Mayor of Birmingham Randall Woodfin is admitting to being incapable when it comes to addressing violent crime in his city, saying instead it’s a “public health crisis.”
Woodfin is releasing a personal memoir in January of 2025 chronicling his life and ascension through the city’s municipal government. The 288-page work, entitled ‘Son of Birmingham,’ is being published by Diversion Books.
The Mayor’s biography, while likely intended to promote the Mayor, also makes a key admission about possibly his largest failure while in office.
According to The Birmingham Times, Woodfin touches on the issue of violent crime in the city.
“If you’re reading this chapter (10) looking for the key to erase violent crime, sorry to disappoint,” the Mayor wrote. “You can’t wipe away generational issues with one quick fix. That’s why we’re approaching this public health crisis from as many angles as possible.”
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The record high for murders in Birmingham was set in 1933 with 148 killings. The city’s lowest number of murders came in 1956, with a total of 56 cases.
Additionally, Woodfin, who has served as Mayor since 2017, encourages snitching in the city as a deterrent against violent crime.
“When you reveal information about a crime you witnessed, you’re not ‘snitching’; you’re protecting your community. So many crimes go unsolved simply because members of communities refuse to speak up. Justice cannot survive in an information vacuum.”
Woodfin’s Deputy Director of Communications, Edward Bowser, helped to co-write the memoir.
A notable American publishing house company, Simon & Schuster, has offered the following description for ‘Son of Birmingham.’
“Today’s Birmingham—led by Mayor Randall Woodfin—is a phoenix rising from the ashes of system racism and white flight. This first Southern city to pluck the feathers off Jim Crow, where peaceful protesters endured attacks by police dogs, where high-pressure water hoses tore at the flesh of men and women marching for their right, and where children locked arms and sang “We Shall Overcome,” is a living, breathing redemption story.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
