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City of Birmingham Ups Recruitment Bonus to $10,000 for Police Officers

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Birmingham Times
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Mayor Randall Woodfin’s $15.8 million Police Officer Recruitment and Retention Plan includes a $10,000 signing bonus for recruits. (File)

The Birmingham Times

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s $15.8 million Police Officer Recruitment and Retention Plan aimed at increasing the department’s ability to compete with surrounding municipalities to recruit and retain officers.

“The City of Birmingham is hiring,” said Woodfin. “We’re looking for men and women who understand what service is, who understand what community is, who understand what building trust is. We are looking for men and women who want to be the face of law and order.”

The goal of the recruitment and retention plan is to strengthen the police force through an aggressive investing in new recruits and current officers, specifically on hiring 172 patrol officers, said Woodfin.

Councilor LaTonya Tate, chair of the council’s Public Safety committee, said, “Addressing this issue is going to take a unified front. I’m not in the business of pointing fingers about how we got here, but I know that Birmingham is a resilient and beautiful city. We’re committed to giving our law enforcement officials the tools they need to succeed here and help Birmingham reach its full potential.”

The money for recommendations will come from the City’s General Reserve Fund — as of 2023, that account totaled $290 million. Woodfin has said this would not be a recurring $15.8 million expenditure.

The plan approved Tuesday:

  • Increases the recruitment bonus to $10,000
  • Establishes a quarterly retention bonus of $2,500 for officers with two or more years at BPD
  • Creates a take home vehicle program with 75 vehicles
  • Starts a part-time reserve officer program which would ease staffing demands during large events
  • Invests in recruitment marketing and officer recruitment consulting
  • Launches a police trainee program which allows BPD to hire immediately and begin academy preparation for recruits
  • Offers $5,000 in relocation assistance for new officers living more than 80 miles away from Birmingham
  • Provides a $1,000 referral incentive for officers with BPD
  • Begins a mental health observance leave policy for officers for 8 hours per month

In Birmingham, there is currently a shortage of patrol officers citywide. This upcoming class of officers in the Birmingham Police Academy has 53 individuals currently enrolled, which will make up a significant portion of the current staffing attrition.

These staffing numbers are in line with a national trend of police officer shortages in large cities across the country following COVID, according to the city.  In 2020, BPD hired 67 officers, and 35 retired; In 2021, BPD hired 51 officers and 47 retired that same year; In 2022, BPD hired 31 and 14 officers eligible for retirement took it; In 2023, 19 officers were hired and 12 retired.

Two weeks ago, 78 hopeful applicants took part in the BPD’s physical ability screening, the largest number since 2019. For those interested, the Birmingham Police Department is currently hiring.

People who wish to serve their community, can visit: https://police.birminghamal.gov/join-the-team/

Retired 3-Star Army General Takes Command at Birmingham Water Works

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Birmingham Times
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Lt. Gen. Ron Burgess (Ret.), who rose to the level of three-star general in the U.S. Army, led the Defense Intelligence Agency where he had responsibility for more than 17,000 employees. (Barnett Wright, The Birmingham Times)

By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times

Lt. Gen. Ron Burgess (Ret.), who rose to the level of three-star general in the U.S. Army, will independently assess the Birmingham Water Works from top to bottom with no limitations and recommend structural changes where needed, BWW Board Chair Tereshia Huffman said on Monday.

“It is no mystery that prior BWW boards have struggled to build the trust needed with the public while modernizing our operations to best serve our customers,” Huffman said during a media briefing.

Huffman introduced Burgess saying the Water Works needed a “more effective approach to the system’s operations” and wanted a highly respected and experienced leader for the job.

That person was Burgess, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency where he had responsibility for more than 17,000 employees and then became the Chief Operating Officer at Auburn University where he led all operations that included more than 5,000 employees and 25,000 students, she said.

“We are pleased to work with General Ron Burgess to lead this effort [at reorganization] as well as guide the process in hiring a new, long-term general manager,” Huffman said. “His strong commitment to public service is undeniable.”

Birmingham Water Works General Manager, Michael Johnson, who had held the position since 2019, retired in June.

Regarding the search for a new GM, Burgess said BWW for the first time will began a national search and seek the services of an executive search firm, Baker Tilly Search & Staffing.

About the structural changes, Burgess said, “The board has made it clear that there are no limitations to my review and recommendations. We are starting with a review of the board, senior management, all employee areas as well as operations, communications, customer service and other important functions. There is no pre-conceived finding from me or this board.”

“We will find the good and bad and put it out to the public and then we will more importantly recommend a path forward,” he added. “My hope is that we will make recommendations for structural changes to the board no later than early 2025.”

Cissy Houston, a Grammy-Winning Gospel Singer and Whitney Houston’s Mother, Dies at 91

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Birmingham Times
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American gospel singer and author Cissy Houston poses for a portrait in New York on Jan. 22, 2013. The two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artist who knew triumph and heartbreak as the mother of Whitney Houston, has died. She was 91. (AP File/Dan Hallman)

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. and HILLEL ITALIE | Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artist who sang with Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and other stars and knew triumph and heartbreak as the mother of Whitney Houston, has died. She was 91.

Cissy Houston died Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston told The Associated Press. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by her family.

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston said in a statement. She said her mother-in-law’s contributions to popular music and culture are “unparalleled.”

“Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts.”

A church performer from an early age, Houston was part of a family gospel act before breaking through in popular music in the 1960s as a member of the prominent backing group The Sweet Inspirations with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warwick. The group sang backup for a variety of soul singers including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls and The Drifters. They also sang backup for Dionne Warwick.

Houston’s many credits included Franklin’s “Think” and ”(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” The Sweet Inspirations also sang on stage with Presley, whom Houston would remember fondly for singing gospel during rehearsal breaks and telling her that she was “squirrelly.”

“At the end of our engagement with him, he gave me a bracelet inscribed with my name on the outside,” she wrote in her memoir “How Sweet the Sound,” published in 1998. “On the inside of the bracelet he had inscribed his nickname for me: Squirrelly.”

The Sweet Inspirations had their own top 20 single with the soul-rock “Sweet Inspiration,” made in the Memphis studio where Franklin and Springfield among others recorded hits and released four albums just in the late ’60s. The group appeared on Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and sang background vocals for The Jimi Hendrix Experience on the song “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” in 1967.

Houston’s last performance with The Sweet Inspirations came after the group hit the stage with Presley in a Las Vegas show in 1969. Her final recording session with the group turned into their biggest R&B hit “(Gotta Find) A Brand New Lover” a composition by the production team of Gamble & Huff, who appeared on the group’s fifth album, “Sweet Sweet Soul.”

During that time, the group occasionally performed live concert dates with Franklin. After the group’s success and four albums together, Houston left The Sweet Inspirations to pursue a solo career where she flourished.

Houston became an in-demand session singer and recorded more than 600 songs in multiple genres throughout her career. Her vocals can be heard on tracks alongside a wide range of artists including Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Jimi Hendrix, Luther Vandross, Beyoncé, Paul Simon, Roberta Flack and Whitney Houston.

Cissy Houston went on to complete several records, including “Presenting Cissy Houston,” the disco-era “Think It Over” and the Grammy-winning gospel albums “Face to Face” and “He Leadeth Me.”

In 1971, Houston’s signature vocals were featured on Burt Bacharach’s solo album, which includes “Mexican Divorce,” “All Kinds of People” and “One Less Bell to Answer.” She performed various standards including Barbra Streisand’s hit song, “Evergreen.”

Never far from her native New Jersey or musical origins, Houston presided for decades over the 200-member Youth Inspirational Choir at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church, where Whitney Houston sang as a child.

Cissy Houston would say that she had discouraged her daughter from show business, but they were joined in music for much of Whitney’s life, from church to stage performances to television and film and the recording studio. Whitney’s rise seemed inevitable, not only because of her obvious talents, but because of her background: Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick were cousins, Leontyne Price a cousin once removed, Franklin a close family friend.

Singers Cissy Houston, left, and daughter, Whitney, appear at the “Keep A Child Alive Black Ball” in New York on Sept. 30, 2010. (AP File, Evan Agostini)

Whitney Houston made her debut on national television when she and Cissy Houston sang a medley of Franklin hits on “The Merv Griffin Show.” Cissy Houston sang backup on Whitney’s eponymous, multi-platinum first album, and the two shared the lead on “I Know Him So Well,” from the 1987 mega-seller “Whitney.”

They would sing together often in concert and appeared in the 1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife.” Their most indelible moments likely came from the video for one of Whitney’s biggest hits from the mid-1980s, “Greatest Love of All.” It was filmed as a mother-daughter homage, ending with a joyous Whitney exiting the stage of Harlem’s Apollo Theater and embracing Cissy Houston, who stood in the wings.

But drug problems damaged Whitney’s voice and reputation and eventually ended her life: she was found dead in a Beverly Hills bathtub on Feb. 11, 2012. Cissy Houston would blame husband Bobby Brown for Whitney’s getting so “deep” into drugs, writing in the 2013 memoir “Remembering Whitney.” Brown acknowledged his drug problems but was dismissive of his in-laws in a 2016 interview with Larry King.

Cissy and Whitney Houston had a complicated dynamic at times — Whitney nicknamed her mother “Big Cuda,” as in barracuda. Cissy described in the memoir that her daughter as “mean” and “difficult” at times but wrote “almost always,” her daughter was “the sweetest, most loving person in the room.”

In 2015, Cissy Houston was grieving again when granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, was found unconscious in a bathtub, spent months in a coma and died at age 22.

Cissy Houston was briefly married to Freddie Garland in the 1950s; their son, Gary Garland, was a guard for the Denver Nuggets and later sang on many of Whitney Houston’s tours. Cissy Houston was married to Whitney’s father, entertainment executive John Russell Houston, from 1959-1990. In addition to Whitney, the Houstons also had a son, Michael.

Cissy Houston was born Emily Drinkard in Newark, the youngest of eight children of a factory worker and a housewife. She was just 5 when she and three siblings founded the Drinkard Singers, a gospel group that lasted 30 years, performing on the same bill as Mahalia Jackson among others and releasing the 1959 album “A Joyful Noise.”

She later said she would have been happy to remain in gospel, but John Houston encouraged her to take on studio work. When rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins (along with drummer Levon Helm and other future members of The Band) needed an extra voice, Cissy Houston stepped in.

“I wanted to get my work done, and get it done quickly. I was there, but I didn’t have to be part of them. I was in the world, but I wasn’t of the world, as St. Paul put it,” Houston wrote in “How Sweet the Sound,” remembering how she soon began working with the Drifters and other singers.

“At least in the recording studio we were living together as God intended us to. Some days, we spent 12 or 15 hours together there,” she wrote. “The skin-deep barriers of race seemed to fall away as we toiled side by side creating our little pop masterpieces.”

Pat Houston said she is thankful for the many valuable lessons learned from her mother-in-law. She said the family feels “blessed and grateful” that God allowed Cissy to spend so many years.

“We are touched by your generous support, and your outpouring of love during our profound time of grief,” Houston said on behalf of the family. “We respectfully request our privacy during this difficult time.”

‘We Loved Each Other, And I Couldn’t See No One Else Fitting That Role or Being My [Future Wife]’

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Birmingham Times
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BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times

FAITH & JAMEL WATERS

Live: Hoover

Married: Oct. 10, 2020

Met: In their 4th-grade class at Glen Iris Elementary School on Birmingham’s Southside. They attended middle school at Center Street Middle School and reconnected in 2012 during their freshman year in college at Alabama State University.

“Jamel played basketball in college, so he was walking to practice, and I was going to my dorm room when we saw each other for the first time on campus and stopped and talked. It was super quick. It was like ‘Oh you go here, I go here. Nice to see you’,” Faith recalled.

“I was happy to see somebody that I knew from home, we have a lot of [history], and everything was still new, so it was nice seeing somebody that was familiar,” Jamel said.

Faith and Jamel would randomly bump into each other around campus, mainly in the cafeteria, she said. This felt awkward for her because Jamel was aware of her school-age crush from their childhood, “but he didn’t like me and we both knew it,” Faith laughed. “I was over the crush by then but seeing him again I realized I was still attracted to him even though we never flirted or anything.”

Fast forward to September 2013, their sophomore year. One afternoon they talked until the sun went down, and the next day, Jamel asked Faith to meet him in the yard to converse again. Two weeks and several courtyard conversations later, word around campus was that the two were an item.

“So, I asked Jamel about it; I said [people are saying] I’m your girlfriend, and he said, ‘you are’. And I was like ok then,” Faith laughed.

First date: Magic City Classic weekend, October 2013, at the Waffle House in Irondale. The couple didn’t have vehicles, so their earlier dates were around campus at fast food restaurants. However, when they came home for Classic weekend Jamel got his mother’s car and he picked Faith up from her mother’s home in Irondale and took her for a sit-down meal at the Waffle House.

“We already had the first date butterflies out the way because we had been boyfriend and girlfriend for two months. But it did feel good to be picked up and taken somewhere,” Faith said.

The turn: Jamel said he was serious from the get-go: “We just had a good relationship, we loved each other, and I couldn’t see no one else fitting that role or being my girlfriend. Faith was it for me,” he said.

“It was serious from the very start for me too. He showed and proved to me that he was serious from the jump. He never played around on campus with other girls, and he didn’t have a reputation even though he was an athlete, so it was easy to take him seriously, he made me a priority from the jump,” said Faith.

Faith and Jamel Waters met in their 4th-grade class at Glen Iris Elementary School on Birmingham’s Southside, and reconnected in 2012 at Alabama State University. The couple married in 2020. (Provided Photos)

The proposal: After midnight on New Year’s Day, 2019. They had since graduated college and moved back to Birmingham and shared an apartment on the Southside of Birmingham. They chose to bring in the New Year at home together.

“We stayed up to pray the new year in and were sitting on the couch talking after the prayer and I let her know that I think it’s time for us to make the next step, and that was making her my wife. So I got up and told her I’d be back and came back with the ring we had picked out and customized. She knew about the ring, she just didn’t know when I would propose …,” said Jamel. “I didn’t plan to do it on New Year’s Eve/Day, I was just waiting for the right time and it felt right in that moment…”

“I was shocked. It didn’t happen like it does on social media, it wasn’t this grand [elaborate plan], it was just us casually talking on the couch, I had on pajamas and he had on boxers and my hair was all over the place,” Faith laughed. “I was like ‘Really, right now when I look like this?’ But it was good that he did it that way because had he tried to plan anything I would’ve found out about it and knew it was coming. Him doing it that way really caught me by surprise and it turned out to be the best way. And I had not seen the ring [since picking it out and choosing the custom options] and it looked even better than I imagined and it felt good that my ring was one-of-a-kind and no one else would have it.”

The wedding: At Vulcan Park in Homewood, and was officiated by one of Jamel’s high school teachers whom he can’t recall. Their colors were black, gold, and ivory.

Most memorable for the bride was “when I walked down the aisle. It was surreal. It was like right now in this white dress I’m not married, but once we walk back down this aisle, I’ll be walking down as a married woman,” Faith said.

Most memorable for the groom was their surprise pregnancy announcement and gender reveal at the reception. “…no one knew she was pregnant. We played a video and the video said, ‘First comes love’ and showed pictures of us, ‘Then comes marriage’ and showed our engagement pictures, ‘And then comes…’ and the video from our ultrasound and the baby’s heartbeat played, and everybody went crazy,” Jamel said. “Everybody was excited, there was a lot of shock and joy on people’s faces. And then the wedding coordinator came on and said, ‘now let’s get ready for the gender reveal.’ And the gender was revealed by the DJ lights. Blue lights for a boy, pink lights for a girl, and the lights started flashing blue.”

“I was 20 weeks [5 months] pregnant and I couldn’t even fit my dress anymore, I had to have the dress [altered] to even get into it,” Faith recalled.

Words of wisdom: “Continue to date your partner and keep having fun. Keep it interesting and be considerate of your spouse,” said Jamel.

“Be willing to change and adapt constantly. Marriage is constant change, and as women, it’s important for us to be able to pray for our marriage, and our partner and be that support. But be willing to pivot and change constantly. This is probably the 5th version of myself that Jamel has seen since we met, no one stays the same forever,” said Faith.

Happily ever after: The Waters attend Bethel Baptist Church in West End, and have two children: Jamel ‘Goat’ II, 3, and daughter, Dayci Faith, 5 months.

Faith, 30, is an Avondale native, and Shades Valley High School grad. She attended Alabama State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, Samford University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in science and nursing [BSN], and Troy University where she received a master’s degree in nursing. Faith works as a registered nurse home health case manager for a medical practice in Birmingham.

Jamel, 30, is a West End native, and Ramsay High School grad. He attended Alabama State University, where he earned a bachelor’s of rehabilitation services in health science. Jamel works for a courier service as a delivery agent.

“You Had Me at Hello’’ highlights married couples and the love that binds them. If you would like to be considered for a future “Hello’’ column, or know someone, please send nominations to Barnett Wright bwright@birminghamtimes.com. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what makes their love story unique.

Birmingham Personal Injury Attorney | Guster Law Firm, LLC

CEO Melanie R. Bridgeforth to Step Down at Women’s Foundation of Alabama; Will Remain a Catalyst for Change

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Birmingham Times
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Melanie Bridgeforth who will serve through February 2025 said she plans to start her own strategy consulting firm that will operate nationally and serve as a catalyst for change. (FILE)

By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times

Described as “one of the most consequential leaders in Alabama,” Melanie R. Bridgeforth, will step down as President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Alabama in 2025, her organization announced on Monday.

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.

“Melanie is one of the most consequential leaders in Alabama,” said Lajuana Bradford, Board Chair, Women’s Foundation of Alabama and head of Corporate Philanthropy for Regions, in a statement. “For the past six years, her vision and leadership has not only inspired, but activated a broad base of thousands of philanthropists, business and civic leaders, and elected officials to build, invest, and scale proven initiatives and public policies that grow economies by removing barriers to women.”

Bridgeforth told The Birmingham Times Tuesday she didn’t come to the WFA six years ago “for what it was, I came for what it could be … a powerful influencer in this state that had the authority, and the audacity, to not just pick up the pen and write a new story for women, but to bring all these players along with us was the goal.”

Those players, she said, included “powerful voices, powerful change constituencies, whether that’s corporations, philanthropists, businesses, community leaders, aligning people around a common goal …”

“Building Powerful Coalitions”

What’s next for Bridgeforth?

“My work changing the world for women started long before Women’s Foundation of Alabama and it will continue long after,” she told The Times. “I have chosen to bet on myself and to bet on my own dream which is to do this same great work but without borders and under my own name.

“I’ll be starting my own strategy consulting firm that will operate nationally and we’re going to keep on building powerful coalitions of philanthropists, businesses, and community leaders who want a better world, and quite frankly demand a better world and I look forward to continuing to being a catalyst for change,” she said.

Bradford said Bridgeforth didn’t just transform the mission of the WFA, “she transformed our business with record growth in revenue, assets, size, and market presence statewide. Her track record, combined with a strong board and team, positions the organization to win for women now and in the future.”

Under Bridgeforth’s leadership, revenue increased by 174 percent, culminating in a transformative capital raise bringing in $9.4 million in just over a year. Marked revenue increases positioned WFA to scale programming and double grantmaking to $1,000,000 annually to nonprofit organizations across 40 Alabama counties.

Bridgeforth, who will serve as president and CEO until February 28, 2025, turned her decades long career as a lobbyist and strategist to bring WFA off of the sidelines and into the game of public policy resulting in three defensive victories and six pro-women legislative wins, including the state’s first Equal Pay Statute, a $2.25 million cumulative state budget appropriation to partner in preparing women for in-demand careers, and the 2024 Child Care Tax Credit – an historic $67.5 million public investment in the critical infrastructure and workforce that keeps Alabama working.

It all came into place because “what we have built together is nothing short of a movement,” Bridgeforth said. “The exciting thing about movements is, where there may be a catalyst and perhaps in many ways I have been a catalyst, they are unstoppable once they are started. We have amassed the board, the staff, the donor base, it takes resources to do this work and to do it well and to do it in a sustainable way.”

“It’s a mindset,” she added. “We shifted the narrative and culture by winning on critical policy issues and aligning our grant making in the same way.”

Quentin P. Riggins, Board of Directors, Women’s Foundation of Alabama and senior vice president of Governmental and Corporate Affairs at Alabama Power, said Bridgeforth was indeed that catalyst. “Alabama won’t win until our women do,” he said in a statement. “Even if we all agree on this notion, our state still needed a catalyst with vision, bold new ideas and solutions, and the ability to galvanize state leaders around a common goal of growing our state’s economy by removing the barriers that impede women.”

The Board of Directors of Women’s Foundation of Alabama announced it will launch a national search with support of a volunteer-led Transition Committee to assist them in identifying the next leader of the foundation.

UAB Celebrates Milestone With 3,000 Adult Liver Transplants

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Birmingham Times
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UAB’s Liver Transplant Program — the only one in Alabama — distinguishes itself as one of the nation’s most experienced, with outcomes that consistently rank among the best in the United States. (Adobe Stock)

By Adam Pope | UAB News

Surgeons with the University of Alabama at Birmingham have achieved a significant milestone in liver transplantation. The institution recently performed its 3,000th adult liver transplant, solidifying its position as a leading center for liver transplantation in the region and nation.

“This milestone would not have been possible without the dedication of countless individuals at UAB over four decades, thousands of donors and families who have given selflessly that others may live, and the bravery of patients facing their time of greatest need,” said Associate Professor Robert Cannon, M.D., surgical director of the liver transplant program.

During the past half-century, the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute has pioneered many advances, including groundbreaking research, new medicines and innovative techniques. Patients from across the country — 44 states — have come to UAB for organ transplantation, making UAB a major national player in the field.

“We are able to achieve this milestone because of the incredible team of health care professionals at UAB and the generosity of the donor families who time and time again give the gift of life,” said Brendan McGuire, M.D., medical director of Liver Transplant.

With the historic milestone of the program’s first organ transplant performed in 1968, UAB launched a journey of innovation and achievement that today has surpassed five decades. To date, more than a total of 16,000 organ transplants have been performed at UAB to go with the adult liver transplants, including heart, lung, combined heart/lung, kidney, pancreas, and uterus procedures which provide life-giving hope to adult and pediatric patients alike.

UAB’s Liver Transplant Program — the only one in Alabama — distinguishes itself as one of the nation’s most experienced, with outcomes that consistently rank among the best in the United States, and it continues to overcome barriers to transplantation.

Transplantation at UAB requires the expertise of a multitude of teams, including hepatologists, surgeons, transplant-trained nursing staff, blood banking teams and more.

Of course, UAB would not have been able to reach this milestone without the selfless acts of others who were or are currently registered as organ donors. A major factor in those decisions is Alabama’s organ procurement center Legacy of Hope.

“Legacy of Hope is proud to celebrate this transplant milestone with UAB. Transplantation would not be possible without the generosity of donors and their families who think outside of themselves to help others,” said Christy Keahey, executive director of Legacy of Hope. “Legacy of Hope is humbled by the generosity of the families we serve and the resilience of the human spirit. We are honored to be part of this lifesaving mission.”

Gun Violence in Philadelphia Plummeted in 2024. What City of Birmingham Leaders Can Learn

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Birmingham Times
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September was a deadly month of shootings in Birmingham including a mass shooting in Five Points South that left four people dead, and 17 others wounded. There have been five additional homicides in the month since that mass shooting. (Adobe Stock)

By Carla Lewandowski and John A. Shjarback
theconversation.com

Gun-related homicides have dropped 40 percent in 2024 in the Philadelphia region, saving countless lives in the area.

Meanwhile, gun-related homicides have soared in Birmingham. At last count, homicides in Birmingham were up more that 15 percent compared to the same time in 2023 and that was before a deadly September that included a mass shooting in Five Points South left four people dead, and 17 others wounded in the month. There have been five additional homicides since that mass shooting.

Birmingham ended 2023 with 135 homicides. So far this year, through last month, a deadly shooting on Sept. 28 marked the city’s 127th homicide. Of those, eight have been ruled justifiable and two others happened in previous years, but the victims died in 2024.

Philadelphia experienced a surge in shootings and homicides during the COVID-19 years that disproportionately affected young Black and Latino men in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with drug markets.

In 2020, Philadelphia had 499 homicides — nearly 150 more than the previous year. Gun violence worsened in 2021 — with 562 homicides that year — and then dropped slightly in 2022.

In Philadelphia, recent data shows a notable decline in these crimes over the past two years. As of late September 2024, homicides are down 40 percent for the year to date compared with 2023. And the number of shooting victims has decreased similarly — from 1,236 in the first eight months of 2023 to 758 for the same period in 2024.

As professors of criminal justice who live in Greater Philadelphia, we know that there is no single explanation for the drop in gun violence. Rather, many factors at both the local and national levels could be playing a role.

Police And Justice System Return To (Sort of) Normalcy

A shortage of police — driven by pandemic-era resignations, retirements and injuries — significantly affected cities like Philadelphia.

Additionally, the Philadelphia Police Department’s number of traffic and pedestrian stops dropped drastically. This was due to both the need to adhere to social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic and a widespread reluctance among officers to engage with citizens after massive protests in response to the murder of George Floyd. In fact, the number of documented stops plummeted by 83 percent from 2019 to 2020 alone.

As the year progressed, the department struggled with officers’ abuse of the Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act. This statewide disability program allows police and firefighters injured on the job to collect their full salaries.

By September 2021, 14 percent of Philadelphia patrol officers were out of work on “no duty” disability leave, according to investigations by both The Philadelphia Inquirer and the city controller.

Though up-to-date data is unavailable, there was a 31 percent drop in injury claims by December 2022, 10 months after the Inquirer investigation was published.

More recently, the Philadelphia Police Department has attempted to increase its ranks through intensified recruitment efforts. It also lowered physical requirements and eliminated certain residency restrictions.

Despite these efforts, staffing remains nearly 20 percent lower than in 2019. This places considerable strain on the existing workforce.

In Birmingham, Mayor Randall Woodfin said last week the Police Department (BPD) will prioritize the hiring of 172 patrol officers to achieve staffing targets in the police precincts. That number is part of a recruitment and retention plan the mayor has outlined to address the staffing shortages in BPD, he said.

Woodfin also has proposed a $15.8 million plan for recruiting and retaining officers for the Birmingham Police Department, a step he told the City Council was “necessary” in light of the growing number of homicides in the city.

Of course, the COVID-19 years considerably affected the entire criminal justice system and beyond in Birmingham and Philadelphia. Courts operated in a limited capacity, cases backlogged, probation and parole officers were less able to supervise individuals in the community, and the jail population was reduced. Philadelphia (and Birmingham’s) array of community- and hospital-based violence intervention programs were also disrupted.

The post-pandemic resumption of court operations, improved violence intervention programs, police recruitment efforts and reduced disability claims may help explain the recent drop in shootings in Philadelphia.

New Leadership And Crime-Fighting Strategies

Reducing gun violence was a top campaign issue during Philadelphia’s 2023 mayoral race.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, elected on a law-and-order platform, declared a public safety emergency on her first day in office.

She also appointed Kevin Bethel as police commissioner in charge of the more than 6,000-member force. Bethel, second in command under former Commissioner Charles Ramsey, quickly released a 100-day plan that focused on crime reduction in high-crime districts, shutting down open-air drug markets in Kensington neighborhood and reinforcing federal partnerships to tackle violent crime.

Philadelphia has also adopted new policing strategies and technologies.

In early 2022, before Parker and Bethel’s tenure, the Philadelphia Police Department under former Commissioner Danielle Outlaw designated a new unit to investigate nonfatal shootings. In 2021, only 17 percent of nonfatal shootings led to arrests, a failure that can fuel retaliatory violence, legal cynicism — which refers to a drop in trust of the legal system — and communities resorting to self-policing.

While it’s not yet clear what effect the new unit has had in Philadelphia, research shows such units that prioritize resources to solving nonfatal shootings in places such as Boston and Denver have reduced gun violence.

More recently, the city began deploying mobile surge teams on weekends to flood high-crime areas with officers to deter potential criminal activity.

Meanwhile, Temple University attributes the reduction in crime within its patrol areas to the implementation of safety measures, including new equipment for officers such as firearms and radios, upgraded security cameras and advanced technology such as license plate readers, which help identify stolen vehicles or those linked to criminal behavior.

Recently, the City of Birmingham’s Real Time Crime Center was recently awarded $4.5 million as part of the federal government’s 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

BPD will use these monies to purchase additional cameras and position them in high-crime areas, according to Police Chief Scott Thurmond. The data will feed directly into the City’s Real Time Crime Center.

National Crime Trends

While local initiatives have likely contributed to Philadelphia’s drop in violent crime, these improvements also fit into national crime trends as cities across the U.S. experienced similar declines.

Economics and public safety expert John Roman, for example, attributes both the rise and fall of violence to pandemic-related losses in government staffing and functionality, which he argues returned to pre-pandemic levels in late 2023.

Roman shows how 1.3 million government jobs were lost nationally at the outset of COVID-19, with 75 percent of the losses coming at the local level. These local government employees, such as social and outreach workers, often connect people in marginalized communities that bear the brunt of gun violence to crucial services such as trauma counseling, victim advocacy and legal assistance.

In Philadelphia, approximately 3,000 local government jobs were lost between 2019 and 2022. The reopening of social services and increase in those jobs and community-based interventions post-pandemic may have helped stabilize Philadelphia’s neighborhoods.

Crime trends tend to ebb and flow. This current drop in Philadelphia appears to align with a national de-escalation in violent crime. These factors, alongside the statistical phenomenon of regression to the mean — where crime rates normalize after extreme spikes — apply to both national and local crime rates.

Some researchers, including Roman, have also considered the possibility that the recent 2020-2022 homicide peak killed a portion of the most violent offenders who drive shootings in their neighborhood. It’s based on the concept of the victim-offender overlap that those at the highest risk of violence are often offenders themselves.

But crediting Philadelphia’s decline in homicides and violent crime to any single cause oversimplifies a much more intricate picture. While the exact causes of these shifts are complex, understanding the interplay of local and national forces is essential to sustaining this positive trajectory in Philadelphia.

Carla Lewandowski and John A. Shjarback of Rowan University wrote this article for The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

‘Joe Minter Is Here’: How Producers Decided to Open Fascinating Art Exhibit in Birmingham’s Titusville

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Birmingham Times
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Artist Joe Minter pictured inside the Marc Steel Company in Birmingham’s Titusville community on Oct. 3, 2024 before the opening of his exhibit "Joe Minter Is Here." (Barnett Wright, The Birmingham Times)

By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times

“Joe Minter Is Here”, an immersive, community-based art installation of never-before-exhibited work by Minter, opened at the Marc Steel Company in Birmingham’s Titusville community last week.

Minter, 81, is a longtime resident of Birmingham’s North Titusville community and well known for his “African Village in America.” Although Minter’s work can be found in some of the most prestigious art collections in the country, this is his first solo show in the Magic City, which is produced by 1504, a Birmingham-based studio dedicated to telling transformative stories.

Tyler Jones, founder of 1504, describes Minter’s exhibit as a “site-specific instillation. It’s in Titusville, in the community where Joe Minter has lived his whole life. We really wanted to honor Mr. Minter and give an opportunity for new people who maybe aren’t familiar with his work to come to a site that is accessible, and really celebrate him.”

Mayor Randall Woodfin and Alabama’s Poet Laureate Ashley Jones were among those in attendance. Jones read an original poem that “is a reflection of my gratitude for [Minter’s] kindness, his spirit, and his poetry,” she said.

“Joe Minter is special,” said Woodfin. “We celebrate Joe Minter and not just because of his creative genius. We celebrate him because he is authentically Birmingham … his ‘African Village in America’ has become a staple [in his community] and it represents the Black experience.”

The exhibit will run through October 20th. Hours of operations will be Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“Joe Minter is Here,” is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. This project is also supported in part by South Arts, Alabama Humanities Alliance, Birmingham City Councilor Carol Clarke, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Navigate Affordable Housing Partners, Joseph S. Bruno Charitable Foundation, and Regions Foundation.

Rep. Sewell Announces $850,000 to Improve Public Safety at Miles College

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Birmingham Times
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Miles College President Dr. Bobbie Knight (left) and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) at Miles Friday as Sewell announces $850,000 secured to improve public safety resources on the school's campus and the surrounding community. (Provided)

The Birmingham Times  

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) was joined by Miles College President Dr. Bobbie Knight on Friday to announce $850,000 Sewell secured to improve public safety resources on the campus of Miles College and the surrounding community.

The funding will be used to increase safety lighting on campus, procure upgraded security cameras, invest in broadband-enabled security devices, and purchase new public safety vehicles, said Sewell.

It is part of the $13.1 million that she secured in the Fiscal Year 2024 federal government funding package for local projects in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District.

“As our Birmingham community continues to grapple with the horrific impacts of gun violence, there is no better time to ensure that our students, faculty, and staff are safe and secure on campus,” said Sewell. “The $850,000 that we secured will help Miles College procure additional lighting, security equipment, and vehicles to provide for the safety of the entire campus community. It will help the students here at Miles College focus on what matters most: learning, leading, getting involved, and building community.”

Stevie Wonder Asks UAB’s Henry Panion III to Conduct, Arrange Orchestras on New 11-City Tour

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Birmingham Times
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Henry Panion III, Ph.D.

Producer, composer, arranger and orchestrator Henry Panion III, Ph.D., will join music legend Stevie Wonder on his just-announced 11-city tour.

Wonder and Panion have collaborated musically for more than 30 years. Panion will conduct orchestras for shows in each city for the tour.

A 25-time Grammy winner, Wonder is an Academy Award winner and has been honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, among countless other honors. Panion is a University of Alabama at Birmingham University Professor of Music and director of Music Technology in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music.

“Stevie shared with me his desire to help spread joy, peace and love during these troubled times, a message he has been about his entire life, and asked me to serve as conductor on this tour,” Panion said.

The tour, titled “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” was announced Sept. 19. Wonder will perform the select dates throughout October and Nov. 2, “at the height of a critical election season and a pivotal juncture in American politics and culture, in a call for ‘joy over anger, kindness over recrimination, peace over war,’” according to the announcement. Wonder will also offer a designated number of complimentary tickets “to those in our communities who are already working tirelessly to fix our nation’s broken heart.”

The shows are produced by Wonder Productions and promoted by AEG Presents in partnership with Free Lunch. The tour will begin Tuesday, Oct. 8, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with stops in Maryland, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Performances in the South include Oct. 17 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Oct. 19, in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets are on sale now.

Wonder Panion
Stevie Wonder and Henry Panion III, Ph.D., photographed by Marc Bondarenko in Los Angeles, California, for the cover of UAB Magazine, winter 1993. (UAB)

Panion has arranged for Wonder and conducted virtually every major orchestra in the world with him, including the Royal Philharmonic, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, the Orchestra of Paris, the Melbourne (Australia) Symphony, the Rio de Janeiro Philharmonic and many others. Panion’s first tour with Wonder was as arranger and conductor for the “Natural Wonder” European tour in 1992. The two-CD set “Natural Wonder” features Panion conducting his arrangements of many of Wonder’s award-winning, chart-topping songs with Wonder and the Tokyo Philharmonic. In 1995, Panion directed a 33-piece orchestra for Wonder’s “Charge Against Hunger Natural Wonder” tour, to help raise money for grass-roots organizations that distribute food to the needy.

That tour preceded Wonder’s album “Conversation Peace” for which Panion arranged for orchestra.

Thanks to Panion’s connections with Wonder, the Stevie Wonder Music Technology Scholarship at UAB has been awarded to more than 40 students. In 1996, UAB awarded Wonder an honorary doctoral degree.

A three-time Grammy Award winner, Panion’s experiences span the musical spectrum, from gospel and classical to pop, rock, hip-hop, be-bop and everything in between. In addition to Wonder, he has worked with superstars Lionel Richie, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan; jazz luminaries Ellis Marsalis, Jonathan Butler and the Lionel Hampton Orchestra; gospel legends the Winans, Kirk Franklin, The Clark Sisters and Yolanda Adams; “American Idol” winners Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard; and hip-hop artists Coolio and Nelly. Panion earned two Emmy Awards in 2021 for the PBS documentary “Dreams of Hope,” which also won an unprecedented 13 Telly Awards. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2023.

Alabama audiences can see Panion at UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center on Nov. 17, as he reprises the successful presentation of “A Gospel Symphony Celebration,” on the heels of sold-out shows with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For “A Gospel Symphony Celebration,” Panion will lead the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and gospel legend Tramaine Hawkins with the combined gospel choirs of Miles College and UAB. Tickets are $28, $36, $58 and $74, with a limited supply of $10 student tickets with valid ID. Purchase tickets at AlysStephens.org.

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