BIRMINGHAM, Ala-- A local celebration of Barack Obama's presidential inauguration could put national attention on Birmingham while also raising questions about the use of public funds after private business refused to pay for the party.
Birmingham City Council members approved spending $48,860 in a contact with McMillan and Associates to plan a free public party at the city’s Boutwell Auditorium, on January 20th.
Council President Carole Smitherman said a local celebration of the Obama inauguration is important because of the town's civil rights history.
“It is important that Birmingham, the cradle of the Confederacy at one time, that went through the civil rights era, that we are a participant in this," Smitherman said.
Efforts to pay for the party with private donations failed after the local chamber of commerce and a business recruiting agency said no members were interested in making donations. That led to strong words from elected leaders who questioned whether city funds should be spent on the free event.
“The private sector should not have even had to have been asked. They should have come forward. They should have done it on their own," said Council member Joel Montgomery.
“People have characterized this as some kind of misspending of tax payer dollars. To me that minimizes the significance of this kind of event," said Councilor Roderick Royal.
The free event is being planned by the same group that organizes the popular local City Stages music event. It promises some international exposure for the area, according to planner George McMillan, Jr.
“The British Broadcasting Corporation, is going to come to Birmingham to cover this event live. In fact there is a possibility that the people who are in Boutwell will see themselves on national and international television," McMillan told the Council.
Besides the exposure of a celebration, Mayor Larry Langford hopes the event sends a message -to the local black community about local crime rates and unity.
“I can't look at you no more … and say the white folks did it. White folks aren't killing black folks, black folks are killing black folks,” Langford said. He is African-American.
“If nothing else, his inauguration ought to serve as a reminder to all of us about where this city has been,” he said.
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