Mayor Woodfin shares Black Agenda Progress Report
When I was sworn in as mayor two and a half years ago, I vowed to create a City Hall that works for everyone – including the 74% Black residents who make up the city of Birmingham. Those residents had long felt unheard, with issues like neighborhood revitalization, economic opportunity and public safety weighing heavily on their hearts and minds.
It’s why I was proud to be endorsed by the Grassroots Coalition as a candidate in 2017. Our goals for a Black Agenda aligned – we both focused on eliminating poverty by emphasizing sustainability, investing in minority-owned businesses and expanding black wealth; community policing and criminal justice reform; education; health and wellness; affordable housing; and transparent, accountable and responsive local government.
In essence, the Black Agenda has become so much more than just a community wish list. Elements of the Black Agenda are featured prominently throughout my strategic plan for the City of Birmingham.
In the spirit of transparency, the following performance report outlines where we stand on several key promises made in addressing the Black Agenda.
We’ve had some major wins over the past two and a half years. Among them, we’ve launched the Office of Business Opportunity and the Mayor’s Small Business advisory council; instituted a criminal justice reform agenda; earmarked funds for the Birmingham Promise initiative; and expanded the city’s investments in the Birmingham Land Bank Authority.
Our work is not yet done, however. We’re still committed to bringing grocery stores to Birmingham’s food deserts; we’re issuing a “diversity scorecard” to show how much the city spends with minority-owned business; and we’re encouraging the Alabama Housing Finance Authority to bolster homebuyer assistance programs for teachers and first-responders.
Please review the report to see how far we’ve come and how committed we remain in improving the lives of Birmingham’s Black residents. To download the report, click here.
