On Wednesday, July 28th the Mayor of Birmingham, William A. Bell, Sr., issued a proclamation declaring Birmingham a city that is “welcome to all.” The effort for the proclamation was a joint effort of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and Welcoming Alabama. The  proclamation commends the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, on their “Celebration of Immigrant Communities” event and goes on to declare:

“Whereas: As Maya Angelou stated ‘We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.’ and

“Whereas: The City of Birmingham is making a historic proclamation that this city is welcome to all and will reject any policies that divid our community.”

Welcoming Alabama coordinator, Zayne Smith, stated: “This is an exciting day where the largest city in Alabama is proclaimed to be a Welcoming city. We hope that other cities across our state follow their example and work to make immigrants feel more welcome so that we can build bridges between the U.S.-born Alabamans and their immigrant neighbors. ”

“By issuing this proclamation, the mayor is clearly stating that Birmingham is a city that believes that communities that are stronger when they work together,” said Ellen Gallagher, Director of Programs for Welcoming America.

Welcoming Alabama is one of 13 state affiliates of Welcoming America. Welcoming America is a national, grassroots-driven collaborative that works to promote mutual respect and cooperation between foreign-born and U.S.-born Americans. The ultimate goal of Welcoming America is to create a welcoming atmosphere – community by community – in which immigrants are more likely to integrate into the social fabric of their adopted hometowns

To learn more about Welcoming Alabama and other Welcoming campaigns across the country, visit www.welcomingamerica.org/about-us/our-affiliates/.

Pictured top left: Welcoming Alabama coordinator, Zayne Smith, is presented with the proclamation by Charles Long,  Executive Administrative Assistant to the Mayor. Pictured bottom right: an image of the proclamation.