I’m here because of them

 

fourlittlegirlsstatue
In honor of the four girls killed in the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, I look back at how a Birmingham memorial in their honor became a reality in 2013. Located at the edge of Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham are statues in honor of Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley, all Birmingham City Schools students at the time of their deaths. 
 
This story looks at how Mountain Brook native Elizabeth MacQueen, the Four Spirits Inc. and the City of Birmingham worked to see the memorial completed.  All photos by Chanda Temple
By Chanda Temple
In 2012, a Birmingham organization known as Four Spirits Inc. launched a national competition in search of entries for a memorial to honor the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Baptist Church.
There were five entries from men. Elizabeth MacQueen was the only female.
When MacQueen’s design was selected in April 2013, she halted a project she was working on in Thailand so she could dedicate all of her time to the Four Spirits memorial.

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How to go from lady blogger to boss lady? Get focused

Have you identified your target reader for your blog? They will become your biggest cheerleader.

Have you identified your target reader for your blog? They will become your biggest cheerleader. So get focused and start nailing identifying your ideal reader today.

By Chanda Temple

Today is Day 3 on how to make money with your blog. We’ve already looked at how important it is to get serious and get creative with your blog. Now it’s time to get focused.

Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of See Jane Write in Birmingham, Ala., recently held a workshop on this very topic. One way to get focused is to know your reader, she says.

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How to go from lady blogger to boss lady? Get serious

See Jane Write Birmingham founder Javacia Harris Bowser give tips on how to go from lady blogger to boss lady. (Photo by Chanda Temple.)

See Jane Write Birmingham founder Javacia Harris Bowser give tips on how to go from lady blogger to boss lady. (Photo by Chanda Temple.)

By Chanda Temple

You have a blog and now you’re wondering how to make money from it.

Will you get rich if companies post their ads on your page? Will you get “discovered” simply because you post cool content? 

Good theories but it takes more than these concepts to get paid. It also takes networking, hard work and a strategic plan for your blog, according to blogging expert Javacia Harris Bowser of See Jane Write Birmingham. She led a workshop today on how to go from lady blogger to boss lady. For the next seven days, I will highlight one of her tips. Today’s tip: Get Serious.

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Whoo hoo! I’m featured as ‘Member of the Month’ on See Jane Write

See Jane Write is a powerful blogging, business and branding support group in Birmingham, Ala. So glad to know founder Javacia Harris Bowser.

See Jane Write is a powerful blogging, business and branding support group in Birmingham, Ala. So glad to know founder Javacia Harris Bowser.

Javacia Harris Bowser, the mastermind behind the Birmingham, Ala. blogging group “See Jane Write,” has selected me as “Member of the Month” for June 2015. I’m so honored.

I’m still blushing but that won’t stop me from doing this shameless plug right here. Check out my profile story and Q&A and with her on seejanewritebham.com.

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Motivation Monday: Bike to work and inspire others

Burgess "BJ" Jeffries. Photo by Gregory B. Huber.

Burgess “BJ” Jeffries. Photo by J.C. Bravo.

By Chanda Temple

Huffman High School math teacher Burgess “BJ” Jeffries is used to dealing in matters that add up.

So when he researched the benefits of how riding a bicycle to work would increase his fitness levels and decrease his carbon foot print, he knew there was only one thing to do. He bought a bicycle in February 2014 and started riding it to work in March 2014. He’s maintained the routine every week, when weather permits.

Does he have a car? Sure. But he says that riding his bicycle increased his energy levels and allows him to help the environment. His ride to work is 3.2 miles, one way, on Roebuck Parkway in eastern Birmingham. He hopes his efforts will encourage others to ride work.

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Condoleezza Rice: Find something you are passionate about

Dr. Condi with students at Regions

Dr. Condoleeza Rice speaks to students in Birmingham, Ala. at Regions bank. Photo by Chanda Temple.

By Chanda Temple

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice always thought she’d be a concert pianist.

She could play the piano and read music before she could read. But by the end of her sophomore year in college, she attended a prestigious music festival and school where music prodigies at the age of 12 had put her piano playing skills to shame.

Hmm, she thought, maybe piano is not for me.

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Remembering mom this Mother’s Day

NOTE: This tribute to my mother appears in the May 2015 issue of Birmingham Magazine. Happy Mother’s Day!

Mothers Day 2015-1 web.jpg
Chanda Temple holding a photo of her late mother, Ann Temple. Chanda Temple is a former journalist now working as the executive assistant to the superintendent and school board for Birmingham City Schools. (Photo by Major Colbert)

 

By Chanda Temple 

Sitting on my desk is one of my favorite photos of my mother.

In it, she’s wearing a pressed dress suit, perfectly coiffed hair and a high-wattage smile — some of my favorite things about her.

My younger sister and I are standing by her side after the two of us appeared in a children’s fashion show  —  a norm in our young lives during the 1970s in Huntsville. As we walked out of the venue, my mother slipped off her heels, took hold of our little hands and started to escort us down a pair of concrete stairs.

Something about that image must have struck my father because he snapped the photo.

“Cheese!”

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Will your tomorrow be better than your today?

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By Chanda Temple 

When the sun goes down today, will you weep or will you run?

Weird question, huh? But it’s pretty easy to answer.

Will you weep because you still haven’t done what you’ve been meaning to do to get ahead in life? Or will you run, run to your next destiny because you’ve started to implement a plan of improvement for yourself? It doesn’t matter if you’ve stalled or soared in your plan. The main point is that you’ve started.

No matter your answer in this little quiz, the meaning behind all of it comes down to you. You are the one with the power to decide what will happen when the sun goes down on your dreams. Will you be stumbling around in the dark or will you have vision to see light at the end of the tunnel?

Chanda Temple is a former reporter now working in public relations. She blogs at  http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chandatemple.

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