Public Safety

Social Distancing Versus Social Statement: Doctors Worry Protests Could Spread Coronavirus but Say Racism is Deadly, Too

Social distancing has taken a backseat to social statements the past week as persons have assembled in large numbers to protest the death of George Floyd and to call for change. But state health officials worry that the combination of crowds and the coronavirus could greatly amplify COVID-19 cases in Alabama and the U.S. They urge people to remain mindful of social distancing, hygiene and face covering recommendations as they assemble. Dr. Karen Landers, assistant state health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said she and others in her department are deeply concerned and saddened about the death of George Floyd. And they say persons have the right to peaceful assembly to express their individual and collective opinions. “But we do remain concerned when there's a congregate group of any size for any reason, and social distancing measures are not taking place,” Landers said. “It concerns me as a physician to see people that are in large groups that aren't taking any measures." Read more.

Monuments to a Divisive Past: Even as Some Confederate Memorials Fall, Alabama Has So Many More

When Birmingham’s mayor decided to remove a visible symbol of the Confederacy from a park in a state packed with monuments, memorials, plaques and place names honoring the lost cause, it made huge news and sparked a number of reactions. “It was absolutely appropriate,” said retired Auburn University professor Wayne Flynt. Besides being a recognized authority in Southern history, Flynt counts among his ancestors members of the Confederate military. His view: it was time for the monument to go. “I applaud the mayor for doing it. I applaud the City Council for supporting it,” Flynt said. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin defied state law June 1 when he had the controversial 1905 Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument removed from the city’s Linn Park. He promised demonstrators he would have the memorial removed to quell violence after a protest over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police turned toward destruction of statuary and downtown storefronts. But there are still a lot of Confederate memorials of various sorts standing around the state of Alabama. More than 40 of the state’s 67 counties have at least one, and some counties have more. Read more.

Why So Many Monuments?

Why So Many Monuments?

Memorials to the Confederacy are hardly isolated to the South. In fact, the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Whose Heritage” report in 2019 includes a detailed map of such sites. The SPLC documents memorials to the Southern rebellion as distant as Maine, California and Washington — not to mention Washington, D.C. Most, not surprisingly, are clustered throughout the South. Read more.

Relief Fund Set Up for Small Businesses Damaged in Protest

A coalition of community groups, in partnership with the city of Birmingham, has set up the Birmingham Business Relief Fund to give grants to small businesses affected by protestors’ vandalism Sunday night. “Many businesses were already suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and these funds will assist businesses as they rebuild, repair and renew their operations,” Ivan Holloway, executive director at Urban Impact, said in a statement announcing the program. Read more.

Vestavia Hills Protestors Mark the Death of George Floyd

Protestors took a knee Friday during a protest in front of Vestavia Hills City Hall, mimicking the posture former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin took when he kneeled on George Floyd’s throat. Floyd’s death sparked nationwide outrage and protests. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, and three officers with him that day are charged with aiding and abetting a second-degree murder. Read more.

Light at the End of the Tunnel for JeffCo Entertainment Venues

The Jefferson County Department of Health order that banned the opening of entertainment venues is set to expire at midnight Saturday, June 6. The county will then fall under the statewide order issued on May 21 by the state health officer. That order includes rules for entertainment venues, including social distancing, limited occupancy rates, sanitation requirements and use of facial masks by employees. Though the order prohibiting operation of entertainment venues will expire Saturday night, unincorporated areas of Jefferson County will remain under a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Read more.

George Floyd’s Death Has Stirred Sympathy and Outrage in Diverse Groups From Birmingham to Hoover

People across Birmingham and its southern suburbs gathered Thursday to honor George Floyd and protest his death at the hands of police in Minneapolis. In Mountain Brook, hundreds of protestors sat on the ground and covered their noses and mouths for more than eight minutes, the length of time Floyd laid on the ground with an officer’s knee on the side of his throat. The scene resembled another carried out in Homewood earlier in the week. Groups have gathered in Hoover almost every day since Saturday. Read more.

Read more about protests, curfews, removal of the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument and other actions in the Birmingham area.

UAB, Some Downtown Businesses Close in Response to Rumors of Violence; Woodfin Stresses City Will Enforce Protest Rules

Anxiety grew in downtown Birmingham Thursday afternoon as rumors spread of potentially violent protests. These rumors — which included that a Ku Klux Klan rally would take place in Linn Park — led several businesses, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to shut down earlier than usual. Mayor Randall Woodfin dismissed these rumors as false in a video address Thursday afternoon, but he said his curfew — which includes significant restrictions on public assembly in the city — would continue to be strictly enforced by police. Read more.

Fencing Erected Around Downtown Parks to Discourage Gatherings

Fencing has been placed around Birmingham’s Linn Park “to ensure unregistered gatherings do not occur,” Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office announced Thursday, and fencing is going up around Kelly Ingram Park. Linn Park, which lies between City Hall and the Jefferson County Courthouse, was the location of violent protests Sunday night over the police killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd, which led to the city taking down a Confederal monument there. Meanwhile, rumors have been rampant that violence is expected in downtown today, but whether that is based in fact is unclear. Woodfin’s office earlier today denied that there were plans to “shut down” the city Thursday afternoon “due to potential unrest.” Read more.

Finding A Way Forward in Birmingham After Violence and Destruction

A Confederate monument that stood in a downtown Birmingham’s Linn Park for 115 years is now gone. Crews removed the structure following protests over police treatment of black Americans that turned destructive on Sunday, damaging many buildings. This happened in a city that prides itself on its history of nonviolent protest during the civil rights era. Rev. Thomas Wilder leads Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville. It’s the same church Birmingham civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth once led. Wilder spoke with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager. Read more.