Reflections on Growing Up in Birmingham: From the 1950s to the 1970s Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1950s was a city deeply entrenched in its history of segregation, industrialism, and economic hardship. For a young boy raised there, the tensions between a changing social landscape and entrenched racial divides would leave an indelible mark on his view of the world. Born to second-generation Americans, his family was far from wealthy but never lacked. They represented a generation of industrious people who worked hard to secure economic stability, but wealth was not a primary goal. Instead, the aim was to make sure their needs were met and they could live without the stress of financial uncertainty. Family and Economic Background His parents, though uneducated-his father having completed only third grade and his mother sixth-believed in the value of hard work and perseverance. They were both products of humble beginnings, having grown up on a small farm in Alabama, where they learned the values of labor, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness. The farm, which spanned only 32 acres, yielded crops like collards, corn, okra, and some fruit. His father ran a produce company that sold these goods, keeping the family's head above water. His mother's upbringing was similarly grounded in practicality and hard work, though she had a strained relationship with her own mother. His father smoked a carton of cigarettes a day and passed away at the age of 59. His mother was more concerned with outward appearances than with deeper issues like education or virtue. His older brother, Joseph Samuel Alessi, three years his senior, continued the family's uneducated tradition, remaining in Birmingham as an adult. Unlike his younger brother, he was treated as the firstborn and given privileges like a car at the age of 16. In some ways, this treatment exemplified the generational divide in their family, with his older brother embracing the established way of life in Birmingham, while he, as the second son, sought out different answers to life's larger questions. Racial Tensions and the Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church Birmingham in the 1960s was a city at a boiling point, especially when it came to race relations. Segregation was legally mandated until 1966, and the deep divisions between white and black populations were evident in every aspect of daily life. At 16, in 1963, the young boy was exposed to a horrific event that would shape his understanding of race and violence forever: the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963. Located just 10 miles from his home, the bombing killed four young girls and was one of the most notorious acts of racial violence in American history. Though he did not witness the bombing firsthand, he could hear the distant explosion and soon walked to the scene, passing through Wheeler Park, where he saw the aftermath-the fire hoses, attack dogs, and the violent repression of black citizens by law enforcement. For many white people in Birmingham, this event did not register as a tragedy of immense proportions. However, the JFK assassination on November 22, 1963, was another matter entirely. While the white community mourned the loss of their president, the emotional response among black people was more subdued. It was a jarring reminder of the disconnect between the two communities, whose lived experiences were worlds apart. Social and Cultural Divides In Birmingham, segregation wasn't just a matter of law-it was also a social construct that defined the boundaries of daily life. The signs marking "whites only" areas were ubiquitous, but they didn't prompt much thought or resistance from many in the white community, who had grown up with this as the natural order. The white part of Birmingham was infamous for its brutal history of racial violence, with a particular infamy attached to the nearby Cahaba Heights. This cultural divide was so deeply ingrained that entire sections of the city-like the Southern Birmingham expressway-were essentially designated as black neighborhoods, reinforcing the physical and social separation between races. Music played a crucial role in providing an escape from the harsh realities of growing up in a racially segregated city. The boy, who had always been interested in music, joined his high school band where he played trumpet and bass guitar. During the late 1960s, as music evolved, he found solace in playing R&B, soul, and rock music. His band played in a variety of venues, including black nightclubs in the city. As a member of the band, he had a free ticket to these clubs and, at the age of 16, he was able to drink and enjoy live performances from legendary artists like B.B. King. The experience of playing to an all-black audience at the Jefferson County Civic Auditorium contrasted sharply with what he saw in the clubs. Here there was energy and soul of the performances. The most memorable of these performances was by James Brown, whose raw energy left an impression on him for his entire life. The Quest for Understanding and Education Though he was barely able to pass high school, his academic trajectory took a dramatic turn when he entered college. The first semester at Auburn University saw him earn all A's, an academic achievement that reflected both his intellectual potential and his growing desire to understand the world around him. It was during this time that he began to explore the psychological motivations of people. He became fascinated by psychology and read books about Sigmund Freud, trying to make sense of the human condition. This thirst for understanding, spurred by the trauma of witnessing the bombing, led him to pursue further education at Emory University in Atlanta. In Atlanta, he was exposed to a more urban, sophisticated world, a stark contrast to the insular, racially divided environment of Birmingham. Emory was home to the children of doctors, lawyers, and old money families. Some of his peers, despite their privileged backgrounds, could were able to read and comprehend complex ideas. During his time there, Atlanta began to undergo significant changes, such as the arrival of the Olympics, which brought both prosperity and heightened tensions to the city. Yet, the city's struggles with race were never far from his mind, especially during the time of the Atlanta Child Murders in the late 1970s. The Lasting Impact of Birmingham: A Search for Meaning The years spent in Birmingham and the experiences of witnessing the bombing and living in a racially segregated world shaped his intellectual and emotional growth. He often found himself reliving the traumatic events of the bombing in his mind, almost as if he had become one of the four girls who had perished that day. In these moments, he would find himself "altered," as though he had transcended his own experience and become part of something larger, part of the cosmos. It was these profound, unsettling experiences that led him to question why people do what they do. It was not just the violence he witnessed in Birmingham, but the underlying forces-psychological, social, and cultural-that drove people to act in ways that often seemed incomprehensible. His education, his exposure to different ideas, and his eventual immersion in the world of academia were all part of his quest to understand the complexities of human behavior, and the roots of violence and prejudice in a deeply divided society. Birmingham, with all its pain and contradiction, remained with him long after he left. It was a city of hardship, but also one that provided the intellectual and emotional foundation for his journey toward understanding the forces that shape human life. The city may have been known as "Bombingham" in its darkest moments, but it was also the place where a young boy began his lifelong quest to understand why people do what they do.