Compiled By Barnett Wright and Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
The past decade of news coverage since the 2016 rebranding of the Birmingham Times saw several firsts in a range of fields from elections to the arts.
Voters elected the first African American Jefferson County sheriff and district attorney (both in 2018) as well as a record number Back female judges (2016).
In 2022, one of those female judges, Elisabeth French became the first woman selected to serve as Presiding Judge in Jefferson County’s 200-year history. She oversees the 10th Judicial Circuit, the largest in Alabama’s Judicial System.
That same year the U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson that paved the way for Jackson to become the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the nation.
In 2024, Democrats Yashiba “Red” Blanchard and Jameria Moore became the first Black female judges elected to Probate Court in Jefferson County, Alabama.
History was also made in 2022 when Ashley M. Jones began serving as the youngest and first African American poet laureate in the state of Alabama.
The decade also saw the passing in 2018 of the first African American woman to serve as judge on the Jefferson County (Alabama) Circuit Court and in 2019 the passing of the first Black to serve as president of the Jefferson County Commission who later became Birmingham mayor.
All those stories were covered by the Times. Here are some other notables over the past decade.
2016
Jan.: Foundation for Progress in Journalism purchases The Birmingham Times from Times founder Dr. Jesse J. Lewis Sr. FPJ was founded in 2013 to promote journalism among minority and economically disadvantaged students interested in journalism.
April: Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, dies at age 57 in his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, Minn. Throughout the visionary musician’s decades-long career, he released hits like “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” “Controversy,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” and “I Would Die 4 U.” He also starred and performed in “Purple Rain,” a rock musical drama that won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score in 1984.
May: The inaugural issue of the reformatted, rebranded Birmingham Times hits the streets with Birmingham Mayor William Bell on the cover. Times Publisher Samuel P. Martin writes: “Make no mistake, this new format is just one piece of that promise, but it is an important piece because it provides us with a way to reach new readers and it invites many of our old readers back to rediscover The Birmingham Times.”
June: Famed boxer Muhammad Ali dies at age 74 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Born Cassius Clay, Ali earned a gold medal during the 1960 Summer Olympics, was the only three-time heavyweight champion, and was named Sports Illustrated’s greatest athlete of the 20th century. Ali used his notoriety to speak out for Civil Rights and humanitarian causes.
Nov.: A record nine Black female judges are elected in Jefferson County. Javan Patton, Debra Bennett Winston, Shera Craig Grant, Nakita “Niki” Perryman Blocton, Brendette Brown Green, Tamara Harris Johnson, Elisabeth French, Agnes Chappell, and Annetta Verin are among 15 people of color who win throughout Jefferson County, including Lynneice Olive-Washington, who made history as the first African American and first woman to hold the position of Bessemer Cutoff district attorney.
2017
Jan.: President Barack Obama signs an executive order establishing the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument which includes the A.G. Gaston Motel, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Bethel Baptist Church, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, the Fourth Avenue Historic District, and the downtown Masonic Temple building.
June: First phase of CrossPlex Village begins construction with $27 million. The city of Birmingham provides $6 million in infrastructure improvements, paving the way for the $21 million first phase of development for the commercial shopping center surrounding the CrossPlex sports venue.
Aug.: The A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club, founded by legendary Birmingham businessman Arthur George “A.G.” Gaston in 1967, celebrates 50 years.
Oct.: Randall Woodfin, who grew up in Birmingham, defeats incumbent William Bell for mayor. Woodfin, 36, and Bell, 68, finished first and second, respectively, in the August 22 municipal elections—which drew 12 hopeful candidates—to make the October runoff.
Nov.: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute turns 25. During the annual Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Awards Dinner the Institute honors former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington Jr., the city’s first African American mayor who said the BCRI was a priority when he was first elected to office in 1979.
2018
Jan.: Wenonah High School Girls Basketball Coach, Emanuel Bell wins his 500th varsity high school coaching victory all the while battling Stage 4 lung cancer. Bell has been the coach of the Lady Dragons since 1996.
July: Helen Shores Lee, the first African American woman to serve as judge on the Jefferson County (Alabama) Circuit Court and daughter of prominent Civil Rights Attorney, Arthur Shores, dies. She was 77.
- City Councilors Lashunda Scales, in District 1 and Sheila Tyson, in District 2 unseat George Bowman and Sandra Little Brown, respectively in primary elections. Neither Scales nor Tyson will face Republican opposition in November and each will take their seats following the general election.
Nov. Danny Carr, chief deputy Jefferson County District Attorney, who had served as DA on an interim basis, defeats Republican Mike Anderton to become the county’s first Black elected DA.
- Mark Pettway, the Democrat challenger, stuns incumbent Republican Mike Hale to become the first Black sheriff in Jefferson County.
2019
Jan.: Larry Paul Langford, former Birmingham and Fairfield mayor and Jefferson County Commissioner dies. He was 72. As mayor of Fairfield, he established Visionland Amusement Park, now Alabama Splash Adventure. While serving on the Jefferson County Commission from 2002 to 2007, he was elected the first African American president and helped pass the penny tax, which has helped pay for more than 10 new schools. In 2009, Langford was convicted of 60 counts of bribery, money laundering and other charges. He was handed a 15-year term in a federal prison.
Feb.: Emanuel Bell, 64, the legendary Wenonah High School girls’ basketball coach, dies. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in August 2016 and battled valiantly just like the teams he led to four straight 5A state titles.
July: The Board of Trustees of Miles College announces that retired Alabama Power Executive Bobbie Knight will serve as the college’s Interim President, the first female to hold the position.
Aug.: Students who have attended Birmingham City Schools are eligible for a free in-state tuition program through the Birmingham Promise Program, Mayor Randall Woodfin announces. “Starting in 2020, any Birmingham City School student that walks across the graduation stage will have the opportunity to attend any in-state two- or four-year school tuition free.
Oct.: Henry “Gip” Gipson, the musician and owner of a popular juke joint in Bessemer, Alabama, passes away at the age of 99. Gip’s Place, his legendary juke joint, stands a monument to Southern blues.
2020
Jan.: Felicia Rucker-Sumerlin becomes the first female Deputy Chief in the 200-year history of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Rucker-Sumerlin, who joined the Office in 1990, had been a captain since 2016.
Feb.: Elisabeth French becomes the first woman selected to serve as Presiding Judge in Jefferson County’s 200-year history. She will oversee the 10th Judicial Circuit, the largest in Alabama’s Judicial System.
March: COVID pandemic sweeps Birmingham. The Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) recommends that any event with 500 people or more be canceled. More than a dozen Birmingham-area events are canceled or delayed.
- BCS announces that it will close for students and employees effective immediately.
- The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute closes to the public. All 19 Birmingham Public Library (BPL) locations close until further notice. UAB implements a limited business model to encourage social distancing and discourage the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining critical functions.
- Jefferson County, Alabama’s most populous county, and Birmingham, the state’s largest city place its respective government and city under declarations of emergency due to coronavirus. Jefferson County commissioners also announce the closure of the downtown Birmingham and Bessemer courthouses.
- Cooper Green Mercy, currently managed by Jefferson County and medical providers for indigent patients, initiates precautionary measures.
- G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club closes all clubhouse locations.
- The Birmingham Water Works Board closes the lobby of its payment center and main administrative building, with normal hours resuming April 6.
- Jefferson County Health Officer Mark Wilson, MD, announces that nursing homes in the county will no longer allow most visitors and senior centers will not be allowed to have gatherings. He also says restaurants, bars, and breweries will no longer be allowed to offer on-premises consumption of food or beverages.
June: Angela Davis, humanitarian, global Civil Rights activist and Birmingham native receives the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Aug.: Pleasant Grove voters elect three Black city councilors after having never elected a person of color before to city government in the city’s 83-year history.
Nov.: Democrat Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States. California Sen. Kamala Harris becomes Vice President, shattering another racial and gender barrier in American politics.
2021
Aug.: Randall Woodfin, elected four years ago as Birmingham’s youngest mayor in more than a century, cruises to a second term with 64.33 percent of the vote.
- Ashley M. Jones, founder of the Magic City Poetry Festival, is named Poet Laureate for Alabama, making her the first Black Poet Laureate for the state and the youngest person to hold the position.
- The Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority’s Board of Directors names Charlotte Shaw as the agency’s next chief executive officer.
Oct.: Protective Stadium a $200 million, 45,000-seat outdoor stadium opens in downtown Birmingham as UAB falls 36-12 to Liberty.
- A pair of political newcomers unseated incumbents in Birmingham runoff elections. In District 4, J.T. Moore ousted incumbent Council president William Parker. In District 9, LaTonya Tate bested incumbent John Hilliard.
2022
Jan.: Selwyn Vickers, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, assumes the role of CEO of both the UAB Health System and the UAB/Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance, while continuing as dean.
- Birmingham CEO Mike Kemp is announced as the chairman of the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), making him the first Black person to chair the group.
March: Autherine Lucy Foster, the first Black student to enroll at the University of Alabama, dies. She was 92. Foster in 1956 briefly attended classes at the then all-white university. She was expelled three days later after her presence brought protests and threats against her life. Foster, a graduate student studying education, had faced hostile crowds hurling racially charged threats and debris.
- Birmingham honors the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, the city’s most prominent Civil Rights leader as Mayor Randall Woodfin, surrounded by city school students, local clergy and residents, issues a proclamation declaring March 18 Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth Day, the 100th anniversary of the leader’s birth.
April: The U.S. Senate confirms President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson in a historic vote that paves the way for Jackson to become the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the nation. The chamber immediately erupts into cheers
May: The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Board of Directors announces that DeJuana Thompson will serve as president and CEO of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute without the “interim” designation.
June: Dr. Adolphus Jackson of Birmingham is elected President of the Alabama Dental Association, the first African American to serve as president of the state Association.
- S. The Supreme Court strips away women’s constitutional protections for abortion, a fundamental and deeply personal change for Americans’ lives after nearly a half-century under Roe v. Wade.
- Mayor Woodfin, city leaders and other dignitaries, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, cut the ribbon at the historic A.G. Gaston Motel on 5th Avenue North where substantial completion of a three-year restoration has been completed.
July: The Birmingham Stallions defeat the Philadelphia Stars 33-30 in Canton, Ohio to capture 2022 USFL Championship in the League’s inaugural year.
- The World Games 2022 (TWG 2022) kicks off in Birmingham’s Protective Stadium, featuring more than 3,600 athletes who will participate in dozens of events including sumo wrestling, gymnastics, martial arts and tug of war.
- Slutty Vegan, the popular plant-based Atlanta eatery known for some unforgettable names holds its grand opening in Woodlawn.
- The Alabama Aerospace & Aviation High School’s, the first school of its kind in Alabama, (AAHS) inaugural year begins at its temporary location in Bessemer.
Nov.: Mark Pettway, who made history as the first Black sheriff elected in Jefferson County (AL) four years ago, is re-elected to another full four-year term.
- Jesse J. Lewis Sr., Birmingham Times founder and visionary entrepreneur, is awarded 2022 Lifetime Achievement from the Vulcan Park Foundation.
2023
March: Alabama State Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of obstruction of justice and one count of obstruction of justice by bribery, court records show.
July: Firefighter Jordan Melton, 29, gunned down while on duty in July at Fire Station #9. Melton and fellow firefighter Jamal Jones were shot in what police say was a targeted attack. Melton died five days later.
- Nursing student, Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russel allegedly disappeared for 49 hours from her home in Hoover, Alabama, falsely reporting to police afterwards that she had been abducted. It was all a hoax and Russell was later found guilty of two misdemeanor charges related to the case.
Sept.: The Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex board approves an operating agreement with Live Nation, a national entertainment partner, to put a 9,000-seat, $50 million amphitheater downtown.
Oct.: Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin marries the former Kendra Morris in a private ceremony on an outdoor terrace at a house with a view of Vulcan and overlooking the city with close family in attendance.
Dec.: Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announces that writer and educator Salaam Green will become the city’s first poet laureate.
2024
May: Myrna Carter Jackson, a Birmingham civic leader and Foot Soldier who participated in marches, sit-ins, demonstrations and other Civil Rights activities, dies. She was 82.
- Birmingham-Southern College closes after a nearly 170-year history as one of the city’s most respected institutions. There are approximately 700 students enrolled at BSC, a private liberal arts school in the Bush Hills community on the west side of Birmingham.
June: Major League Baseball legend and San Francisco Giants great Willie Mays dies just two days before he was set to be honored during the MLB at Rickwood game between his San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals in a game honoring Mays and the Negro Leagues. Mays, who began his career in Alabama with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues and played for the Giants from 1951-72, is widely considered baseball’s greatest living player.
- A Tribute to the Negro Leagues a regular season game takes place at Historic Rickwood Field between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis. The game is scheduled around Juneteenth and is the first ever regular season MLB game in its 124-year history.
Aug.: Hezekiah Jackson IV, who served as president of the Metro Birmingham NAACP, Birmingham Citizens Advisory Board, and the Inglenook Neighborhood Association, dies. He was 65.
- City Councilor Valerie Abbott, who has represented Birmingham’s District 3 since 2001, said she plans to step down after her current term ends in 2025. She has served six terms, with each term lasting four years, and worked with six mayors beginning with Bernard Kincaid in 2001 through Randall Woodfin, the current mayor.
Sept.: For the first time in nearly 50 years, Birmingham’s downtown Boutwell Auditorium will host a basketball game. The University of Alabama men’s basketball team tipped off against Wake Forest in the inaugural “Bama in Boutwell” charity exhibition.
- Nearly 30 years after the Cahaba River Society (CRS) and private citizens sued Jefferson County for permit violations, including unpermitted discharge of wastewater containing raw sewage into rivers and streams, the sides reached an agreement to end a federal consent decree requiring rehabilitation of the county’s sewer system.
Oct.: An exhibit “Joe Minter Is Here,” which featured pieces such as The Peacemaker (1993) made of scrap metal and lawnmower blades and The Many Uses Of Chain (1995) made of scrap metal, plow blade and more than a dozen others opens in Birmingham’s Titusville community marking Minter’s first solo show in his hometown.
- Melanie R. Bridgeforth, steps down as President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Alabama in 2025. Named chief executive in 2018, Bridgeforth grew the organization from the former Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham to a philanthropic powerhouse and statewide influencer advancing women’s economic power.
- Jesse J. Lewis Sr., founder and publisher emeritus of the Birmingham Times, inducted into the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame.
- After being in business for more than three decades, Etheridge Senior Car Wash at 1600 3rd Ave N, a staple of the historic downtown Fourth Avenue business closes. the car wash first opened in 1993 by their grandfather Willie T. Etheridge, the patriarch of several family-owned businesses.
- Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin announces an advisory commission made up of business, community and criminal justice leaders including former Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper to identify ways to reduce homicides in the city.
Nov.: Democrats Yashiba “Red” Blanchard and Jameria Moore on Tuesday become the first Black female judges elected to Probate Court in Jefferson County, Alabama.
Dec: For the first time in the storied 125-year history of Arthur Harold Parker High School, the Thundering Herd football program is now known by a new title – state champions. Forty-four years after losing by two points in a championship at Legion Field, Parker downs perennial power Saraland to capture the Class 6A championship game at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.
- Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni Jr., renowned American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator dies. She was 81.
2025
Jan.: Judge Carole Smitherman retires after 50 years of law and politics in Birmingham that included being the first Black woman hired as a deputy district attorney in Jefferson County and becoming the city’s first Black woman municipal and circuit court judge.
Aug.: Randall Woodfin routs eight challengers with a landslide victory for a third consecutive term as Birmingham mayor.
Oct.: Following runoff elections, three seated on the Birmingham City Council. In district 4, Brian Gunn, a political newcomer ousts incumbent J.T. Moore; in district 8, Sonja Smith tops April Myers Williams and in district 9 seat incumbent LaTonya Tate defeats former Councilmember John Hilliard in a rematch from 2021.
June: Coca-Cola Amphitheater’s grand opening included homage to the city’s Northside community, which is comprised of several neighborhoods, including Norwood, Druid Hills, Evergreen, Fountain Heights, and Central City.
Aug.: Bishop Calvin Woods Sr., distinguished Birmingham Civil Rights leader and longtime pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Norwood, dies. He was 91.
Oct.: Cassandra Griffen, an activist and renowned documentary photographer whose many notable images included the Civil Rights Movement as well as Sun Ra Arkestra, dies. Mrs. Griffen was 75.
Nov.: Randall Lee Woodfin takes the oath for the third time as Birmingham mayor and the first time as a husband and father which heavily influences his inaugural address inside the historic downtown Boutwell Auditorium.
Dec.: Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. accepts the prestigious 202d L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award at the downtown Sheraton.
2026
Jan.: Claudette Colvin, who refused to move bus seats at start of the Civil Rights Movement, dies at 86. Homegoing celebration was held at Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in SW Birmimgham.
