Author: Lewis Bruce
Bloomberg Philanthropies has awarded the Birmingham Promise a total of $1.8 million for its apprenticeship program, according to an announcement that Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin made at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The $1.8 million donation is substantial for the Birmingham Promise, a relatively young program whose contributions to student apprenticeships have totaled $10 million in the two years since its founding.
“This money will be used to help Birmingham City high school students earn paid work experience and start building career skills that will last them a lifetime,” said Mayor Woodfin in his address to the council.
Woodfin struggled to contain his pride about securing the donation during the Tuesday meeting.
“To be awarded this grant shows that this program is sustainable,” Woodfin said, “and it’s a model for any city across America for how we should engage in partnerships to invest and give opportunity and exposure to our youngest generation of high school students.”
The mayor also drew attention to this week’s upcoming Veteran’s Day parade, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and travel from the corner of 18th Street North and 9th Avenue North to the corner of 19th Street North and 10th Avenue North. The parade first ran in 1954, making it the oldest Veterans Day parade in the country.
Woodfin’s address to the city council included a heartfelt proclamation of thanks to the over 250 veterans that work for the city of Birmingham.
Later in the meeting, District 4 Councilor J.T. Moore voiced concern over a lack of “self-regulation” among certain councilors in the wake of his predecessor, Council President William Parker. According to Moore, Parker’s liberal use of district funds in the days leading up to their runoff election left Moore with a severely limited budget to spend on his constituency.
Moore’s concerns were subsequently echoed by District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott and District 9 Councilor LaTonya Tate.
The city council was later party to an impassioned speech from Eric Wynn, founder and director of the WAR (We’re All Related) Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting gun violence and promoting unity in Birmingham’s communities. Wynn, holding his infant son in one hand, implored the council to aid in his effort to eliminate the violent gang culture that has taken hold in neighborhoods around the city.
Councilor Crystal Smitherman of District 6 reaffirmed the need to combat gun violence, encouraging discussion of the topic and the possibility of discussing community policing in the Public Safety Committee. District 9’s LaTonya Tate further expressed the depth of the problem, calling it a “generational issue” that lies in the cyclical family structure of Birmingham’s struggling households.
In other news from Tuesday’s meeting:
-The council granted the Birmingham Museum of Art permission to hold an auction of its surplus of glass and silver artworks from a recently acquired collection.
-The council authorized an emergency contract with Gillespie Construction to repair a sinkhole on 34th Avenue North.
-Alaya High, 14-year-old star of the Nickelodeon show “That Girl Lay Lay,” addressed the council and promoted her upcoming live show on Nov. 13 at the Lyric Theatre, describing herself as a uniquely “positive influence” on younger hip-hop audiences.
