Birmingham, Ala. — At 17, Amnisty Penn has already encountered some pretty significant bumps in life. Soon after she became a teenager, her mom went to prison, and Amnisty went to foster care. By the time mother and daughter were reunited four years ago at the Lovelady Center in Birmingham…

Birmingham, Ala. — Erica Bryant has worked as a fashion artist all her adult life — sometimes as a hobby, sometimes a side hustle and sometimes a full-time vocation. In 2018, she decided to stop dabbling with other jobs and go all in with Erica B Airbrush Designer, her Birmingham-based…

Anita Craig entertained thoughts of owning a business for years. But to make her dreams a reality, it took a series of jobs lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, plus encouragement from a friend willing to join her on the entrepreneurial journey. Their Trvl Love Koffee, now a year old, lays…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In an age when free time often means scrolling social media or binge-watching reality TV, many have lost the art of building neighborly connections. Yet social connections are a key part of healthy and vibrant communities. With assistance from the city, one neighborhood in Birmingham is helping…

Birmingham, Ala. — Spurred mostly by the wishes of others, Sharon Davis studied nursing and worked in the field for 17 years. Then, she cared at home for her bedridden sister who suffered with heart issues and end-stage kidney disease. When her sister died, Ms. Davis knew she wanted a…

Birmingham, Ala. — Jessica Parkman and her family struggled to make ends meet even in the best of times. Between rent, groceries, utilities and daycare, she and her boyfriend barely made it from one paycheck to the next. “Neither one of us makes a ton of money, even though we…

Birmingham, Ala. — When the walls of the Ramsay-McCormack building came tumbling down in April, an excavator bearing the name Nuckles sat nearby, having done its part to transform this spot in the Ensley Business District. The machine and the moment belonged to Emmett Nuckles, an energetic young entrepreneur whose…

Birmingham, Ala. — As companies across the globe tiptoed through the COVID-19 era and prayed the economy would hold, digital health company Acclinate made a BOLD move. In December 2020, the company announced its headquarters had moved from Huntsville to Birmingham. Acclinate’s move did not just happen by accident. The…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In the heart of Birmingham’s Central Business District and the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument is a historic commercial corridor that continues to thrive as a symbol of pride for Birmingham — the historic Fourth Avenue Business District. It is a place that highlights the collective resiliency…