Birmingham has 13 city pools, but many of them are closed this summer due to maintenance concerns. (birminghamal.gov)
From Online Reports
Birmingham Park and Recreation Board announced changes to what city pools will be open for the summer 2026 season.
On May 21, the board announced plans to open seven of the city pools for the summer. The board says at that time, they believed all seven would be able to open safely for public use.
However, during the final inspection and continued maintenance assessments, additional safety and operational concerns were found at several of the pools, according to the board.
“Ten weeks ago, I put over $1 million in for the upgrades for the equipment,” Woodfin said. “Unfortunately, it’s like a lot of things happening right now when you need construction and repairs, everything’s on back order. It’s not moving at the speed we need, but it’s moving, I think. I think what sucks about it is that, I mean, it’s almost time for our children to go back to school, and like five weeks.”
Due to the concerns, the board says they chose to delay some of the pools openings.
The pools currently open after re-evaluation are:
ML King Pool
Maclin Pool
Memorial Pool
McAlpine Pool
Roosevelt Pool
The pools closed, due to extensive maintenance needs:
Crestwood Pool
E.O. Jackson Pool
Grayson Pool
Underwood Pool
The board says the four pools that are closed will not open for the 2026 summer season.
“While we understand that this news may be disappointing to residents who utilize these facilities, public safety remains our highest priority. Our maintenance and operations teams are working diligently to address the identified issues and develop plans for necessary repairs,” said the board.
Repairs should be made during the off-season with the goal of opening them for the 2027 season.
Birmingham Park and Recreation Board said to celebrate Independence Day, free swimming will be offered to Birmingham families at all Birmingham pools. However, entry will be subject to pool capacity limits and safety regulations. The board encourages people to arrive early.
Everette Taylor, the CEO of Kickstarter, delivered a keynote address at Day Two Sloss Tech 2026. He told the audience exactly who he was before he became one of the most recognizable Black executives in the technology industry. (Reginald Allen, For The Birmingham Times)
By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Everette Taylor stood on stage wearing cornrows, sneakers and a quiet confidence that immediately set the tone for his keynote address at Day Two of Sloss Tech 2026.
The CEO of Kickstarter wasn’t there to deliver another polished corporate speech filled with startup jargon or buzzwords. Instead, he told the audience exactly who he was—a kid from Southside Richmond, Virginia, who sold drugs as a teenager, experienced homelessness, dropped out of college twice, built and sold companies, and eventually became one of the most recognizable Black executives in the technology industry.
His message was simple: Don’t let the world — or yourself — put ceilings on what you can become.
“I’ve never let anyone’s thoughts, opinions or projections take away from my path, my dream or my ambition,” Taylor told the audience of hundreds of entrepreneurs, founders, investors and innovators.
His keynote became one of the defining moments of the three-day conference, which returned to downtown Birmingham June 24-26, bringing together leaders from across the technology, business and creative industries to explore the future of innovation.
Hosted annually in Birmingham’s historic theater district, Sloss Tech has become one of the Southeast’s premier technology conferences, connecting startup founders, venture capitalists, students, creators and established business leaders through keynote conversations, panel discussions, networking opportunities and hands-on learning experiences. The festival celebrates Birmingham’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem while positioning the city as an emerging hub for innovation across the South.
This year’s conference featured nationally recognized executives, investors and founders who shared insights on artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, venture capital, creative technology and business growth. Across three days, attendees moved between breakout sessions, networking events and keynote presentations designed to encourage collaboration while inspiring the next generation of innovators.
For Taylor, whose career has been built on challenging convention, Sloss Tech represented exactly the kind of environment where ideas — and people — can flourish.
From Homelessness to the Corner Office
Taylor’s story began far from Silicon Valley.
Growing up in Southside Richmond, he rarely saw entrepreneurs who looked like him or examples of successful technology founders. Surrounded by financial hardship, he searched for ways to help his family survive.
“The easiest way that I saw to make money was selling drugs,” he admitted.
Everything changed because of his mother.
After discovering how he had been making money, she refused to let him continue down that path. Instead, she found him an entry-level marketing job she believed could change his future.
It did.
“I found something that changed my life forever,” Taylor said. “That was the gift of marketing.”
The position exposed him to museums, tourists and experiences that expanded his worldview beyond his neighborhood.
But progress wasn’t linear.
Following family hardships, Taylor found himself homeless. Seeking warmth inside a public library, he discovered books about Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg and other technology entrepreneurs.
Those stories revealed an entirely different possibility.
“I said, ‘This tech world, this entrepreneurship — it felt like the great equalizer to me.'”
Determined to build a different life, Taylor attended Virginia Tech before eventually launching his first company, Easy Events.
He sold the business just two years later.
With the proceeds, he bought his mother a house, purchased a Porsche — and quickly realized he had made costly financial mistakes.
“I was broke again,” he joked.
Instead of viewing failure as the end, Taylor treated it as another lesson.
Everette Taylor, the CEO of Kickstarter, delivered a keynote address at Day Two of Sloss Tech 2026. (Reginald Allen, For The Birmingham Times)
Turning Rejection into Fuel
Taylor eventually moved to California, hoping Silicon Valley would become the launching pad for his entrepreneurial dreams.
Instead, he encountered another obstacle.
As a Black founder seeking venture capital, he discovered that access to funding wasn’t equally distributed.
Rather than waiting for investors to validate his ideas, Taylor focused on creating profitable companies that didn’t require outside funding.
“I became a chief marketing officer at 25,” he said. “I started four different multi-million-dollar companies before the age of 27 with no venture funding.”
Throughout his career, Taylor said rejection became motivation rather than discouragement.
“The amount of rejection I’ve gotten in my life, the amount of failures I’ve had in my life, the amount of ‘nos’ I’ve had in my life far outweigh the wins,” he said. “It’s the wins that are celebrated.”
Those setbacks, he explained, taught him resilience.
“They’re just fuel to the fire.”
Redefining Leadership
Taylor’s career eventually led him to Artsy, one of the world’s largest online art marketplaces.
When he arrived as chief marketing officer, he noticed something immediately.
The platform overwhelmingly favored white male artists.
Many colleagues accepted the imbalance as standard business practice.
Taylor didn’t.
“I said, ‘I don’t like that. I want to change this.'”
He led initiatives that intentionally elevated Black, Brown and women artists by rethinking marketing strategies, product recommendations and platform algorithms.
The results transformed the company.
By the time he left, Artsy’s user base had grown by 150 percent, while artists of color made up more than 75 percent of the platform’s top-performing creators.
For Taylor, inclusion wasn’t simply about fairness.
“It was good for business,” he said.
His philosophy has remained consistent throughout every stage of his career.
“Whatever people say is the way things should be,” he said, “I question that.”
A CEO Without Limits
That mindset ultimately led Taylor to Kickstarter.
A chance meeting with a journalist eventually resulted in a feature story in the Financial Times. Though publication delays initially frustrated him, the article landed in front of a Kickstarter board member searching for the company’s next chief executive officer.
Taylor received the opportunity.
When he accepted the role, Kickstarter faced declining revenue and questions about its future.
Rather than making incremental changes, Taylor challenged the company’s entire approach.
“If we were starting Kickstarter today, what would it look like?” he asked his team.
The company evolved from a crowdfunding platform into a broader ecosystem supporting creators before, during and after campaigns with tools addressing shipping, taxes, business growth and long-term sustainability.
The results spoke for themselves.
Taylor said Kickstarter recorded its strongest year in company history under his leadership, adding multiple new revenue streams while dramatically increasing creator success.
But even after becoming CEO of a billion-dollar company, Taylor refused to change who he was.
“I’m a CEO of a company doing billions of dollars with cornrows,” he told the audience. “I dress how I want to. I talk how I want to. I’m still myself.”
The crowd responded with applause.
“It’s hard enough being successful in this life,” he added. “Be yourself.”
The Power of Belief
Taylor closed his keynote with a story from the NBA Finals.
Watching the New York Knicks erase a 29-point deficit after the crowd had nearly given up, he saw a lesson far bigger than basketball.
“Sometimes people are going to be cheering for you,” he said. “Other times, when you’re down, they’re not going to be there.”
Entrepreneurs, he said, cannot depend on outside validation.
Instead, they must protect the people who continue to believe in them during difficult seasons while maintaining their own belief in themselves. “You can’t let the doubters, the haters or the hard times get you down,” Taylor said. “There’s going to be plenty of them.”
Looking across the audience inside the Alabama Theatre, he reminded attendees that every founder, creator and entrepreneur in the room possessed the ability to build something meaningful — provided they refused to limit themselves.
“We don’t have to have ceilings on ourselves,” he said. “You’ve got to keep believing in yourself.”
A multi-billion-dollar AI data center is coming to Birmingham’s Oxmoor Valley, along with a significant tax incentive package that has raised questions about which city officials are responsible for the deal.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin says the answer is simple, neither he nor the city is responsible.
The project
Tech company Nebius is moving forward with plans to build an AI data center at the former Regions operations center site on Milan Parkway and Lakeshore Parkway in the Oxmoor Valley community, a site that had sat vacant for more than five years.
According to the Industrial Development Board resolution approving the project, Nebius is projected to invest nearly $35.9 billion at the site over the next 30 years. The project is expected to create 78 jobs with an average salary of more than $90,000.
The tax incentives
On May 29, 2026, the Birmingham Industrial Development Board voted 6-0 at a special meeting to approve the following tax abatement package for Nebius and its wholly owned subsidiary, Alabama ADC Holdings, LLC:
A 65% abatement on non-education property taxes for up to 30 years
An 80% abatement on construction-related sales and use taxes for up to 30 years
When education taxes, which are not being abated, are factored in, the effective overall rates drop significantly: the property tax abatement works out to roughly 32% overall, and the sales and use tax abatement to roughly 72% overall.
According to the IDB resolution, the agreement includes no cash and no upfront incentives. All abatements are contingent on the level of investment Nebius actually makes. If the company invests less than projected or hires fewer employees at lower salaries than expected, the incentives are reduced proportionately.
The resolution also states that the agreement includes clawback provisions requiring Nebius to proportionately repay incentives if it fails to meet its projected payroll commitments. If Nebius ceases operations entirely during the abatement period, it is contractually required to restore the property to no worse condition than when it purchased it.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin speaks to WBRC’s Brittany Dionne about data center tax incentives. (WBRC)
The mayor’s response
When WBRC asked about the incentive package, Woodfin said the city was not involved.
“On the tax incentive, I want to be very clear. The city of Birmingham has not given any tax incentives to Nebius. And the city of Birmingham will not be giving any tax incentives to Nebius,” Woodfin said.
He pointed to the IDB as the responsible party and distanced himself from its decisions.
“There’s various organizations that are able to abate taxes beyond the city of Birmingham. And that’s another organization,” he said. “[that’s] an independent organization that I don’t have a vote on and I have no authority over.”
Who controls the IDB?
The IDB is a seven-member nonprofit board whose members are required to be Birmingham residents. It has statutory authority under Alabama’s Tax Incentive Reform Act of 1992 to abate certain non-educational property taxes and sales and use taxes for qualifying economic development projects.
The board operates independently from the city of Birmingham, but its members are appointed by the Birmingham City Council to staggered six-year terms.
At the time this article was written, there were 3 vacancies on the board.
What the IDB says
IDB Chairman David Perry said the board voted unanimously in favor of the incentive package. Perry’s statement projects the abatement package will generate more than $2.6 billion in new tax revenues for public schools and communities over the 30-year abatement period, broken down as follows:
Approximately $1.6 billion in new property tax revenues
Approximately $1 billion in new sales and use tax revenues
Approximately $1.3 billion in new tax revenues for the City of Birmingham, including approximately $836 million for Birmingham City Schools
Approximately $835 million in new tax revenues for Jefferson County, including approximately $600 million for the Jefferson County School System
More than $400 million in new tax revenues for the State of Alabama
What Nebius says
Nebius spokesman John Sutter confirmed that the incentive package was a deciding factor in the company’s decision to invest in Birmingham.
“Economic incentives were a key factor in our decision to invest in Birmingham and, as a result of the Industrial Development Board’s review and decision, our multi-billion investment is projected to generate $87 million annually in tax revenue for the state, city, county and schools,” Sutter said. “As construction advances, we’re focused on building responsibly, generating benefits for our community, and earning trust through our actions.”
Dozens of Birmingham residents rallied against a proposed AI factory off Lakeshore Parkway, gathering to protest a project they say threatens their quality of life. (WBRC)
A sound study commissioned by Nebius projects that the data center will not increase average noise levels above existing ambient noise levels. No adverse impacts to local air or water quality are expected.
Nebius says the facility will use a closed-loop cooling system projected to consume less water than the previous occupant of the site and will place no greater burden on the sewer system. Alabama Power has confirmed its grid has sufficient capacity to service the project and that residential electricity rates will not increase as a result.
Nebius will be responsible for the full cost of utility improvements necessary to service the site.
The city of Birmingham determined that all zoning and permitting requirements were met. Nebius’s site development plan was approved unanimously by the Oxmoor Steering Committee.
Questions remain about the accountability structure surrounding the deal, specifically the relationship between the Birmingham City Council and the IDB it appoints.
Birmingham will have the opportunity to tell impactful, raw stories through StoryCorps, a nationwide non-profit that aims to record, preserve and share the stories of Americans. (Provided)
By Jordyn Davis | The Birmingham Times
This summer, Birmingham will have the opportunity to tell impactful, raw stories through StoryCorps, a nationwide non-profit that aims to record, preserve and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs. The recorded stories will be permanently stored in the Library of Congress. During the Mobile Tour, the StoryCorps Sprinter van — donated by Mercedes-Benz — will be rolling across the Southeast. The tour is set to anchor in Birmingham from June 28 to July 12.
Shay Oden, founder of Rooted Impact Consulting LLC, will serve as the Birmingham anchor partner for this year’s tour.
“Birmingham has so much to say, but it’s also been stifled throughout history, or our story has been changed to fit other people’s narratives, or to not hurt feelings,” Oden said. “This was so important, especially with me being a Birmingham transplant through two parents who were born and raised here, to showcase that we’re an amalgamation. We’re just as rich in culture as Ellis Island was when those immigrants crossed.”
A Time-Capsule of Voices
StoryCorps has been around for over two decades and was first introduced by the award-winning documentarian Dave Isay in 2003. Isay’s inspiration stemmed from the simple idea of celebrating the “uncelebrated” — regular people with stories to tell. For Latojia Dawkins, the director of interview collection for StoryCorps, the program offers everyday people a sense of community.
“We’re not just focusing on political divides,” Dawkins said. “This is to show we’re more alike than different and really spur important conversations and have us truly be a community. That’s the overall goal.”
As the director of interview collection, Dawkins launched a search for Birmingham partners who would both raise awareness and unite the community. This year’s partners include Rooted Impact LLC, Coca-Cola United, the City of Birmingham, Hibbett, the Birmingham Barons and KMD Creative.
When Oden was given the opportunity to use her consulting business to continue representing her city, she couldn’t pass it up.
“With the foundation, I serve single moms, children of color with disabilities and families going through the hardest season they’ve ever been through,” Oden said. “Because again, those are my communities. I live in that community every day. We have to start advocating for our own. That’s why this opportunity is so big to me.”
LaDarrius “LHUT” Hutcherson. (Provided)
Birmingham content creator LaDarrius “LHUT” Hutcherson will team up with StoryCorps and Oden to host LHUT Day on July 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sloss Furnaces. The celebration, which will be open to the public, will feature games, food vendors, and the StoryCorps mobile. This year, Hutcherson was selected as an ambassador, and his city-wide event will serve as a method to collect Birmingham stories.
“Birmingham is a lot more than what people knew us for in the past,” Hutcherson said in an interview with the Birmingham Times. “I think my story would just be similar to that, with letting people know we have progressed so much. We are not the past. I know we have the Civil Rights Museum and all of our history, which is so important to Birmingham, but it’s also equally important for people to understand we have made a lot of progress.”
Participants can choose between a traditional StoryCorps conversation or can take part in one of three main initiatives: Brightness in Black, One Small Step and Military Voices. Brightness in Black aims to highlight the stories of Black Americans; One Small Step brings together two strangers with opposing political views and tries to bridge the gap; and the Military Voices Initiative honors all service members.
No matter what story you want to tell, Hutcherson urges both his fans and the city of Birmingham to come share their story with the world.
“I want people to be excited about this,” he said. “I want people to get out and find this bus that’s sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and go in there and tell their stories. I want them to tell friends and help people preserve the history of Birmingham. There are so many movers, shakers and trailblazers. I think we need everyone to rally together.”
To learn more and participate in the StoryCorps Southeast Sprinter Mobile Tour, visit storycorps.org/mobile-tour. If you can’t make it onsite, visit the official StoryCorps website to record from home.
Campers take part in the annual Meow Mixxx Collective camping retreat, an event that brings members together for recreation, connection, and shared experiences. (Meow Mixxx Collective, Provided)
By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
What began as one man’s desire to create community has evolved into one of Birmingham’s longest-running spaces dedicated to Black women who love women.
Founded in 2005 by Christopher “DeVann” Cummings, Meow Mixxx Collective was born after Cummings noticed a lack of spaces specifically centered on Black lesbian women.
“When I came to Birmingham, I did not have a lesbian friend in the world,” Cummings said. “I would go to events and have a great time, but none of my people were there.”
Christopher “DeVann” Cummings
Originally from Gadsden, Cummings spent much of his childhood moving with his family because of his father’s military career. After visiting Birmingham while promoting a production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, he decided to make the city his home in 2002.
At the time, Black LGBTQ+ spaces were limited, and many social gatherings were male-dominated. Recognizing a need for women who love women to have a place of their own, Cummings began researching organizations around the country. He stumbled across the name “Meow Mix,” once used by a club in New York City, and adopted it for the community he hoped to build.
Through a friend, Cummings was introduced to the late Antonio Minniefield, owner of Amani Raha, who embraced the vision and offered his venue free of charge.
“He told me he had a lesbian cousin who didn’t have what I was trying to offer, and he wanted her to have it,” Cummings said. “So, he gave me his space.”
Beginning with first-Sunday gatherings, Meow Mixxx Collective grew into a community rooted in safety, joy and belonging.
“It is my belief that Black women are among the most neglected and mistreated women,” Cummings said. “Then you add being queer, and there’s additional abandonment, hate and abuse. I knew this was the right thing to do.”
Meow Mixxx Collective has a full calendar and offers many chances for community each year. (Provided)
A Black Queer Women’s Space
Over the years, Cummings has remained steadfast in protecting the organization’s mission.
“This is a Black queer women’s space,” he said. “If men are present, it’s because the women have allowed them to be there. If the women are uncomfortable, then they can’t come.”
More than two decades after its founding, Meow Mixxx Collective continues to create opportunities for fellowship through monthly events and retreats. This year, the organization introduced its inaugural “Pride in Motion” weekend, held after Central Alabama Pride festivities.
The three-day celebration featured dancing, bowling and hiking — activities chosen not only for physical movement, but for what Cummings calls the “movement” of preserving community.
“Especially with everything that’s going on right now, this is about making sure women who love women have a space dedicated to them,” he said. “A place where they can experience Black girl joy, uninterrupted and unashamed.”
Cummings partnered with BeM Black Pride and Lesbians in Color, organizations led by longtime collaborators Crystal Lee and Andra Minor, to help bring the weekend to life.
Another initiative, “Market After Dark,” highlights Black women entrepreneurs. Vendors have included authors, skincare makers, jewelry designers, and wellness professionals, creating opportunities for women to support other women-owned businesses in the community.
The Meow Mixxx Collective participates in an art project at a camping treat. (Provided)
The collective’s calendar stays busy year-round. July will bring “Cookout After Dark,” complete with card games, music and food, while August will spotlight local comedian Asia Simone. One of the organization’s most anticipated events, Lit Weekend, returns Oct. 1-4 in Pine Mountain, Georgia. According to Cummings, last year’s annual gathering attracted 73 women.
Though many view him as the face of Meow Mixxx Collective, Cummings prefers to remain behind the scenes.
“You seldom see my face,” he said. “I’m always trying to push the women forward. I want it to be about them.”
He has also become a resource for emerging organizers and promoters, often directing them to women within the Meow Mixxx community rather than positioning himself as the authority.
“This community is much bigger than what I ever thought it could be,” Cummings said. “I never did this for money. Since 2005, I’m still charging $10 at the door. That’s unheard of.”
After 21 years, his focus remains unchanged.
“To the community, I just want to say thank you,” he said. “Thank you for allowing me to sit back and watch you all grow.”
Stay connected with Meow Mixxx Collective Experience on Instagram @the_function_bham, on Facebook @MeowMixxxCollective, and on TikTok @meow.mixxx.collective.
Crystal Forte is seen with author Tayari Jones at a March Birmingham Museum of Art ArtLit event. (Provided)
By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
By day, Crystal Forte works with students at Minor High School, helping young people overcome academic barriers and reconnect with school. By night—and often in the moments in between—she transforms into @melanatedreader, the Birmingham-based content creator and literary influencer who uses books to build community and spark conversations about Black history, culture and joy.
But Forte sees herself as more than an influencer.
“I’m literally trying to change and shift the culture of literacy because we are in a literacy crisis,” she said. “We got to get our people reading.”
Now, she is putting that mission into motion with her newest initiative, the Reading Black Books Summer Reading Club, an online campaign with an ambitious goal: encouraging one million people to read at least one book by a Black author.
“I want one million people to read a book by a Black author over the summer,” Forte said. “I’m just trying to hit a million people to get a Black book in their hand.”
For Forte, the campaign is about much more than numbers. It is about access, representation and honoring generations that fought for opportunities many take for granted.
A Reader Since Age Four
Books have always been a part of Forte’s story.
A military brat who moved to Birmingham in the 10th grade and graduated from Pleasant Grove High School, Forte comes from a family rooted in education and history.
Her grandmother was one of the Gee’s Bend quilters whose work has been displayed at the Smithsonian, and her parents met in the library while attending Alabama State University.
“It was destined for me to be the Melanated Reader,” she said with a laugh.
Her mother, she said, passed down a love for books early.
“My mama was a reader. My mama is still a reader,” Forte said. “My mom said I’ve been reading since I was four.”
That love only grew stronger over the years.
Today, Forte is a self-described mood reader who consumes nearly every genre imaginable. Historical fiction, literary nonfiction, romance and contemporary works all find their way into her reading rotation.
“I literally read everything,” she said.
She estimates she has read around 75 books this year alone.
Educator and reader Crystal Forte shows off her copy of Brandy’s Memoir, “Phases.” (Provided)
Turning a Passion Into a Platform
Though books have always been part of her life, Forte didn’t begin sharing her passion online until 2018.
The idea came from a longtime friend who noticed that people constantly turned to Forte for recommendations.
“One of my friends said, ‘Do you know what they’re doing on Instagram? People are posting about books and recommendations,’” Forte recalled. “She said, ‘I know you’re perfect for this because you’ve been a reader since I’ve known you.’”
Initially hesitant, Forte sat on the idea for nearly a year.
Eventually, she began posting book memes, photographs and reviews. But things changed once she stepped in front of the camera.
“When I started putting my face on the camera, my numbers started going up,” she said.
Her personality resonated with readers.
Then came 2020.
As the nation grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic and protests following the murder of George Floyd, Forte organized a massive global reading experience centered on “Stamped,” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds, which traces the history of racist and antiracist ideas in America.
Adults read Kendi’s original work, middle school students read Reynolds’ remix and younger readers explored the children’s version.
Participants joined from Indonesia, China, Africa and across the United States.
“We had people from all around the world,” Forte said. “We had conversations surrounding Black culture, Black books, Black thinking and Black thoughts.”
She hosted multiple Zoom discussions and giveaways, with more than 5,000 people participating in each session.
“That’s when I grew to 20,000 followers,” she said.
But more importantly, it confirmed the power of books to create community.
“I think that was one of my greatest achievements in this space,” she said.
By Day, an Educator
When she is not recommending books or attending literary festivals, Forte works as an interventionist at Minor High School in Adamsville, Alabama.
Her job involves helping students dealing with academic, behavioral and attendance challenges.
“Our main part is getting them to school and getting them to stay there,” she said.
She also serves as parent involvement coordinator and oversees Advanced Placement programs.
“Shout out to Dr. Sanders,” Forte said of Minor High School Principal Yvette Sanders. “We are trying to move numbers, and we work very hard every single day.”
For Forte, literacy and education go hand in hand.
She believes reading should never be viewed as inaccessible.
“Reading has to be accessible,” she said. “That’s what this whole challenge is about.”
She regularly encourages parents to embrace audiobooks and immersive reading experiences.
“Everybody kind of shuns away from audiobooks because they don’t think that counts as reading,” Forte said. “But it does count.”
She tells students that learning requires engagement.
“You’ve got to read it, say it and think it out loud,” she said.
A Scholar at Heart
As if balancing education and content creation were not enough, Forte is also pursuing a doctorate at St. John’s University.
A graduate of Alabama State University, Miles College and Troy University, she said attending an Ivy League institution was personal.
“I wanted to go Ivy League to prove a point,” she said.
Her determination reflects the same work ethic that fuels every other aspect of her life.
“They say Black women are the superwomen of the world,” she said. “I want to be a superwoman.”
A Champion for Black Authors
Throughout her literary journey, Forte has developed relationships with authors and publishers who recognize her enthusiasm and commitment.
She credits writers such as Kiese Laymon, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers and independent authors for supporting her work.
“My indie authors have always backed me,” she said.
She still remembers attending an event where the mother of author Cebo Campbell told her she had helped put his novel, “Sky Full of Elephants,” on the map.
“That’s what I want to do,” Forte said. “I want to put our authors on the map.”
Her mission extends beyond reviews and recommendations.
She wants readers who may never have picked up a book by a Black author to discover stories that reflect their lives and experiences.
“A lot of people have this misconception that reading has to be hard,” she said. “To me, reading has to be accessible.”
She believes there are books for everyone.
One Million Black Books
That philosophy is at the center of the Reading Black Books Summer Reading Club.
Participants simply follow the campaign online and engage with activities designed to promote reading works by Black authors.
Forte has created bookmarks, buttons, reading journals and giveaways to make the experience interactive and fun.
The initiative includes recommended reading lists for children, middle-grade readers and adults.
“It’s weird to me that we don’t have more tangible things in people’s hands,” she said. “I want Black people to read.”
She hopes the club grows beyond the summer months.
“I don’t know if the summer reading club is going to stop,” she said. “It might go past summer.”
Ultimately, she hopes the movement creates lifelong readers to support Black writers.
“This is going to be life-changing for authors,” she said.
Crystal Forte attends book events across the country, including the Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson, Mississippi. (Provided)
Rooted in Birmingham
Though much of her work takes her across the country — from the Black Romance Book Festival in Atlanta to literary events in New Orleans, Mississippi, Virginia and California — Birmingham remains central to Forte’s identity.
“Birmingham means a lot to me,” she said.
Her appreciation for the city is inseparable from its role in the Civil Rights Movement.
Having lived and taught in Selma for six years, Forte developed a profound respect for the people who marched, protested and sacrificed.
“I talked to foot soldiers,” she said. “I’ve read firsthand accounts.”
She often reminds her students that many civil rights activists were teenagers.
“John Lewis was 14 years old, and he was out there on the Civil Rights Trail,” she said. “Do you know the impact that you could have today?”
That history motivates her work.
“Birmingham is the heart of the Civil Rights Movement,” she said. “All eyes were on Birmingham at one point in this lifetime.”
She believes the city can once again become a beacon — not only for justice, but for literacy.
“Clearly, we can still keep the eyes on Birmingham,” Forte said, “especially if we channel and refuel the energy of solving the literacy crisis.”
And if Crystal Forte has anything to say about it, that movement will begin with something simple—One book. One reader.
And eventually, one million people discovering the power of Black stories.
To learn more about the Reading Black Books Summer Reading Club, follow Crystal Forte on Instagram @melanatedreader.
College friends Alana Baumann, left, and Samra Michael graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After school, they started a podcast and book club, She Well Read. (Amarr Croskey, For The Birmingham Times)
By Javacia Harris Bowser | The Birmingham Times
On any given week in the Birmingham area, readers gather in coffee shops, community spaces or on computer screens to discuss books. But the conversations are about much more than plot twists and favorite characters. For many members, book clubs have become a way to find friendship, strengthen community and celebrate Black voices that have too often been overlooked. From traditional monthly gatherings to virtual communities that connect readers across the region, Birmingham-area book clubs are creating spaces where literature sparks conversation, relationships flourish and Black authors find enthusiastic audiences.
She Well Read
After college friends Alana Baumann and Samra Michael graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), everything about their lives felt different.
“We both kind of were in this space of starting our adult lives, and that looked a lot different from when we were in college,” Baumann said. Even the act of forging friendships had changed. But Baumann and Michael found the anchor and the community they needed in their love for reading.
Michael wanted to start a book club after college. Baumann was looking to start a podcast. The two combined the ideas, and She Well Read was born.
“I thought, I’m sure we’re not the only people who are feeling this way, seeking community, and wanting to get back into reading,” Baumann said. And she was right. Described as a “book club podcast,” She Well Read boasts over 120,000 downloads and over 42,000 followers on TikTok. The podcast has partnered with several brands, including Bookshop.org, the stationery company Be Rooted, and the popular sustainable clothing store basic.
The podcast element is not the only thing that makes She Well Read different from other book clubs.
“My favorite part of our book club is the slow pace,” Michael said. With She Well Read, there’s no pressure to read a stack of books each month. Baumann and Michael dedicate an entire season to a single book, sprinkling in bonus episodes along the way, such as author interviews or book festival recaps.
“You can be kind of turned off by other book clubs that feel like an English class or a master’s thesis,” Michael said. “We were just two girls, fresh out of college, who wanted to have fun and read a book together.”
Alana Baumann and Samra Michael, pictured below, dedicate an entire season to a single book, sprinkling in bonus episodes along the way. (Amarr Croskey Photos, For The Birmingham Times)
Fostering Connections
The She Well Read book club podcast kicked off with “Text Me When You Get Home” by Kayleen Schaefer, a book about female friendships and a fitting way to launch an online book club focused on fostering connections.
To further cultivate community, Baumann and Michael stay in constant communication with listeners via voice memos, TikTok and other social media platforms. Listeners get to vote on the next read and Baumann and Michael have an in-person meetup planned for later this summer.
And one of their favorite ways to connect with other readers is at literary events at local bookstores like Thank You Books or the ArtLit events at the Birmingham Museum of Art. She Well Read was also a podcast partner at the wildly popular 2026 Black Romance Book Fest in Atlanta. This year’s festival drew over 3500 attendees.
“People love to say that Black people don’t read, Black women don’t read, that we don’t support Black writers,” Baumann said, “but no, we do, and we spend a lot of money doing it too, and we will stand in long lines for two hours to meet our favorite authors and get our book signed. We will show up.”
Baumann and Michael are showing up for writers in a big way with a new partnership. She Well Read is collaborating with Gatekeeper Press to offer an aspiring author a publishing contract.
“We’re wrapping it into our 7-year anniversary, which I’m so excited about because it feels like we’re able to give back,” Michael said.
Like many people, Baumann and Michael turn to reading to turn off the cares of the world.
“Reading has always been an escape,” Baumann said. “When I’m reading, I feel like I’m watching a show or watching a movie.”
For Michael, who grew up in Birmingham, reading has always been a source of comfort.
“As a young person, I remember I’d go over to my aunt’s house for the summer with my cousins, and she would force us to have a 30-minute reading time,” Michael recalled. “And we would not be able to talk or play, we would just have to sit and read, and honestly, once I got past the 30 minutes, I was like, I could be here all day!”
But for both Baumann and Michael, reading has become so much more.
“You can connect with so many people just from reading,” Baumann said.
Once Upon a Wine
A look at the Once Upon a Wine Instagram account quickly reveals this Birmingham-based group is not your typical book club. Scroll through @onceuponawine_bookclub, and you’ll see magazine-worthy photographs of Black women in color-coordinated fashionable frocks and outfits.
But Alicia Gettys, who co-founded the club with her sister Faith Foster in 2020, emphasized that the women of this group have both style and substance.
“Understand that what you see in the pictures is great, but we actually read, we actually have conversations,” Gettys said.
And the types of books they read run the gamut.
“There really isn’t a genre that we have not read,” Gettys said. They’ve read romance novels by Kennedy Ryan, thrillers by John Marrs and novels by British writer Lisa Jewell. They’ve read “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden and the critically acclaimed speculative fiction novel “Sky Full of Elephants” by Cebo Campbell.
Once Upon a Wine Book Club reads a different book each month and meets every third Sunday to discuss their reads. Once a year, they also take a reading retreat. These getaways have taken the group members as far as Italy and Mexico. They’ve also gone to Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Destin, Florida; San Francisco, California and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Next year, they’re heading to Barcelona, Spain.
Once Upon a Wine Book Club has been featured on Essence.com and is so popular that there’s a waitlist of women who want to join the group, which currently caps membership at 30.
Birmingham’s Once Upon a Wine Book Club reads a different book each month and meets every third Sunday to discuss their reads. Once a year, they also take a reading retreat. (Provided)
A Space for Black Women
Gettys and her sister came up with the idea for Once Upon a Wine in 2019.
“When I looked in the Birmingham space, I saw there was a lack of Black women being able to come together that wasn’t at a restaurant or a lounge or a club,” Gettys said. “We had thought about maybe just doing a social club, but I wanted it to be more than that, and we both have a love for books.”
So, in 2020, they planned to host their first meeting. Then the pandemic hit. The first gathering, held in March 2020, took place online. Once Upon a Wine had its first in-person meetup in September of 2020 at Avondale Park.
“We were all spread out,” Gettys recalled. “Luckily, there wasn’t that much going on at the park, so all you saw was like 15 girls randomly spaced out on the steps in Avondale Park. It was hilarious.”
But Gettys and Foster are serious about the community they’re seeking to build.
“What really kind of hit home for me was that we as Black women take on so many roles. We are the caregivers, we’re the mothers, we’re the wives, we’re the people in corporate America,” said Gettys, who works in finance at an information technology company by day and is a content creator after hours. “But for just one Sunday out of the month, I just want us to relish in the fact that we’re Black women. I want us to be able to cry, I want us to be able to laugh.”
She wants Black women to chat about good books over a great bottle of wine.
“It’s a space for you to put your guard down and be able to have conversations with other Black women that you don’t know,” she said, adding that the women aren’t strangers for long.
“So many friendships that have been formed from this book club,” Gettys said. “When I’m scrolling Instagram or TikTok, I see they’re getting together for coffee, or they got invited to the bridal shower or the baby shower.”
Members rotate hosting meetings. Hosts are tasked with choosing a theme to match the book of the month. For June, the group read “Second Swing” by Nicole Devonne, a second-chance romance with golfing as the backdrop. The book club meeting will take place at a local golf club, and the ladies will sport their best golf-inspired outfits.
For Gettys, an influencer with nearly 500,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 85,000 on TikTok, incorporating fashion and photography into the meetups made sense. But also spoke to the mission of celebrating Black women.
“We go out, and we buy all these nice clothes, and then there’s nowhere to wear them,” she said, “so let’s have a reason to wear all these nice clothes!”
Navigating corporate America, content creation and being a wife and mother, Gettys’s schedule is packed. But she always makes time for books. Whether she’s listening to audiobooks in the car or reading for 20 minutes to wind down before bed.
Reading is Fundamental
Gettys’s love of reading has been a lifelong affair thanks to her mother, who always encouraged her to pick up a book. As a girl in Texas, she passed a test that allowed her to enter first grade at just four years old. She credits her reading skills for this feat. She’s passed on this love of reading to her 3-year-old son, Alexander, who reads three books each night.
“If you let him, he will read five or six,” she said.
For Gettys, the phrase “reading is fundamental” isn’t just a decades-old slogan. It’s something she truly believes.
“I think a lot of times when younger kids are struggling in math or science or history, it has everything to do with reading,” she said. “So, reading has always been fundamental.”
The Behind the Ink book festival, held last year at the Harbert Center in Downtown Birmingham, featured New York Times best-selling author Kennedy Ryan and drew nearly 700 attendees. (Provided)
From Me-Time to Big Time
K. Reshay Williams started Me-Time Book Club in 2011 at an Olive Garden in Tuscaloosa with just a handful of friends. Today, the book club is a nonprofit organization that runs a host of community service projects and hosts one of the biggest book festivals in the state — Behind the Ink.
Last year’s festival, held at the Harbert Center in Downtown Birmingham, featured New York Times best-selling author Kennedy Ryan and drew nearly 700 attendees.
“Creating something unique that people enjoy is definitely the motivation,” Williams said. “Literacy is so important within our community, and I’m grateful to add to it.”
Vendors at Behind the Ink include not only authors, entrepreneurs, and other creatives but also local literacy organizations.
Me-Time Book Club, which took steps to become a nonprofit organization in 2023, collects books for a Little Free Library at Bowers Park in Tuscaloosa. They donate “Blessings Bags” to homeless shelters in Birmingham and surrounding areas. They have also donated time and resources to the Salvation Army, the Lupus Foundation, and Grace House Ministries, which provides housing for girls in foster care in Alabama.
The Behind the Ink team is taking a break in 2026, but Williams said the festival will return in 2027, and she’s hard at work to bring in another big-name author.
In the meantime, she’ll keep reading.
“Reading is therapeutic,” she said. “It gives me the opportunity to relax and take my mind off of everyday life.”
She’ll also keep meeting with the members of Me-Time Book Club.
“It enriches my life by obtaining a different perspective of what I’ve read,” Williams said when asked what she enjoys most about her book club. “Every book and its characters are interpreted differently, and it’s exciting to discuss this with people.”
One of the Birmingham chapters of Go On Girl Book Club met to discuss “Harlem Rhapsody”. (Provided)
The Go On Girl! Book Club
Over 100 members of the Go On Girl! (GOG) Book Club converged in Birmingham June 11-14 for the group’s annual Authors Award Weekend.
The Go On Girl! Book Club is a nationally recognized nonprofit reading club committed to fostering an awareness of and appreciation for the literary works by authors of the Black Diaspora.
“The mission of the GOG Book Club is to support Black reading and Black writing,” said Irene Little, who launched the first GOG chapter in Birmingham. “I am old enough to know that some Black literature has already been lost. If we do not support Black Literature, it will be erased.”
Founded in 1991 in New York, the organization now has more than 30 chapters consisting of more than 300 members in 18 states across the country, including four chapters in Alabama. Each month, the club chapters read and discuss a book by a Black author. Members then write reviews and letters of encouragement that they send to the authors and their publishing houses. The reading list is vast, covering a wide range of genres.
At the annual Author Awards celebration, the group recognizes the artistic achievements of members’ favorite authors from the previous year’s reading list. The annual Author Awards, which began in 1992 as a small event in Brooklyn, New York, has evolved into a 3-day event that has traveled the United States from east to west as well as outside the U.S. to Jamaica, West Indies, and Toronto, Canada, Little shared. This year, the event took place in Birmingham and included a bus trip to Montgomery to visit the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) museums.
The awards dinner, held Saturday, June 13, at the Sheraton Hotel, drew 184 attendees who gathered to celebrate writers such as Victoria Christopher Murray, author of “Harlem Rhapsody,” and Cebo Campbell, author of “Sky Full of Elephants.”
In addition to the top author recognitions, the club also gives a $1,000 unpublished author award that writers can apply for on the GOG website and a $1,000 aspiring literary scholar award to a student at a historically Black college or university (HBCU) or other college or university. To qualify, students must submit an essay on the power of the written word. The Birmingham chapters have also worked together to donate books to local prisons.
Little joined the Go On Girl! Book Club in 1999 while she was living in Washington, D.C. In 2004, she moved to Birmingham, and two years later, she led the charge to charter the first chapter in Alabama.
“Our membership grew rapidly,” she said. They soon exceeded the recommended 12-member chapter size. So, a second chapter was formed. In 2014, a third Birmingham chapter was launched, and recently, a chapter in Montgomery was formed.
Though Go On Girl! is much more than a book club, it still offers the opportunity to read and discuss books with others who love good stories.
“For me, reading is more than words and plots,” Little said. “Reading takes me places I have never visited. Reading introduces me to people I will never meet in person. Reading entertains me like an A-rated Broadway performance.”
And discussing what she’s read makes the experience even richer.
“Having a discussion about a book provides a broader view of the story, the plot, the culture and the characters,” Little said.
Alana Baumann, left, and Samra Michael at the Little Professor Bookstore in Homewood. (Amarr Croskey, For The Birmingham Times)
Try Something New
For people looking to get into reading, Baumann recommends starting with the same genres you enjoy watching on television. Yet, she said, don’t be afraid to try something new.
“Dip your toe into everything,” she said. “If it’s something you don’t think you would like, you’d be really surprised.”
She, for example, didn’t expect to enjoy reading thrillers, and now she’s hooked. She also reads a lot of young adult literature.
“It kind of taps into that younger self, that younger child, that still lives in you,” she said.
That said, Michael stresses that no one should force themselves to read a book they’re not enjoying.
“Don’t be afraid to put a book down,” Michael said. “If you’re not amped about picking it back up, and it’s like this weight on your shoulders to finish it, just put it back on the shelf, and if you want to come back to it, I’m sure you will, and if you never feel like getting back to it, that’s great too. Maybe you were only meant to read the first chapter of this book.”
Be willing to explore different formats, too, Baumann said.
When she’s on her way to work, Baumann, a data analyst, enjoys listening to audiobooks.
“When I’m trying to wind down at night and not be on a screen, I’m propping up with a physical book,” she added. “If I’m on a plane or something, and I have my tablet, I’m probably reading an e-book. Explore the different formats and find what really fits for you.”
For the members of these book clubs, reading is about more than finishing the next title on a list. It’s about finding connection, discovering new outlooks and building spaces where Black stories are celebrated. As these clubs continue to grow in Birmingham and beyond, they demonstrate that books have the power not only to entertain and educate, but also to build community. And while each book club has its own personality, meeting style, and reading preferences, they share a common purpose: bringing people together through stories. By fostering friendships, encouraging candid conversations and championing the work of Black authors, these groups are showing that the impact of a good book reaches far beyond its final page.
College friends Alana Baumann, left, and Samra Michael graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After school, they started a podcast and book club, She Well Read. (Amarr Croskey, For The Birmingham Times)
Within three days of each other two inmates died by suicide while incarcerated at the Birmingham City Jail. (Adobe Stock)
The Birmingham Times
The deaths of two inmates at the Birmingham City Jail earlier this month have renewed concerns about conditions inside the facility and prompted calls for greater accountability from city leaders. Meanwhile, officials maintain that proper protocols and procedures were followed in both cases, but have pledged a commitment to improvements.
Within three days of each other — June 11 and June 14 — Kaleena “Peaches” Croskey, 32, and 35-year-old Kendall Kadeem Sweazer died by suicide while incarcerated at the Birmingham City Jail.
Their deaths have sparked outrage from local activists like Eric Hall, who was escorted from Birmingham City Hall in handcuffs on June 16 after confronting city leaders. During the June 16 city council meeting, Hall accused city leaders of failing to address longstanding issues at the jail.
“The Birmingham City Jail is a warehouse for humans where inhuman conditions and neglect from staff has caused the unnecessary deaths of too many people under this administration and under your watch,” Hall said.
After public comment ended, Hall left the council chamber and went to Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office, demanding to speak directly with the mayor. Police officers intervened and escorted Hall out of City Hall in handcuffs.
Deputy Chief of Public Safety Carlton Peeples
In a follow-up statement, Deputy Chief of Public Safety Carlton Peeples said the deaths were “deeply troubling” and extended condolences to the families and loved ones of both individuals.
“Every person in our custody deserves to be treated with dignity, care, and respect,” Peeples said. “We take our responsibility to safeguard the well-being of those entrusted to us, as well as the safety of our staff, very seriously.”
In the statement, Peeples outlined the city’s protocol for inmates with mental health and suicide concerns. Any detainee who has voiced suicidal thoughts or attempted self-harm is evaluated by medical staff and transported to UAB Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Likewise, anyone who attempts suicide inside the facility will be sent to UAB for psychological evaluation. Upon their return from the hospital, the detainee will be assigned to administrative segregation and monitored every fifteen minutes, and staff will follow any additional instructions given by the UAB psychiatrist. Any items that would be considered suicidal aids are removed from the inmate’s cell and the detainee will be reevaluated at the next psychiatric visit, which occurs on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“Of the deceased individuals, only one was under suicide prevention protocols and housed in Administrative Segregation at the time of death,” Peeples stated. “Another individual had been evaluated by medical professionals and released back into the general population. Based on the preliminary investigation, the aforementioned protocols were followed.”
Croskey, who identified as a transgender woman, had been incarcerated since April 21. According to Peeples, transgender detainees are not placed in cells with other inmates unless no alternatives are available, and Croskey was provided separate accommodations.
“We understand the concerns these incidents raise within our community,” Peeples said. “We remain committed to transparency throughout this process and will continue providing updates as investigations, laboratory testing, and medical reviews are completed. Our focus remains on accountability, continuous improvement, and ensuring the safety, care, and dignity of every individual entrusted to our custody.”
City officials report that since 2021, there have been 197 reported deaths in detention facilities across Jefferson County. Nine of those deaths, approximately 4.5 percent, occurred at the Birmingham City Jail.
“While these numbers represent a small fraction of the county-wide total, even one death is one too many,” Peeples said. “Our goal is not to compare tragedies but to learn from them, improve our practices, and prevent future loss of life.”
In a Facebook statement on the deaths of Croskey and Sweazer, Mayor Randall Woodfin said, “They were not statistics. They were not case numbers. They were human beings and they deserve to be spoken about with care and compassion.”
In an interview with the Birmingham Times, Woodfin stated that, though protocols, policies, and procedures were followed properly, the deaths of Croskey and Sweazer underscore a statewide need for better mental healthcare services.
“With federal funding, and definitely with state funding, there seems to be a lack of this being a priority,” Woodfin said.
In a ranking of the number of state psychiatric beds, Alabama tied with South Carolina for 36th with eight beds per 100,000, according to data from the Treatment Advocacy Center reported by Becker’s Behavioral Health.
“I’m not deflecting, I’m not pointing blame,” Woodfin continued, “but we need help.”
The deaths have drawn attention to broader concerns about conditions at the jail.
In March, Woodfin recommended, and the city council approved, 5 million dollars for upgrades to the jail, including improvements to the HVAC and plumbing systems, enhanced security cameras, new security doors and locks, and inmate cell security upgrades.
“These improvements are designed to strengthen operations, improve safety, and create a more secure environment for both inmates and staff,” Peeples stated. “Our focus remains on accountability, continuous improvement, and ensuring the safety, care, and dignity of every individual entrusted to our custody.”
Drea Nicole (left) and Lex P, co-hosts of the popular podcast “Pour Minds,” greet fans during Night One of the “Still Sippin’ Tour” at Iron City in Birmingham. (Dolovision, Provided)
By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
For two nights, Iron City became the backdrop for laughter, sisterhood and unfiltered conversations as podcast hosts Lex P and Drea Nicole brought their “Still Sippin’ Tour” to Birmingham on June 18 and June 19.
Fans packed the venue both evenings, ready for the live experience from the duo behind the wildly popular “Pour Minds” podcast. What unfolded was more than a show. It was a girls’ night out wrapped in storytelling, comedy and candid conversations about relationships, personal growth and navigating life.
From the moment the hosts stepped on stage, the audience responded with cheers, laughter and the kind of energy that made the packed venue feel intimate. Throughout both nights, attendees sang along to music, reacted to stories and became part of the experience, proving why the podcast’s devoted fan base continues to grow.
Birmingham influencer Queen Leora attends Night One of the “Still Sippin’ Tour.” (Dolovision, Provided)
The Birmingham stop also spotlighted homegrown talent. Special guests included Birmingham influencers Queen Leora at Thursday’s show and K Hood on Friday’s show, whose appearances brought hometown pride to the stage and earned enthusiastic reactions from the crowd.
Another highlight came when the hosts took time to recognize Birmingham native Shay Abrams, producer and marketing manager for Pour Minds. A graduate of Minor High School and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Abrams joined the team behind the podcast and, according to the hosts, helped elevate the brand to new heights.
“We added somebody to our team that is from Birmingham,” Lex P told the crowd. “When we added Shay on our team, everything changed.”
The acknowledgment drew loud applause from the audience and culminated in chants celebrating Abrams, who was recognized during both nights of the tour stop.
As the show came to a close, Lex P and Drea Nicole expressed gratitude to Birmingham for embracing the podcast and helping make the stop one of the most successful on the tour.
“When we first booked this tour, we were bugging them, bugging them, bugging them, and they gave us a small venue,” Lex P said. “They were like, ‘Y’all ain’t gonna sell no tickets.’ And look what happened. Y’all showed out for us.”
She added, “There are two dates on this entire tour that required two days, and y’all were one of them. Y’all know how much this means to us because we still have a lot of doors to break down.”
Excelsior Band, the oldest marching band in America, at the Carver Theatre, Sunday, 5 p.m. (ExcelsiorBand1883.com)
By Gwen DeRu | The Birmingham Times
KEEP CELEBRATING CARIBBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH!
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Catch up on the news!!!
**THE MANY MEDICINAL WONDERS OF THE MINT FAMILY, 9-10:30 a.m. at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**JAZZ HAPPY HOUR with JOSE CARR AND HIS BAND, 5 p.m. at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
**KARAOKE KICKBACK EVERY THURSDAY, 6 – 9 p.m. at Jazzi’s on 3rd.
**BLUES JAM EVERY 3rd THURSDAY, 7- 10 p.m. at True Story Brewing.
**THAT’S MY JAM THURSDAYS KARAOKE & MINGLE at Platinum with music by DEVYBE BAND and hosted by Jirus Horton. Line Dance with DESI KEITH & D2 at 6 p.m.
**YEAR OF OCTOBER with MINDSHAFT + KNIGHT at The Nick.
**NOWHERE SQUARES, STRANGE WAVES & SUPERFUND at Saturn.
**COMEDIAN THAT ONE MAILMAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**RnB POETICALLY LIT, 5-7 p.m. at Lit on 8th, 518 Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd. with HUNCHO ZAVY, KD MCQWEEN, CAROL HOOD, DKMODE, BRIANNE SHARDAW and hosted by HEMP THE ARTIST. Every Thursday.
**3rd THURSDAY at the Nick with RAMBLIN’ RICKY TATE at The Nick.
**FILMMAKER NETWORKING NIGHTS, 5 p.m. at 1821 2nd Avenue North
**THAT’S MY JAM THURSDAYS, 7 p.m. at Platinum of Birmingham with DJ Slugga.
**ALABAMA BLAZIN BINGO, 6 p.m. at Overtime Grill and Bar.
**KARAOKE, 7 p.m. at True Story Brewing.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
IT IS FRIDAY…the weekend starts…
**A.G. GASTON BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB COMMUNITY PARTNER PROJECT: MAGIC CITY HARVEST, 10 a.m. at the Walter Howlett Clubhouse is packing food boxes to send home with children. Volunteers are needed. For call info, call 205-923-3377.
**FISH FRY FRIDAY at Lil Mama’s, 1200 Hall Avenue EVERY FRIDAY, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and music with Chef Dwayne “BIG DADDY” Thompson.
**FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Linn Park.
**FRIDAY NIGHT SCREEN SCENE MOVIE SERIES showing ‘PRINCESS AND THE FROG,’ at Friday Nights at Beacon Park, 5309 Beacon Drive in Irondale. There will be popcorn, hotdogs, train rides, snow cones, lemonade and more.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**COMEDIAN MATT MCCUSKER at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**ALL YOUR FRIENDS: THE INDIE PARTY at Saturn.
**LATINO CON ONDA presents: LATINOS CON BOTAS at Iron City.
**THE PAINT SHOP BAND at the Upstairs at Avondale.
**MINKUS, HANDLE WITH CARE, PATCHES AND STITCHES, UPSTATE GAGE at The Nick.
**FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, 5 p.m. at Howard’s Unlimited Lounge & Cocktail Bar at 4010 Avenue I with food by 1918 Catering Food Truck. Happy Hour at 5 p.m. Call 205-213-9097 for more.
**GOOD MUSIC WITH GOOD PEOPLE BREWING at Dave’s, 6 p.m. at Dave’s Pub.
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
**EVERY SATURDAY through AUGUST 1 – FARMERS & MAKERS MARKET, Every Saturday, 8 – 11 a.m., at the Irondale City Hall, 101 20th Street South. Seeking Vendors NOW. Any Questions: Contact etolbert@cityofirondaleal.gov or madelynjayne02@gmail.com.
**COMEDIAN MATT MCCUSKER at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**GENERATION OF VIPERS with PALACES, COWARD GOD at Saturn.
**FREE – FUNERAL PARTY GOTH NIGHT at Saturn.
**QDOT + JAXXXON & FRIENDS at The Nick.
**NASHVILLE NIGHTS – The Upstairs at Avondale.
SUNDAY, JUNE 28
**HOWARD’S UNLIMITED LOUNGE & COCKTAIL BAR, 4010 Avenue I, in Belview Heights with our own favorite son radio personality D.J. CHRIS COLEMAN. Check it out for Sunday Brunch with food by 1918 Catering, music and more!! For more, call 205-213-9097. 1918 Catering is the best food for lunch, dinner or your special event. (Take my word.)
**JOSE CARR performing at JAZZ IN THE GARDEN SUNDAYS, Every 1st and 3rd Sunday, 5-8 p.m. at Denim on 7th, 2808 7th Avenue Suite105.
**GUITARS & GOOD TIMES, 6 p.m. at Bar Sebastian with poetry, song , art lyrics and music hosted by Glenn A. Griggs.
**EASE BACK 4th SUNDAYS, 5 p.m. at True Story Brewing.
**2ND SUNDAY FREE SHOW with ZACH AUSTIN at The Nick.
**4th SUNDAY FREE SHOW with our favorite TAYLOR HOLLINGSWORTH at The Nick.
**KYLE KIMBRELL at The Nick.
**COMEDIAN THE UNTEACHABLES including STEPHEN TAYLOR + LOU PHARIS + MISS REDACTED at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**MOTION SUNDAYS at Platinum, 8 p.m. – 1 a.m. with DJ CUZZO X DJ A1 Controlling the Vibes.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**INDIA RAMEY with ROSY NOLAN at Saturn.
**THE MAJOR DUDES – A TRIBUTE TO STEELY DAN at Avondale Brewing Co.
MONDAY, JUNE 29
**WEEKDAYS – IRONDALE SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER has activities starting at 8 a.m. with a Hot Lunch served for Seniors, Monday – Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Call 205-951-1418 for details about the FREE program.
**MONDAYS – THURSDAYS – CFJS CARES RESPITE PROGRAM, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Call 205-278-7113 for more info.
**MONDAYS – GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP, 10-11:30 a.m. at CJFS Conference Room. Open to survivors who have experienced loss within the past 2 years. Call 205-278-7101 to sign up.
**MONDAYS – ENVISION RADIO, 1 p.m. ‘Where Praise Meets Talk’ with a Special Guest each Monday. For more: www.envision-radio.com.
**MONDAYS – DEMENTIA CAREGIVER VIRTUAL SUPPORT GROUP, 3 p.m. and/or
Tuesday, at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Call 205-278-7113 for more info.
**BIRMINGHAM BANDSTAND at the Nick.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
TUESDAY, JUNE 30
**TACO TUESDAY R & B NIGHT, EVERY TUESDAY at Hemings on 2ND Avenue.
**PODCASTING 101 at CREED63, EVERY TUESDAY at 5:45 p.m. Learn how to launch and create your own podcast at 1601 5th Avenue North, Birmingham 35203.
**JOSE CARR EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT at True Story Brewing.
**SONGWRITER’S NIGHT EVERY 2ND TUESDAY at The Nick.
**LATE NIGHT NICK TUESDAYS with RAMBIN’ RICKY TATE at The Nick.
**REAL FUNNY COMEDY WEDNESDAYS at True Story Brewing. Sign up at 7:30 p.m.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1
**REAL FUNNY COMEDY WEDNESDAYS at True Story Brewing. Sign up at 7:30 p.m.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**DASH RIP ROCK at Saturn.
**TRISTEN GRESSETT + CAMINO at the Nick.
NEXT THURSDAY, JULY 2
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Catch up on the news!!!
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**JAZZ HAPPY HOUR with JOSE CARR AND HIS BAND, 5 p.m. at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
**KARAOKE KICKBACK EVERY THURSDAY, 6 – 9 p.m. at Jazzi’s on 3rd.
**BLUES JAM EVERY 3rd THURSDAY, 7- 10 p.m. at True Story Brewing.
**THAT’S MY JAM THURSDAYS KARAOKE & MINGLE at Platinum with music by DEVYBE BAND and hosted by Jirus Horton. Line Dance with DESI KEITH & D2 at 6 p.m.
NEXT FRIDAY, JULY 3
**FISH FRY FRIDAY at Lil Mama’s, 1200 Hall Avenue EVERY FRIDAY, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and music with Chef Dwayne “BIG DADDY” Thompson.
**FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Linn Park.
**FRIDAY NIGHT SCREEN SCENE MOVIE SERIES showing at Friday Nights at Beacon Park, 5309 Beacon Drive in Irondale. There will be popcorn, hotdogs, train rides, snow cones, lemonade and more.
**2026 ALABAMA’S FUNNIEST- Preliminary Round at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**COMEDIAN MATT MCCUSKER at the StarDome Comedy Club.
NEWS TO KNOW AND USE – PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS TO WATCH
FOR JAZZ LOVERS…AT THE HISTORIC CARVER THEATRE
**SUNDAY – EXCELSIOR BAND, 5 p.m., at the Carver Theatre for the Sunday Series – Jazz on 4th. Excelsior is said to be the oldest marching jazz band in the United States.
The Band celebrated 140 years in 2023. The Excelsior Band was selected as one of the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellows in 2022. The Greater Mobile community has provided support for 139 years.
FOR YOUTH…PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES
**POOLS ARE OPEN – Started in Crestwood, ML King, Maclin, Memorial, EO Jackson, McAlpine and Roosevelt City from 12 noon – 6 p.m. $1 Entry CASH ONLY..
**SPLASH INTO SUMMER – SWIM LESSONS SESSION 3 is July 7-17 and SESSION 4 is July 21-31for all ages, kids, teens and adults with certified instructors and for all skill levels. Sign up at birminghamal.gov/government/city-departments/parks-recreation/pools. Make waves. Build confidence. Have fun. Call Rod (205) 933-4191, Jackie (205) 254-6396 or Tevin (205) 725-8703.
**MAGIC CITY YOUTH BUILD is a six to nine-month initiative that provided job training and educational opportunities to ages 16-24 who are looking to earn their GED and want to pursue careers in construction and healthcare. Application are accepted through July 15. Email youthbuild@habd.net or call (205) 983-7550.
**RESTORE GAMES is a community event promoting unity, mentorship and youth violence prevention, July 16, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Boutwell Auditorium for ages 11 – 19. www.restoregamesbham.com. FREE. Fun, food, and prizes.
**RAISING ROYALTY BHM – Girls Mentoring Program, ages 8-19 at Southside Police Precinct, 1320 19th Street South, every 3rd Saturday month, 3-5 p.m. Contact Regina at (205) 396-7010.
(FOR MORE: City of Birmingham, Department of youth Services, call (205) 320-0879.)
AT THE CITY OF IRONDALE
**JUNE 25 – LUNCH AND LEARN – MAXIMIZE TO MONETIZE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Irondale Public Library, 1032 Grants Mill Road, in Irondale. RSVP at: etolbert@cityofirondaleal.gov.
**SUMMER READY AT THE IRONDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY started and goes through July.
SAVE THE DATES:
**JULY 4 – RED, WHITE, BLUE & YOU! This is Irondale’s Celebration of America’s 250 featuring fireworks, live music and festivities.
**JULY 17 – SUMMER SCREEN SCENE MOVIE SERIES with TOP GUN, Friday Nights at Beacon Park, 7 p.m. with FREE popcorn, hotdogs and mores.
**JULY 18 – I LOVE IRONDALE DAY – This is the 6th Annual Signature festival themed “AI” LOVE IRONDALE featuring all things tech plus a spectacular “DRONE SHOW.”
FOR OUTDOOR LOVERS
**SATURDAY KAYAK AND CANOE TRIP, Meet 8:45 a.m. with Southeastern Outings Kayak and Canoe Trip, Chattooga River near Gaylesville, Alabama – DETAILS: This is a scenic stretch of river located in a very rural area. This stretch is fairly easy and without classified rapids. Along the river, see wildflowers, stop to swim and investigate islands and beaches. You may rent plastic kayaks and paddles from Tooga Yaks. YOU MUST NOTIFY Dan Frederick, at southeasternoutings@gmail.com or phone 205/631-4680 BEFORE June 27 to request a rental canoe if that is what you want. All participants must be able to swim to come on this outing! Sign a waiver, pay your shuttle or boat rental fee, and use the restrooms. Outfitter will transport all people and all boats to the put in. Paddle down the river to the takeout, stopping often. Take out at the outfitter’s place where cars are. Plan to go for an optional dinner on the way back to Birmingham. One food location recommended is 10-15 minutes away, in Cedar Bluff – Smorgasbord at the Cove on Weiss Lake and serves a variety of food such as steak, pasta, shrimp, southern cuisine, and homemade desserts. If you would like to shower and/or wear dry clothes for the drive home or to go to dinner with us, bring your shower things and/or a change of clothes that are kept in the car while paddling. Shower in the outfitter’s clean, spacious restrooms complete with toilets, washbowls, running water, hot showers, and plenty of floor space. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED: Contact Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com or call 205/631-4680 and leave a message if you wish. DO NOT SHOW UP!!! ADVISE DAN if you plan to meet the group initially at the outfitter’s instead of at the designated Birmingham Area meeting place. Meet at 8:45 a.m. at the Applebee’s Restaurant parking lot in Trussville. Depart at 9 a.m. ANY CONCERNS AT ALL CALL DAN FREDERICK.
COMING SOON – DON’T MISS!
**JULY 10 – UNBOUND: FREEDOM TO READ, 4- 8 p.m. at Innovation Depot, 1500 1st Avenue North by the Black Contractors Association Alabama Chapter- Educating and Uplifting with Freedom of Speech and Expression, Legacy and History. There will be authors, poets and writers. Come and experience a moment of expression in unity. Network and meet other business owners to experience the importance of Black Voices in the community. There will be spoken word, live music, light hors d’oeuvres, and drink ticket. It is hosted by LADY WOO, with beats by CHOCOLATE and performances by DEIDRE GADDIS and Saxophonist PEDRO MOORE. For vending, and more information, call Donnie at 205-873-4572.
Well, that’s it. Tell you more next time. People, Places and Things by Gwen DeRu is a weekly column. Send your questions, contact info with your events, your things of interest and more to: gwenderu@yahoo.com AND thelewisgroup@birminghamtimes.com.
To further cultivate community, Baumann and Michael stay in constant communication with listeners via voice memos, TikTok and other social media platforms. Listeners get to vote on the next read and Baumann and Michael have an in-person meetup planned for later this summer.
