“Our world has dramatically changed since we were together last January. Since that time, we were forced to come face-to-face with our nation’s racist reality,” Bernice King, daughter of King and Coretta Scott King and CEO of The King Center in Atlanta, said at the service.
“As we commemorate the King holiday, I can hear his voice still reverberating through the annals of time that this may be our last chance to make the shift away from being power-centered to becoming more people-centered and from being utterly self-centered to becoming more other-centered,” Ms. King said. “I can hear him reminding us of the necessity of shifting from a reign of chaos toward a more just, humane, equitable, peaceful and sustainable world, which for him was the beloved community.”
birminghamal.gov
In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, several annual MLK events will go virtual for 2021. Here’s a look at virtual and in-person events happening around Birmingham. As a reminder, City of Birmingham offices, except for police, fire and 911, will be closed on January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
2021 MLK Day 5K Drum Run – Birmingham
Sat., January 16
This year’s fifth annual race will not be in person. Instead, organizers are encouraging participants to run a 5K on their own on Jan. 16 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Participants should then report their run time to organizers.
Can’t Miss Alabama reflects on Martin Luther King Jr. through service opportunities, celebrations
By Shirley Jackson
Honoring MLK’s extraordinary life and service.
Hands On Birmingham
For the past 19 years the residents of Birmingham and surrounding areas have come out by the thousands to give back to their community on MLK Jr. Day of Service. Hands On Birmingham, now United Way Hands On, has refurbished schools, built homes for the needy, fed the homeless, cleaned up neighborhoods, socialized with seniors and more. This year’s event includes a variety of community projects beginning Saturday, Jan. 16 through Monday, Jan. 18. Stay connected at unitedwayhandson.org.
From bakeries to fine dining, here are 54 Alabama restaurants that closed in 2020
Updated Jan 01, 2021;
Posted Jan 01, 2021
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Z’s Restaurant, the downtown Birmingham eatery famous for its bean pies, soul food and homemade ice cream, to close its doors in late April 2020. (Courtesy: Carolyn Bolivar Hameen)
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2020 was a rough year for restaurants and that’s putting it mildly.
The year started out with the usual ebbs and flows of a competitive dining industry. In Birmingham, for example, Pihakis Restaurant Group was preparing to eventually shutter its location of Mile-End Deli in the city’s downtown area and transition the building to another one of its concepts: a Hero Doughnuts & Buns.
Christmas in Alabama through the decades: Vintage holiday photos
Updated Dec 27, 2020;
In 1836, Alabama reportedly became the first to make Christmas a state holiday, according to the History Channel, followed by Louisiana and Arkansas in 1838.
“Although no records have been found to support those dates, they are repeated in numerous online sources and are generally accepted by historians. The legislation allowed residents to take off work for the day, without repercussion, to spend time with family and friends,” journalist Kelly Kazek once wrote.
“Before that point in 1836, celebration of Christmas was met with widely varied responses in different regions: In Boston, it was a sin and a crime to celebrate on Christmas. In the early colonies, there was sometimes a fancy meal to mark the day. But in the South, people wanted to entertain on a grander scale: Southerners wanted to sing, share meals, give gifts, drink spirits and generally throw large and lavish parties.”