What do you see?
What do you see, Birmingham…when you look in the mirror?
By Birmingham, I don’t solely mean those living within the 151.9 square miles of the city’s borders. I mean you, Vestavia Hills. I mean you, Pinson. I mean you, Pratt City. I mean you, Irondale, I mean you, Trussville, I mean you, Pelham. I mean you, Tarrant. I mean you, Pleasant Grove. I mean you Mountain Brook. I mean you, Hoover. I mean you, too, Fairfield.
I mean each of you, the 33 municipalities whose residents say, “Birmingham” when traveling and someone asks, “Where are you from?”
I’m speaking to all y’all.
What do you see?
You may only see what’s near you — your neighbor’s homes, lawns, parks and businesses.
You may see your child’s school (since you spend so much time in the drop-off and pick-up line).
You may see the region’s attractions — the zoo, the botanical gardens, the mountains, Vulcan, the Summit.
You may see a savory meal prepared at your favorite culinary haunt. Or a cocktail – maybe a few – from your go-to bar.
You may see an art gallery or music venue. Or a park.
You may see a new stadium and renovated arena downtown and bustling sports and entertainment venues throughout the region.
Some here, though, see a blighted house or overgrown lot across the street, next door or around the corner. They see a once-proud home now long abandoned and neglected, likely an incubator for unsavory acts.
They see the ghost of a collection of buildings where a shopping mall once thrived, generating jobs and bountiful tax revenue for their city They see unhealthy food options where a grocery store once offered fresh meats and vegetables.
What would make Birmingham safer in 2025?
They see the iron carcass of a manufacturing plant that once provided a path to the American Dream — albeit one still pocked with the vestiges of redlining, Jim Crow and other darts of discrimination.
They see a cratered sidewalk or a street too long in disrepair. Or an empty porch because someone is afraid to sit outside, or an aging park too dangerous for families to gather or children to play.
They see shootings. They see death.
It’s impossible to not see it, to not feel it – no matter where in the region you live.
Even if you blithely turn away— if you bury your head in the sand of prosperity, proximity (that’s over there) and privilege — it’s impossible to not see the faces of Birmingham’s 152 homicide victims last year, or the too many already in 2025.
Impossible to not see blood drying on pavement and casings strewn on streets.
To not see grief. Unfathomable grief. Grief at the crime scene until it’s tucked out of view — in homes and hearts where it likely never departs.
It’s hard right now to see beyond those hard truths toward a future with far less crime and far more hope for those caught in its grip or impacted by it in any way.
Which would be us all.
Hard but not impossible. Hard but achievable if Birmingham — all of the Birmingham metro — seeks it with all intent and resources. If we address all of the factors holding the region back from fulfilling its promise – for all.
AL.com is pursuing reporting to assess where we are, Birmingham, where we’d like to be in the years to come—and what we all must do to get there.
It’s an expansion of our continuous coverage of efforts throughout the region to stem gun violence. Of organizations and individuals in the public, nonprofit and private sectors doing their root out violent perpetrators and instill hope in young people.
We’ll pursue solutions to the region’s continued challenges with economic equity, health disparities, education, environmental justice and more. We want to hear how you believe Birmingham can move beyond this plague.
Over six decades past its darkest days, the Birmingham region has undeniably progressed in many ways. Yet, we see what we see.
Too much darkness for too many.
So, now, at this precarious juncture, Birmingham, here’s another question: What do you want to see when you look in the mirror, say, another decade from now? In 2035.
What do you not want to see?
Most critically, what are you willing to do, what must you do, to make that vision a reality?
Here’s what I see: A region at the precipice of change yet in danger of stagnation if it does not effectively address violence and poverty.
A region that can brag that it’s not what it used to be but is not yet close to what it can be because of violence and poverty.
To what it should be.
I see a region that won’t fulfill its promise unless significant decisions and actions are made now — in 2025.
I see a region that must flush, once and for all, its lingering legacy of distrust among municipalities and — and this is about as simply as I can put it — get its act together. A region that must become savvier in numerous areas. That must elevate its game.
That must level up, in all phases.
And do it with a sense of urgency. As if a gun was pointed directly between its eyes.
Birmingham must decide that it is sick and tired of being sickened by conditions that should have long ago been triaged, diagnosed and treated.
A few weeks ago, an august group of private citizens, a Crime Commission convened at the behest of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, issued 82 recommendations for stemming gun violence—homicides as well as shootings where the survivor is likely living in fear. Of being shot again. Or worse.
The common thread of the recommendations? Common sense. Common sense and clear actions. Now.
The committee called for the implementation of a proven street-outreach Community Violence Intervention program, similar to those that have worked to lower gun violence in Boston, New Orleans and other cities.
It also calls for big, innovative swings like appointing a public safety czar overseeing a new Office of Public Safety.
Most vitally, the commission said this: Get it together, Birmingham. Level up with procedures and practices. Elevate technology and install systems that ensure what needs to get done gets done in a timely fashion.
Require various entities — such as the Birmingham Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and Alabama Bureau of Pardon and Paroles – to talk to each other, share vital information, and take actions that get the most violent offenders off our streets.
Common sense and actions. Now.
Over the next few months, we’ll digest and dissect the report and hold city and regional leaders accountable for its implementation. And to ensure that each day is focused on the safety of Birmingham residents, as well as their growth and the creation of opportunities that allow them to see themselves striving for the elusive dream.
Leading the change certainly rests with Woodfin, especially as he seeks a third term in office. It also falls squarely in the laps of others at City Hall — department heads who must come to work every day and believe their job, no matter the job description, impacts whether another young man might pull a trigger.
It falls, too, in homes where — there’s too much at stake to be delicate anymore — parents and families have failed. For whatever reasons. Now, avail yourselves of the resources needed to level up, too. To be the parent to your child that maybe someone wasn’t to you. To ensure to the best you can that they don’t pull the trigger.
And you—you all. In Alabaster. In Hueytown, In Homewood. In Sylacauga. In Dora. In Ashville. In Fultondale. In Brighton. In Calera. In Chalkville. In Helena. In Leeds. In the full realm of the 5,279.8 square miles the U.S. Census considers the Birmingham metro area.
You well know that so goes Birmingham, so goes you. So goes economic development. So go jobs. When companies from outside the region or state search the viability of your area, they don’t enter your municipality. They enter “Birmingham.” So, prosperity, proximity and privilege do not shield you from doing something to ensure what you see in the mirror years from now is not altered by what you ignore.
All want change, but are we all ready to be a part of the change?
What do you want to see, Birmingham, when you look in the mirror in 2035?
Write it down, then help make it happen.
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