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Birmingham Museum of Art: A Portrait of Excellence

BIRMINGHAM TIMES — During a recent visit to the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) downtown, Jonathan Harrell paid close attention to a photograph of a black woman and a child standing in front of a store on a busy street underneath a sign that reads “Colored Entrance.” The image, taken by the eminent photographer Gordon Parks in 1956 and known as “Department Store, Mobile, Alabama,” documents separate entrances for blacks and whites during the segregation era in the Deep South.

Published

7 years ago

September 1, 2019

Oakland Post

The exterior of the Birmingham Museum of Art is shown. (Photo by: Mark Almond)

By Erica Wright

During a recent visit to the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) downtown, Jonathan Harrell paid close attention to a photograph of a black woman and a child standing in front of a store on a busy street underneath a sign that reads “Colored Entrance.”

The image, taken by the eminent photographer Gordon Parks in 1956 and known as “Department Store, Mobile, Alabama,” documents separate entrances for blacks and whites during the segregation era in the Deep South.

History is one of the reasons Birmingham resident Harrell frequently visits the BMA.

“I like the rotating exhibits they have, [so I] come to see what’s new and what they have coming next,” he said. “I’ve always had an appreciation for art and music. … Things like this relax me. [They also get me] thinking about social topics and just appreciating good art.”

Museum officials have worked tirelessly to create a space where all visitors, like Harrell, feel welcome and can develop an appreciation for art.

Graham Boettcher, PhD, R. Hugh Daniel Director of the BMA, said his “goal, and the goal of my predecessors, is to make it crystal clear to everyone that this museum belongs to the people it serves and that we are here to serve,” he said.

“My goal is to be of service to the community and to always strive to create a place that’s welcoming, inviting, [and] very much in alignment with the city’s value of [providing] customer service to the community.”

The BMA—located at 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35203—attracts more than 125,000 visitors a year, and that number continues to grow.

Boettcher, who has worked at the museum for 13 years and has served as director for almost two years, said he’d like to get to about 185,000 [visitors a year].

“Based on the growth we’re seeing, I think this is attainable,” he said. “The beauty of all of this is that we are a free museum. We do sometimes have special ticketed exhibitions, but even when we have those, the rest of the museum is free and open to the public. That’s something I’m committed to.”

Inclusive and Diverse

The BMA, founded in 1951, has more than 27,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative pieces representing diverse cultures: Asian, European, African, American, Pre-Columbian, Native American, and others. The facility, which is owned by the city of Birmingham, encompasses 3.9 acres in the heart of the city’s cultural district, which is home to the museum, the Alabama School of Fine Arts, the Boutwell Auditorium, and the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC).

The museum began in City Hall in 1951 and moved to its current location eight years later. Like many other Magic City institutions, it was not open to people of color during that period. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the building was open for all.

“Black people were only allowed in this institution one day a week from the time it opened its doors in [the present location] in 1959 until Jim Crow laws were repealed in the 1960s,” said Boettcher.

“We are a city museum, and we belong to the people of Birmingham. It’s very important to me that people feel that sense of ownership.”

The director pointed out that the museum’s art once lacked diversity, as well. The BMA acquired its first work by an African American 20 years after it was founded—a Henry Ossawa Tanner painting donated by a Birmingham woman who had lived in Paris and knew the artist personally.

“That was given to us in 1971,” said Boettcher. “The following year, we purchased our first work by a living African American artist: a work by David C. Driskell, who had been on the faculty at Talladega College in the late 1950s and early 1960s.”

Click to view slideshow.

Festivals

In addition to ensuring inclusivity and diversity through its exhibits, the BMA also hosts a broad range of festivals highlighting different cultures.

For the first time this year, the museum presented its African Heritage Festival. This successful event, which celebrated vibrant traditions and cultures of regions throughout the African diaspora, recognized African heritage through art, crafts, music, and dance. The festival showcased art from the BMA’s African gallery, including pottery, textiles, masks, headdresses, and print-making materials.

The BMA also has held Indian, Hispanic, and Asian heritage festivals.

“The Indian community has grown in Birmingham, and one group—the Indian Cultural Society—has adopted the museum as its cultural home,” said Boettcher.

One event, in particular, was very well received: the 9th Annual Holi: A Festival of Color, which was held in March. According to the museum’s website, “Nearly 2,500 guests came out to enjoy this traditional Indian holiday, which celebrates the arrival of spring.”

The success of Holi led to other family festivals, which have become some of the BMA’s best attended events.

“We try to have those regularly throughout the year,” said Boettcher. “We want to make sure we are creating programming that is going to be of interest to the people of Birmingham. I think we have a really outstanding team of curators and educators, and they’re doing a great job of that.”

Events and Programs

Also popular are the BMA’s events and programs, including Art on the Rocks, which began in 2004. This art-centered entertainment event, held on Friday nights during the summer months, features live music, DJ dance parties, artist demos, and interactive mural making.

“[Art on the Rocks] continues to evolve,” Boettcher said. “What I observed at the last one is an event for the whole city. It feels like it’s matching my vision for the museum: people taking ownership of the museum and really making it their place to come and have a good time with friends and their family.”

Another event, Art After Five, is held the first Friday of each month; it will run from September through April and feature art and music activities.

“Each one of those has a theme,” said Boettcher. “We’ve done a summer camp and one for [college basketball’s] March Madness. … We did a ‘Galentine’s Day,’ [a play on Valentine’s Day, during which a group of women celebrate the holiday as friends]. … This was popular, and we’ve seen attendance grow because we haven’t been afraid to rethink the event. At first it took a while to take root, and then we just started thinking outside the box. It is now an event that [provides] a different experience than if you were to come to the museum on a regular day for a visit.”

What Visitors Think

Speaking of visiting, the BMA’s myriad attractions keep regulars coming back and draws new ones.

“I actually go to the website and see what they have. If I haven’t seen it, I like to come and check it out,” said Harrell, who typically visits the museum once a month and sees something different every time. “I didn’t even know we had so many social-justice contexts in the pieces. I visit the American section a lot, though. When [the special exhibition ‘Third Space: Shifting Conversations about Contemporary Art] was here, I looked at that one a lot, but I mostly look at the African works or works by African American artists.”

Janet Jordan of Jasper, Ala., recently visited the museum for the first time and was moved by the paintings and photographs.

“There are so many different art pieces, including [those that show] how our ancestors lived and dressed. Everything … was so ornate. It’s exciting to see even the frames that are carved, so gilded and beautiful,” she said.

Another first-time visitor, Elise Fromularo from Pensacola, Fla., is an avid art lover. She was intrigued when passing through downtown Birmingham one day and noticing the museum.

“I’ve gone to museums at home, and when I go to New York City, I like to go to the [Metropolitan Museum of Art]. … I didn’t realize that [the BMA] was so big. I looked it up and decided to come,” she said.

What did Fromularo find?

“[The BMA] is not just focused on one time period or on one culture,” she said. “It [has] a broad amount [of works] with different acrylics, oils, sculptures, and different wares, such as furniture pieces. Not all museums have that, and I like that. I’m enjoying learning about all of the different cultures, as well.”

The Birmingham Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from noon until 5 p.m. For more information, call 205-254-2565; visit www.artsbma.org; or follow on Facebook @Birmingham Museum of Art and on Twitter and Instagram @Bhammuseum.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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