L-R: Graham Hewitt, CPC, Jennifer Kilburn, CPC, Jamika Thomas, Asst. Principal, Bessemer Middle School, Shannon Sudbury, Bessemer City Schools, Julie Brazier, Legacy YMCA.
Children’s Policy Council and Y work with Bessemer Schools
Thanks in part to a $1,000 contribution to the Legacy YMCA by the Children’s Policy Council of Jefferson County (CPC), Bessemer families will be able to participate in fitness activities after school hours. The Bessemer Board of Education approved an agreement to make Bessemer Middle School available for the Y fitness program. The CPC negotiates Shared Space Agreements between schools — which often have fitness facilities not being used after hours and on the weekends — and community organizations to help “increase access to physical activity in school communities,” according to a CPC press release. The organization’s efforts in that area are funded through a grant from the Public Health Advised Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. Other schools, including Hoover’s Trace Crossings Elementary, Avondale Elementary and Cornerstone in Woodlawn, have similar arrangements.
Local film about the 1963 civil rights struggle nominated for Emmys
Preserving Justice, a local documentary, has been nominated for two Southeast Regional Emmy Awards in the categories of writing and editing. The ceremony will be held June 7 in Atlanta, Georgia. Preserving Justice documents the largely unsung actions of members of Birmingham’s legal community, which had a profound impact on the Civil Rights Movement. The documentary is a segment of the Journey for Justice Project and joint project of the Birmingham Bar Foundation, the Magic City Bar Association and the Birmingham Bar Association.
“Birmingham’s legal system played a significant role during the Civil Rights Era,” said attorney LaVeeda Morgan Battle. “It is important to honor their legacy by educating the public. The movement and its martyrs changed everything. Their sacrifices have made my life possible and countless others.” The film can be seen on YouTube or Vimeo. For more information, click here.
Free summer programs at Birmingham City Schools
The Birmingham school system is offering free summer learning opportunities at schools throughout the district, ranging from reading acceleration to summer music camp, to preparation for the college entrance exam ACT, to a program to get children ready for going to school for the first time.
“It’s important to keep students engaged over the summer time so that they not only retain the knowledge and skills that they acquired through the school year, but so they can master and build on them as well,” Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said in a press release. “We want our parents to know that summer school opportunities are not only designed for students who may have fallen behind, but are also extremely advantageous in accelerating student learning and increasing academic achievement.”
The program begins June 9 and continues until July 10 across the school system. For more information, visit bhamcityschools.org.
Drugs and guns land Fairfield man in federal prison
U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler recently sentenced Damien Laron McDaniel, 33, to 26 years in prison. In February, McDaniel pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of using a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. His sentence also included 13 months for violation of the terms of his supervised release in another case.
The charges resulted from an undercover operation in Sept. 2012 conducted in Fairfield by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Drug Unit. McDaniel, according to court documents, responded to a call from someone asking to buy heroin and arrived at the designated location on Valley Road with cocaine in his car and a gun in his waistband. A federal grand jury indicted McDaniel in March 2013, and he was arrested in Sept. 2013 by federal agents and other members of a regional task force. The arresting officers spotted numerous weapons and marijuana at the house where McDaniel, already convicted of three felony offenses, was found. Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department later found eight firearms and about a pound of marijuana at the house.
Connecticut soprano wins Opera Birmingham’s 36th annual competition
A 24-year-old soprano from New Haven, Conn., won first prize in Opera Birmingham’s 36th Annual Opera Competition May 18, 2014. Alison King finished first among 135 contestants from across the country with performances of “Come scoglio” from Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte and “Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante” from Bizet’s Carmen. As first place winner, King took home the Martha Dick McClung Award of $3,500. The second place winner, mezzo-soprano JoAna Rusche of Apex, N.C., won $2,500 by performing “Una voce poco fa” from Rossini’sIl barbiere di Siviglia and “Must the Winter Come So Soon” from Barber’s Vanessa. Nicholas Brownlee, a bass-baritone from Mobile, Ala. placed third with performances of “Riez, allez!” from Massenet’s Don Quichotte and “I’m a lonely man, Susannah” from Floyd’s Susannah.
The third place winner captured a prise of $2,000 and an additional $1,000 as the recipient of the Audience Favorite Award, given in memory of Errol C. Allan. Lisa Chavez, a mezzo-soprano from San Jose, California, won fourth place, with a prize of $1,500 for her performances of “Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse!” from Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila and “Acerba voluttà” from Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. Tenor Johnathan Riesen of Westland, Mich. won the fifth prize of $1,000 after performing Lensky’s Aria from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and “Questa o quella” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. All of the winners may have opportunities to perform with Opera Birmingham or other companies represented by the competition judges. For more information regarding Opera Birmingham and upcoming performances, call (205) 322-6737.
Civil Rights Institute head steps down
Dr. Lawrence J. Pijeaux Jr. retired May 20 as president and chief executive officer of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Priscilla Hancock Cooper, BCRI’s Vice President of Institutional Programs since 2006, has become interim president and CEO. Pijeaux took the role at BCRI in July 1995. Under his tenure the educational organization has been accredited by the American Association of Museums, won two national awards for community service presented by then- First Lady Laura Bush at the White House, became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and underwent a $2.5 million dollar renovation. Pijeaux will remain a member of the boards of the American Alliance of Museums and of the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
Photo courtesy of the Birmingham Public Library.
Birmingham Library wins award for program around King’s famous letter
The John Cotton Dana Award, which honors outstanding and effective strategic communication campaigns that produce results, will be given to the Birmingham Public Library for its 2013 worldwide celebration of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The Library Leadership and Management Association presents the award each year, and this is the fourth year BPL has won the award, to be presented June 29 in Las Vegas during the American Library Association’s annual conference. BPL was among eight libraries from across the nation to win this year. Each library will receive $10,000 from the H.W. Wilson Foundation. The awards will be giving during a reception sponsored by Birmingham-based EBSCO. “This award is a testimony to the power of commitment of all BPL staff in this effort,’’ said BPL Director Renee Blalock.
On April 16, 2013, 50 years to the day that King wrote the letter, 10,000 people from around the world read King’s letter aloud in public places, including the downtown library. “Because of the library’s strategic focus, strong research to identify key audiences and effective use of social media, readings took place in 33 states and in 20 countries, from South Africa to Iceland,” according to a press release. In Taiwan, elementary students studied King’s letter, prompting one to write, “You have a wonderful dream and tough mind.’’ Another child wrote: “You are so cool.’’ Established in 1946, the John Cotton Dana Award is the top national award for innovative library public relations and the most prestigious award presented by the American Library Association.
Weld editor in book signing, journalism workshop
Weld Editor Nick Patterson will sign copies of his book Birmingham Foot Soldiers: Voices from the Civil Rights Movement at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 16th Street North, Saturday from 1-3 p.m. The book, published by the History Press, recounts the stories of participants in the pivotal demonstrations against segregation that took place in Birmingham, primarily in 1963. The BCRI, where Patterson did substantial research for the book, and the repository of numerous stories of movement “foot soldiers” is hosting the first book signing for the new release.
Patterson also will be among several presenters during a free workshop for high school and journalism and multimedia advisers June 9 at the Alabama Power Company headquarters, 600 18th Street North. The workshop, presented by the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, is aimed at helping advisers advance their digital and media skills to prepare them to better instruct students. Patterson, a veteran journalist who has taught communications courses as an adjunct at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will talk about feature writing. The workshop will last from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“The Foundation for Progress in Journalism was created to promote journalism and to ensure that there are journalism opportunities for emerging professionals,” said Samuel P. Martin, founding director of the Foundation for Progress in Journalism. “This workshop for high school journalism advisers is an important part of supporting that mission. It gives us an opportunity to help these advisers be better prepared in helping young people interested in pursuing a career in journalism.” The FPJ also is working with universities in the state to provide paid internships to students enrolled in their journalism programs, Martin said. “We are excited…that we have two major efforts that we feel are critical in supporting journalism here in the state of Alabama.”
For more information click here.