When I was working with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic campaign to desegregate Birmingham, I would never have believed that one day I would be supporting the city as the site for a Democratic National Convention.
In Birmingham today, whites and blacks now live and work alongside each other, facing the future together with hope, not hatred.
These changes are bigger than Birmingham. The Birmingham campaign was part of a peaceful social revolution that paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. It also contributed to the political climate that made possible programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start and student aid that expanded opportunities for Americans from every background.
Without the civil rights movement and the landmark legislation that it inspired, we would not now have a New South dedicated to economic progress, rather than racial reaction. Nor would we have a new America, where the first African-American president is completing his second term in office. Today, leaders from every sector of society are exploring how to expand opportunities for our increasingly diverse country. By the year 2050, non-Hispanic whites will no longer constitute a majority of the U.S. population.
Moreover, as I found while serving as ambassador to the United Nations during the presidency of my fellow Southerner Jimmy Carter, the progress and reconciliation we achieved in Birmingham and throughout the South can be an inspiration to nations seeking to solve age-old conflicts, from Southern Africa to Israel and Egypt and from Northern Ireland to Panama.
To be sure, the South, nation and world must continue to make progress. That is why it would be so significant for the 2016 Democratic National Convention to be held in Birmingham. The city symbolizes the past Americans are transcending and the future Americans are building.
Indeed, a compelling case can be made for selecting Birmingham as the host city for moral and historical reasons, but also for political and economic ones.
For the Democratic Party, there is a rare opportunity to incorporate the South into a new majority for progressive politics. Many of America’s finest hours came during the New Deal, when a cadre of congressional leaders, including Hale Boggs of Louisiana, Lister Hill of Alabama, and Sam Rayburn and his youthful protégé, Lyndon Johnson of Texas, supported legislation that brought economic, but not racial, progress.
Now, we need to win back the Southern states that are increasingly populated by people who have overcome the racism of the past and are seeking solutions to the economic problems of the present. Only when we can carry these states can we send a president a supportive Congress so that, together, they can fulfill the Democratic vision.
On the economic front, holding our national convention in Birmingham will send a powerful message that the Democratic Party embraces business and job opportunities for all: black and white, Asian and Hispanic, North and South.
Sure, some have doubts about whether a city the size of Birmingham has the capacity to host an event like the DNC. Many had similar doubts about Atlanta in 1988, when we hosted the same event. As mayor at the time, I was proud to see our city rise to the occasion. We proved the critics wrong, just as Birmingham will if selected to host the DNC in 2016.
Birmingham has transformed over the last five decades. Birmingham is now a city of hope, growth and inclusion; it is a city to be emulated and embraced; it is a city that, in no small way, helped shape the Democratic Party. By convening in Birmingham, Democrats would not only send a strong message of reconciliation and unity, but will demonstrate that the party understands the important role the city has played and will continue to play in shaping this country.
