This is an opinion column
Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
“Birmingham booster struggles with mass shooting.”
Well, you guessed it.
I’m that Birmingham booster.
I’m that guy that who writes columns and gives speeches promising a better future for Birmingham.
But after the mass shooting in Five Points South, where am I?
Where are you?
I’ve walked the streets of Five Points South hundreds of times.
I’ve been there with my wife,
I’ve been there with my children and grandchildren.
Many of you have done the same.
So how do we stay safe?
How do we keep our families safe?
Avoiding Five South is not going to guarantee our safety.
Avoiding the City of Birmingham is not going to guarantee our safety.
Criminals with guns don’t exclaim, “I’m about to leave the city limits of Birmingham, I better turn around.”
I live in Vestavia Hills, but I can’t live my life never leaving my city.
But staying in my city may not be safe either. It’s been two years since the mass shooting at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills that resulted in three deaths.
When I’m out-of-state, and people ask me where I’m from, I don’t say I’m from Vestavia Hills. I say I’m from Birmingham.
You do the same.
You don’t say you’re from Mountain Brook.
You don’t say you’re from Homewood.
You don’t say you’re from Hoover.
You’re from Birmingham.
To the rest of the world, we are all from Birmingham.
Whether we like it or not, people judge us for living in Birmingham.
This makes it difficult for us to recruit thriving companies.
This makes it difficult for our businesses to recruit talented employees.
I gave a speech last week at The Club about the future of Birmingham.
There were about forty people in the audience from our Birmingham region, but only one lived in the City of Birmingham.
Only 17% of the population of our Birmingham-Hoover metro area live in the City of Birmingham.
Birmingham’s population is shrinking.
It would not be good if everyone moved out of the city of Birmingham.
It would not be good if everyone quit going into Birmingham.
Some folks may say I’m being hypocritical for not living in Birmingham. But for everyone to move into Birmingham is not the solution.
We must understand that we are in this together and that what happens in Birmingham has a major impact on our lives.
We all chose to live outside the city limits of Birmingham so we get no vote and no say so.
This does not absolve us of the consequences.
This is not just a Birmingham problem.
This is an ‘all of us’ problem.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
Click here to sign up for our newsletter. (Opt out at any time)
Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. [email protected] .
