Dear Community, 

 

We greet you as principal creators of As Goes the South, in the magic of sharing our film with the world. The film and related elements, like this discussion guide, is a product of a deep partnership with one another and with the communities we serve.

 

We refer to As Goes The South as a film - not a documentary, because documentaries tell the story of what has happened or what is happening. While our film does conjure images, associations and memories, it  also goes beyond the past and present. This film is more about what is possible, than what has happened. 

 

The discussion guide is structured to support meaningful dialogue. Rooted in a belief in the strength and significance of the South, it’s created for individuals who want to use As Goes the South as a tool to spark dialogue with family, friends, classmates, co-workers, and communities about the roles of place and history in shaping our world.

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The film may also inspire reflections on how we build community and tackle complex social challenges. This guide encourages discussions grounded in curiosity and mutual respect, where people share perspectives, listen deeply, and remain open to new insights.

The discussion questions are thoughtfully designed to engage diverse audiences and deepen understanding of the film’s themes. Rather than covering everything, focus on one or two prompts that resonate most with your group’s goals or interests. And importantly, leave space to talk about possible actions.

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Avoid judging the type or scale of action taken—collectively or personally. Trust that any step taken with love and intention holds value. No action is too small or too ambitious. Ending with ideas for next steps can help participants walk away feeling hopeful and motivated, even when the dialogue has been challenging.

 

Featured Characters

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Dr. Carlos Alemán

CEO of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!)

 

Dr. Carlos E. Alemán has made the Birmingham area his home since 2013, holding several meaningful roles connected to building the future of Birmingham.  He is the CEO of the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama, an organization working to build prosperity, inspire hope and advocate for Latino and immigrant communities across Alabama.  A son of Nicaragua, who grew up in San Francisco, Dr. Alemán became the first Latino elected to public office in Alabama when he was elected to Homewood’s City Council in August 2020.  He currently serves on the Alabama State Workforce Board and is on the advisory board for the Alabama State Minority Office. He is also a board member of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, REV Birmingham, and the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham.  Dr. Alemán was selected as a 2025 Ascend at the Aspen Institute Fellow.  Alemán is a former Assistant Professor of history and Latin American Studies at Samford University.  He received his BA in History and Latin American/Latino Studies from UC Santa Cruz and his Ph.D. in History from Michigan State University. 

 

Colin Alexander

Program Manager, City of Birmingham Department of Transportation 

 

Colin Alexander, a Birmingham native, is a Program Manager with the City of Birmingham's Department of Transportation.  Colin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Birmingham-Southern College and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Urban Planning from The George Washington University - College of Professional Studies.  A gifted baritone, he has for 16 years been a section leader in the Cathedral of St. Paul Choir.  He has previously been both a Russian Opera Workshop Artist (2014) and Lyric Opera Studio Weimar Artist (2014 and 2015).  Colin is a current member of the Temple Emanuel Choir and has performed on concert and operatic stages across the US and Germany. 

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David Fleming

President & CEO, REV Birmingham

 

David Fleming is the President and CEO of REV Birmingham, a place-based revitalization and economic development nonprofit working to create vibrant commercial districts in Birmingham.  REV focuses on downtown Birmingham and Woodlawn, utilizing stakeholder engagement, clean and safe objectives, design and development, marketing and promotion and business recruitment and retention to accomplish their goals.  Under his leadership, REV implemented the city’s first Bikeshare system and has facilitated over $1 billion in investments in downtown Birmingham.  Previously David was the Executive Director of Main Street Birmingham and also held the role of Vice President for Urban Planning and Development with Operation New Birmingham. David holds a BA in History and Political Science from Samford University and a Masters in Public/Private Management from Birmingham Southern College. 

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DeJuana Thompson

Partner and Lead Strategist, Black Equity Strategy and Trust

Founder, Woke Vote

 

DeJuana L. Thompson, a Birmingham native, is a political strategist and organizer who has developed campaigns with a range of impact from local Birmingham to the national landscape.  She is currently a partner and lead strategist with the Black Equity Strategy and Trust, a boutique consulting firm that handles engagement strategies, leadership development, rapid response initiatives, and curates high-end logistics and premium cultural experiences for community change.  She is also the Founder of the “Woke Vote” campaign which works to  empower historically disengaged voters.  Ms. Thompson first got her start in local politics as a committee assistant to the Birmingham City Council, later becoming a special projects coordinator and a council neighborhood liaison. She has managed voter engagement campaigns for both of President Barack Obama’s initial and re-election campaigns.  In 2015, she was appointed as a senior advisor in the U.S. Small Business Administration.  She also served as the national deputy director for community engagement and the national African-American engagement director for the Democratic National Committee.   Ms. Thompson has a Master's Degree in Political Management from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech Communication with a minor in African American studies from Berea College.  She also completed a Master’s Certificate in Effective Project Management from Rockhurst University.

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Don Lupo

Director, Birmingham Mayor's Office of Citizens Assistance

 

Don Lupo, the Director of Birmingham Mayor’s Office of Citizens Assistance is a connector between those in need and resources in the city. For 26 years, he has served in the role of a liaison between the Mayor’s Office, City Services, and the city’s residents. Driven by his mother’s dedication to serving those in need, he picked up the call to public service at 48 years old when he became President of the Redmont Neighborhood Association in Birmingham. After six years, he began working with the Mayor’s Office, helping residents with issues like getting potholes filled to coordinating with local restaurants and businesses to provide meals for shelters serving unhoused residents.  Mr. Lupo is a longtime board member of Firehouse Ministries Homeless Shelter, where he helped raise millions for their new 100 bed facility completed in 2020.  Mr. Lupo holds a degree in religion from Samford University and worked for 28 years in men’s clothing retail.

 

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Mr. Eugene Jones

Founder/Owner, Historic Talk of the Town Barbershop

 

Eugene Jones is the Founder and Owner of Talk of the Town Barber and Style Shop, which has been around for 53 years. At his barbershop, he encourages both political and historical engagement among his customers, citing his client’s living connections to several key moments in Birmingham’s history. His shop’s walls are lined with pictures of civil rights activists, politicians and other well-known individuals who have come to the shop. Mr. Jones is a professional barber, barber instructor, and the former Jefferson County Barber Commissioner. Eugene studied Barbering Arts, Beauty, and Cosmetology at Lawson State Community College. He is also a Vietnam veteran, having served in the United States Army.

 

Dr. Imani Perry

Professor in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and in African and African American Studies

 

Originally from Birmingham, Dr. Imani Perry is the Henry A. Morss, Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss  Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and of African American Studies at Harvard University.  She’s achieved the highest levels of academia having earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from Yale College in Literature and American Studies.  Her work centers historical Black intellect and imagination amongst the background of Western domination.  A MacArthur Genus Grant recipient and National Book Award winner, Dr. Perry has written eight books.  Her most recent book Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People, published earlier this year and explores the connections between the color blue and the Black experience throughout history.

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Jimmy Griffin

Store Manager, Renaissance Records

 

Jimmy Griffin, a famed store manager of Renaissance Records, has been called a musical encyclopedia, psychic, and a true gentleman who fosters community in Birmingham through a love of music. A fixture at the store since 2014 and at the previously esteemed Charlamagne Record exchange for 30 years, Mr Griffin is known for his thorough knowledge of the store’s immense inventory, his memory of his customer’s individual areas of interests and ability to expose customers to new music. Mr. Griffin also has his own musical pedigree as a skilled drummer, guitar player and vocalist, having performed with a popular blues/roots Birmingham band Trains ‘N’ trouble.

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Joe Minter

Artist

 

A Birmingham native, Joe Minter is an acclaimed self-taught sculptor, whose works honor and educate about the Black American experience in the United States and feature wood, metal, and a variety of found objects.  Mr. Minter’s art is informed by his variety of experiences as a metal worker, furniture builder, mechanic and local and global events that involve or have affected Black Americans.  After retiring, Mr. Minter began building African Village in America, an installation at his home in Titusville, AL that includes his sculptures and other works of art.  Mr. Minter is also a painter, whose spirited paintings cover a variety of subject matters including nature scenes and the collective trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Mr. Minter’s sculptures  have been featured in exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Royal Academy of Art, London, among others. In 2024, he was selected as one of four Artist Choice grantees from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts. 

 

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John McCall-Pitts

Creative Director

 

John McCall-Pitts is the creative director of the Pitts & Preneur Company, which utilizes videography, website development, and design professionals to help promote brands and their events. In this role, he ha worked with government agencies and major organizations to create impactful communication materials, including websites, publications, and video content. He also operates Meteor Marketing, which offers a suite of strategic content, marketing and branding solutions to companies and organizations. Previously, Mr. Pitts was an Access Advisor with the First Horizon Bank where he developed media content that highlighted First Horizon Bank’s impact on communities through providing opportunities in housing, capital, counsel, and education. As a Junior Board Member with the Railroad Park Foundation, he developed and managed a content strategy that showcased the park's activities and mission and played a pivotal role in organizing and executing major fundraising events. Mr. Pitts holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems and Services from the University of Alabama-Birmingham Collat School of Business. 

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Monique Grier

Director of Ross Bell Youth Detention Center

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Monique Grier is the Director of Youth Detention with the Jefferson County Commission in Birmingham, where she provides leadership, oversight, planning and coordination of the Ross Bell Youth Detention Center’s daily operations. Previously, she was the Faith and Community Partnership Coordinator with the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. She was also the Director of Community Reentry at the Georgia Department of Corrections, where she established vital linkages to services, employers, and faith leaders. Prior to that, Ms. Grier served the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice as the Statewide Community Program Coordinator for Chaplaincy Services. Ms. Grier is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and past President of the Alabama Detention Administrator’s Association. She has held several national level roles such as appointments to the American Correctional Association Steering Committees: Legal Issues, Juvenile Justice, and Policy and Resolutions, the National Association of Counties’ Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee, and the local Birmingham-Jefferson County Justice and Governance Partnership Leadership Council. Ms. Grier holds a Master’s degree in Public Safety Administration from Columbus State University’s Georgia Law Enforcement Command College and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Georgia State University.

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Mayor Randall Woodfin

Mayor, City of Birmingham

 

Mayor Randall Woodfin, Esq, a lifelong Birmingham resident, was recently elected to his third term as the Mayor of Birmingham where he follows a leadership philosophy of “putting people first.” During his two terms as Mayor, he has prioritized revitalizing Birmingham’s neighborhoods through millions of dollars invested in street paving, demolition, and affordable housing.  Also under his tenure, his office launched the  Birmingham Promise initiative, which has provided tuition assistance and other supports to 1,600 Birmingham City Schools graduates, offering a pathway to higher education and career success.  Before being elected mayor in 2017, he served on the Birmingham Board of Education after determining that seeking public office was the way he could have the most impact on his city.  In 2009, he became an assistant city attorney for the City of Birmingham, a position he held until he was elected mayor.  Mayor Woodfin has also worked for the Birmingham City Council, the Mayor’s Office Division of Youth Services and for the Jefferson County Committee on Economic Opportunity.  He has worked as an organizer, working on campaigns at the local, state and federal level and was a featured speaker at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.  In January, 2025, Mayor Woodfin published his memoir, entitled “Son of Birmingham: A Memoir.”  Mayor Woodfin received a Bachelor of Art’s degree in Political Science from Morehouse University where he was also the student body president and earned his J.D from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. 

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Salaam Green

Poet, Speaker, Healer

Poet Laureate of Birmingham

Teaching Writer at the Department of Youth Services – Vacca Campus

 

Salaam Green, a storyteller and healer, is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Birmingham, Alabama (2024–2025) and the Founder of The Literary Healing Arts Foundation and Services, which promotes the healing power of words through literary art devices and techniques. As a Teaching Writer at the Department of Youth Services and a facilitator with the RESET Diversion Program with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office she leads writing and healing workshops for system-involved youth and adults in Birmingham. In June 2025, Salaam released a collection of poems titled The Other Revival. In 2025, she received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. A native of Greensboro, she is a Kellogg Foundation Racial Healing Facilitator and Alabama Humanities Foundation Road Scholar. Salaam also serves as a faculty member of Jefferson State Community College, Jacksonville State University and Gadsden State Community College as an instructor of family and consumer science and early childhood education. She is also an education training specialist for Alabama Public Television and the Alabama State Department of Education in the area of child development. Salaam holds an English degree from the University of Montevallo and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from the University of North Dakota.

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T. Marie King

Director of Youth Pathways and Experiences, Jones Valley Teaching Farm

 

T. Marie King is the Director of Youth Pathways and Experiences at Jones Valley Teaching Farm, where she develops young leaders and prepares them for the next chapter in their lives by creating pathways to economic mobility for high school students and young adults. T. Marie is also an award winning film producer, having produced the Emmy-nominated documentary Shuttlesworth, which highlights the life and legacy of civil rights leader Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth. Ms. King is also an activist and trainer with the Strategic Community Alliance, providing training to enhance equity and inclusivity practices. She holds a bachelor's degree in Urban and Global Economic Development, a Master's in Leadership, and a Master of Divinity.

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