The Local Content Vehicles pulled into Birmingham Saturday night. We have worked closely with our cable partners at Bright House Networks to organize a very busy week in the Magic City, and we are very excited to explore this southern city's rich history and literary culture.
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| Former Birmingham Mayor "Bull" Connor |
We kicked of our visit with an evening tour of some of the city's most notorious landmarks. Jim Baggett, the archivist at the Birmingham Public Library, walked our cameras through the city's streets on a tour he calls
Birmingham Noir. Mr. Baggett shared stories of political intrigue and talked about the scandal that nearly destroyed former Mayor Eugene "Bull" Connor's career. Mayor Connor held the office in Birmingham from 1957-1963. We also spoke to Mr. Baggett about the
Birmingham Public Library's role in the community.
After last night's tour of Birmingham's darker side, BookTV visited with Jack Reiss, the owner of the
Alabama Booksmith this morning. The book store has been operating for over 20 years and specializes in Alabama authors.
Also this morning, we spoke to an auditorium full of students at Lawson State Community College. Washington Monthly named Lawson State one the top 50 Community Colleges in the country and the White House recognized Lawson State as a "Champion of Change," because of the College's efforts to build a more educated workforce. While at Lawson State we interviewed President Dr. Perry Ward (on right) about the schools role in the community.
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| Civil Rights Leader Fred Shuttlesworth |
American History TV (AHTV) is spending the day with history professor Horace Huntley. Huntley is an expert on the Civil Rights Movement in the city. He's taking our cameras to the downtown Masonic Temple, which was a center for voter registration efforts in Birmingham. He will also take us to Fred Shuttlesworth's grave. Shuttlesworth was at the forefront of Birmingham's Civil rights movement. He passed away in October 2011. He was 89 years old.
