So how'd it happen? In Part Four of our five-part series on "Turnaround Schools," WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen takes us there to find out.
Kids Count Data Mixed Bag for Alabama
The annual Kids Count data book is out and it carries mixed news for Alabama’s youngest residents. Overall, the state ranked 45th for child well-being, with nearly a third of kids living in poverty in 2010.
Dan Carsen Speaks with Education Icon Diane Ravitch
Diane Ravitch has been a key figure in American education for decades. The prolific author and outspoken advocate was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to the Secretary of Education under the first President Bush. She was a pioneer in the accountability movement, but has since made friends and enemies by changing some of her views. She spoke with Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen, who asked her about issues hot in Alabama right now, including charter schools, charter advocate Michelle Rhee, and much more.
The Price of Poverty
What are the essentials of life? Food, water, and shelter. And to get those you have to have some kind of paying work or be enrolled in a government assistance program. But for the working poor (many of whom don't qualify for government assistance) even the basics can be too expensive. We'll explore this today (8/27) at noon on WBHM's On The Line: The Price of Poverty.
