If Forrest Gump’s brushes with history had an Alabama cameraman’s equivalent, it would be Reggie Selma. The videographer got his start at WVTM-Channel 13 in his hometown of Birmingham where, among other things, he got to shoot legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. When billionaire Ted Turner started CNN, Selma became one of the first videographers to get […]

A lot can happen in a year. Olivia Cook was a newly minted Ph.D. and looking for a job when a meeting with Miles College President Bobbie Knight changed Cook’s life. Knight tapped Cook to create a new Miles College Center for Economic and Social Justice. Cook is now the executive director of the center and also […]

Music can be cathartic. Mark Kelly has been a writer and a journalist in Birmingham for decades. He works at Alabama Power and is a regular contributor to Alabama NewsCenter. Kelly is also a musician and a member of the band The Burnells (formerly The Happy Burnells), a band that enjoyed some success in the Birmingham area from 1997 to […]

“Tough times” is a phrase that is both relative and universal. What constitutes tough times for one may be different for another, but if you’ve lived any time at all, you have probably known your own version of tough times. A global pandemic and other large-scale issues have amplified those tough times for many. That’s […]

Omar Young grew up loving his mother’s cakes. He never thought he would be in the business of making them. “I got into baking by trying to lend a hand to my mom,” he said. “I never cracked an egg before.” Mary Young founded My Sweetheart Bakery in Fairfield before handing the business over to her son. […]

At age 4, Tracy Whitfield’s son Reggie was diagnosed with autism. She was told Reggie would have echolalia, the unsolicited repetition of vocalizations made by another person. But Tracy and her father worked with her son to help him cope with his condition. He was able to graduate from Tuscaloosa’s Hillcrest High School in 2020 and is […]

If a fair measure of a farmer is what that farmer grows, Annie Diann Caver is one heck of a farmer. Oh, sure, she sows enough seed and feed to raise an abundance of crops and cattle – enough to feed her and her family and have plenty left over to sell at market. Caver’s […]

Some people look at wood on the ground and see something to burn. Carl Smith sees something to turn into art. Through his studio, Natures Art, Smith transforms wood and vines of all shapes and sizes into sculptures, wall art, pedestals, tables, jewelry and more. The Fairfield artist has been working with wood for more than […]

Even before “The First 48” started following Birmingham Police Department homicide investigator Chris Anderson around for the popular A&E TV show, Anderson’s steps were following those of his mother. Even though he retired from the police department in 2016, Anderson’s detective work continues on the Investigation Discovery series “Reasonable Doubt” in which he works with a criminal defense attorney to take a look at closed […]

Trevor Moultrie is like most teens. He’s active in football and track at Hewitt-Trussville High School. He eats all the time and is constantly outgrowing his clothes. He’s learning to drive so he can get his license next year. Being normal as a teen is welcomed given where Moultrie was as a baby. He was diagnosed […]

Tim Jones worked for decades as a videographer and photojournalist at television stations in Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile. A burly man, Jones could haul heavy equipment and work long, hard hours helping capture news and gather information for Alabamians. That’s not the picture of Tim Jones these days. Cascading health problems led to the diagnosis […]

Vicki Ford Jackson was recently named Shelby County Schools High School Teacher of the Year, adding that to her honor this year as Oak Mountain High School’s Teacher of the Year and her 2016-17 Oak Mountain Middle School Teacher of the Year award. But the current algebra and geometry teacher almost had her career ended before it ever began. An […]

For Waymond Jackson Jr. and his family, July 13 was always a sad anniversary. July 13, 1985, was the date his father, Leondras Waymond Jackson Sr., died in a motel swimming pool. For 34 years, Jackson and his mother and sister saw the date pass and it reminded them of loss. Now, the date celebrates […]

Despite being born with no feet and deformed hands, Bob Freeman has never felt limited in life. In fact, he has had a fulfilling career in radio and television that began in Birmingham but has taken him to stops all across the country and now in Indiana. We reached out to Freeman to reflect on […]

Hobson City in Calhoun County isn’t much different from many Alabama small towns. But its founding and history make it unique. The state’s first incorporated Black city celebrates that history. But it is more focused on creating community today and opportunity tomorrow. Alabama NewsCenter sat down with Hobson City Mayor Alberta C. McCrory to talk about this […]

You may be struggling with finding that “perfect” gift this holiday season. It just might be art from a local artist. Not only are you buying local, but you’re supporting a local artist and you could be starting someone on a path to collecting. Phil Free knows the joy that comes with collecting and creating […]

Keith Gibson has spent a lifetime hunting and fishing. Fishing, for most of his life, was spent in the traditional sense with a pole or rod and some kind of bait. Then he got introduced to noodling. “I tried it, and I will tell you I was a little apprehensive the first time, but once […]

It was a simple conversation – well, as simple as a conversation can be between a black person and a white person about the subject of the Black Lives Matter movement. Kaitlin Allen Walden, an African American, had the conversation with an older, white female co-worker and friend. It was open, honest and frank, like […]

You might say William Carter has always had basketball in his sole. He has not only spent a lifetime playing and coaching the sport, he has devoted a large part of his life to collecting basketball shoes and sneakers because of his love of the sport and the great players of the game. Carter has […]

Ron Jones was a Birmingham Police officer for more than two decades before joining Alabama Power Corporate Security in 2010. “Staying in shape is a big part of my job,” said Jones, who can be found in the gym almost every morning. “It helps your endurance and makes you feel better.” It was two days after Christmas in 2015 […]

William Robertson followed his passion down rural roads and city streets, his love for cycling inspiring many others in the Birmingham area to climb on their bicycles and ride. Four years ago today, Robertson was pedaling down Highway 75 in rural Blount County when a pickup truck struck him. Robertson, who worked in Alabama Power’s […]

Thom Gossom Jr. is an actor whose credits include the “Fight Club” movie and “In the Heat of the Night” television series. Gossom also owns the public relations and communication firm Best Gurl Entertainment. He has even written a trio of books of short stories, “A Slice of Life,” “Another Slice of Life” and “The Rest of the Pie,” along with the autobiographical “Walk-On: My Reluctant Journey to […]