re: Birmingham Shootings

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I grew up in Ensley.

It was sort of tough in the late 1970s, but now it is not as safe as Afghanistan.

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For anyone under the age of 50 who lives in suburban Birmingham, you might as well say you lived in an alternate universe in another dimension. It might seem inconceivable that much of the westside of town once had prosperous retail districts, neighborhoods with beautiful, well-manicured lawns and schools with highly competitive football teams.

This is an image from the 1970 West End High School year book. It shows pictures from a high school football game at the famed Legion Field:



https://bpl/digital/collection/p132001coll0

The stands may look empty but that is because Legion Field once sat nearly 80,000 people. There may have been 15,000 fans attending this particular game since Legion Field was so cavernous.

If you look closely, what is the first thing you notice about the students? That is correct — they are extremely well dressed.