2025 has been a chaotic year for many of us. We’ve been witness to the destruction of the public funding and support structures in our nation that value the work of public history and archival preservation. Being able to access our democracy and discuss our nation’s history would seem to be such a vital necessity for the mental and emotional health of our people. Not everyone agrees.
That is why over the past three years, we’ve added a permanent structure to our digital online location.
The BBRM exhibit opened in late March, 2025 with an operating wheel chair accessible lift and held mini tours into early April. On April 5th, The Carver sewer pipe backed waste into the museum and we had to shut down and remove much of the exhibit to our Interior Design folks, Culton Industries-Method-1. On April 11th, we were witness to a City of Birmingham engineer extending a camera down the Carver sewer line for approximately 69 feet, before it met with obstruction. On July 12th, the County engineers and City engineer visited again, ran dye tests, and all agreed the blockage was the city’s problem (the City of Birmingham owns the Carver Theatre). At the October 7th City Council meeting, Councilor Clarke inquired of Chief Financial Officer Chas Mitchell as to what is being done, in that the City has now admitted that they own the blockage and not the county. Chief Mitchell shared that a contractor was being sought. Neither the BBRM nor the Alabama Jazzhall Radio station can rebuild in the Carver basement until the sewer line is repaired or replaced.
In the meantime, we have been working with educators at UAB who have expressed interest in using the BBRM collections as curriculum tools. Dr. Jeremiah Clabough’s students have already produced sample curricula for high school and middle school, using our oral history and ephemera collections accessed on line at our website (thebbrm.org). We are excited about this relationship and are also working together to shape our electronic trivia game (one of our exhibits) in line with the social studies core curriculum. We’ll be even more excited once the Museum has reopened to host students from all over country.
On behalf of my Board and myself, I want to personally thank all of you receiving this report for the support you’ve given this endeavor. Please visit our website (www.thebbrm.org/about), find our donor section below and continue your support with an end of year tax exempt contribution in preparation for our 2026 grand opening.
Best Regards,
Bob Friedman
Director
BBRM
Board Members: Emory Anthony, Esq; Ennis Bragg, business owner; Wayne Coleman, MLIS; Pamela Sterne King, MA, History; Willamena Richardson, MSN; Robert Riter, Phd, LIS; Minister Gwendolyn Cook Webb