Past Events
2009 Urban Travel Experience: Anniston
January 2009
By Ian Sams, 2008-2009
This year, the Blackburn Institute made its annual Burt Jones Urban Travel Experience trip to Anniston. Upon arriving in Anniston, we witnessed a panel of education leaders in the community at Anniston High School. Joan Frazier, the superintendent of the Anniston City School system, gave insight into the many troubling issues facing the school system, including the ever-present issue of race. After the panel, we had the unique opportunity to eat lunch with students at the high school. We talked about their praises of and grievances with the school, what it’s like to live in Anniston, and what they wanted to do in the future. It was a wonderful and enlightening experience where we got to talk firsthand with those students who will shape Anniston’s future. After lunch, still at the school, we got to hear from former mayor Chip Howell, who spoke about the past issues of munitions cleanup and the major issues he had to overcome in Anniston as mayor. After hearing from Mayor Howell, we loaded up in the bus again and made our way to what would be quite the interesting afternoon of panel discussions at the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce.
That night, Donald Stewart, a Blackburn advisory board member, former U.S. senator, and attorney in Anniston, invited the group to his home for a wonderful dinner and a discussion of the landmark Monsanto case involving pollution in the community. It was wonderful for the group to spend time with Mr. Stewart and his legal rival Buddy Cox and to hear about the case that rocked the Anniston community several years ago.
The next day seemed to focus on Fort McClellan, a former army base in the Anniston community. But before we headed to the fort, we ate breakfast with Brandt Ayers, publisher of the Anniston Star, and Anthony Humphries, president of Noble Bank and former state banking superintendent. They gave insight into Anniston’s past and spoke on how young people can positively impact Alabama’s future. At the fort, we heard from a circuit court judge, county commissioner, professor, city councilman, state legislator, environmental activist, and developer all in the confines of a couple hours. After touring the facility and hearing many ideas for the fort’s future, we loaded up on the bus once more to depart for the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, an historic and beautiful Episcopal church right in the middle of Anniston.
At the church, we ate lunch with young professionals in the Anniston community, heard from the director of an urban studios project on the revitalization of the city, and had a group discussion with former Congressman Glen Browder.
After the discussion died down, we said our goodbyes and thank-yous and returned to Tuscaloosa after a lengthy but incredibly insightful two days. Looking back, my first Urban Travel Experience was all I thought it would be. The Institute was once again able to connect us to the best and brightest leaders that are in tune with the location’s (and ultimately state’s) problems. Leaving Anniston, we all saw their desperate need for bold leadership, their troubling educational situation, and their quest for new economic revitalization. But more than those problems, we saw hope. We saw a vision for what Anniston should become. Maybe one day, in 20 or 30 years, new Blackburn fellows will travel again to Anniston and see that brighter future that we discussed over this one weekend in January, 2009. That will be the hope and ultimately responsibility of the Blackburn Institute and its many fellows: to bring about a brighter future for another of Alabama’s wonderful cities.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
