Magic City Madness: HuffPost’s Listen To America Tour Stops In Birmingham

During the second week of Listen to America, HuffPost’s 25-city tour around the U.S., we stopped in the bustling city of Birmingham, Alabama.

Birmingham was a rapidly growing industrial center from 1881 to 1920, garnering it the nickname “Magic City,” and it’s currently an important business center in the Southeast.

HuffPost camped out in Railroad Park for a day to talk to locals about what it is that makes Birmingham tick. From up-and-coming areas of the city, to racial tensions, to transportation, to dancing ― residents were open to talking about it all.

Additionally, we held a panel at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church regarding the violence that devastates pockets of the city on a daily basis. We heard from Henry Irby, the deputy chief at Birmingham Police Department; Danny Carr, Jefferson County deputy district attorney; Jarralynne Agee, Birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative manager; and Carolyn Johnson, a community activist.

“You might get the idea that Birmingham is the Wild West. A small percentage of the community is committing a large percentage of the crime,” Agee said at the start of the panel.

For a bit of what went on Birmingham, you can take a look at our time there below.

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