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    Alabama Coffee Fest draws in vendors from across the state

    Photo by Amy Lawhon/Staff Photographer
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    Alabama Coffee Fest attendees sample coffee from various coffee and tea vendors.



    Allison Brown
    CityLifestyle Reporter
    browna17@uab.edu

    Fourteen coffee and tea vendors from across Alabama come together to provide sample tastings for coffee connoisseurs and newcomers alike during the Alabama Coffee Fest, a fundraiser for the Alabama Multicultural Organization, Saturday, February 23.

    “Specialty coffee is a community experience,” said Brad Hanes, VP of operations for Baba Java coffee shop in Hoover. “All these guys here are competitors in some sense, but we’re all kind of working toward the same goal, which is to bring great coffee to Birmingham.”

    Each coffee shop that attended Coffee Fest did so for free, according to Robert Hernandez, president of the Alabama Multicultural Organization (AMOR). The vendors provided samples for free (after admittance) and attendees were able to buy products from the store if they chose to. The festival was sold out, with 500 attendees in the morning session and another 500 attendees in the afternoon session.



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  • Angela Davis speaks at Boutwell Stadium



    Angela Davis speaks at Boutwell Stadium




    Photo by Amy Lawhon/Staff Photographer
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    Angela Davis, social activist and Birmingham native, at press conference at Tuggle Elementary on Saturday, February 16.


    Myles Womack
    CItyLifestyle Editor
    mjw3@uab.edu


    On Saturday, February 16, the Birmingham Committee of Truth and Reconciliation hosted, “A Conversation with Dr. Angela Davis” at the Boutwell Auditorium. 

    The event was announced back in early January as an alternative honor ceremony after the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) originally rescinded the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award. The BCRI re-invited Davis back again in late January. 

    “It’s important that we recognize that no communities are homogeneous,” Davis said. “There are political differences in black communities and I think that what was damaging to the history of the involvement of Jewish people in progressive struggles was what happened with true award.”

    Earlier the day, for the first time since the events of the past several weeks had unfolded, Davis spoke publicly on the issue in a press conference held at Tuggle Elementary, the school at which she attended as a youth.

    Davis said the BCRI has still yet to give an explanation behind why the award was first rescinded or later why that decision has been repealed.

    “If I accept the award it would be a good move to engage in conversations about the issues [regarding the decision to rescind the award],” Davis said.

    Dr. Imani Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University discussed several topics with Davis.

    “I will never love Birmingham as much as I love Birmingham this moment,” Davis said.

    During the conversation, Davis further elaborated on her reaction to the BCRI’s decision. 

    Davis said that she was first “overcome with joy” upon hearing the news of the Civil Rights Institute’s award and then was “surprised” after the rescission. 


    Davis also touched on her scholastic career, her role in Palestinian rights, prison reformation and her upbringing in Birmingham. 

    Davis has yet to respond to the BCRI or accepting the offer a second time.

    “I don’t want to do anything to damage the reputation of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute,” Davis said.

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