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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Occupy Wall Street Comes to Birmingham

Photo from The Birmingham News / Beverly Taylor
Occupy Wall Street continues with off-shoots across the country. Occupy Birmingham has been getting some attention as well as some local press coverage. A few hundred people showed up on October 15 to march through town from Railroad Park to Five-Points South. Last Sunday's edition of The Birmingham News (Oct. 23), ran an excellent article by John Northrop in the editorial section. Mr. Northrop shares his first-hand account of the event as well as his thoughts on the movement. You can read his full commentary here.

John Northrop recently retired form his position as Executive Director of the Alabama School of Fine Arts where my daughter received an excellent high school education. I always enjoy hearing and reading what John has to say. He is also author of Mayor Todd, a drama based upon the racial tensions in Birmingham, along with the actions and attitudes of a progressive white mayor, that led to the election of the city's first black mayor.


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You may also want to read:


Occupy Wall Street: What Does It Mean for the Country?



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2 comments:

  1. Jay CroftOctober 28, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    Mayor Todd?

    We already have a Mayor Todd, right here in Montgomery.

    But he's Strange.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Charles KinnairdOctober 28, 2011 at 9:21 PM

    Northrop's "Mayor Todd" is a dramatized account of actual events in in the lives of Mayor David Vann and City Councilman (soon-to-be-mayor) Richard Arrington. Since so much of the dialogue and conjecture about the men's struggles and motives were from his imagination of the incidents, fictionalized names were used.

    I thought the play did an excellent job of conveying that pivotal time in Birmingham politics and civic life. It was enlightening and informative as well as moving. I was left with a greater appreciation for Mr. Arrington, and for Mr. Vann. The play presented the humanity and the hope as well as the struggle within the political arena. So while "Mayor Todd" was intended to represent an actual mayor, it was not meant to represent an actual Mayor Todd.

    ReplyDelete