Birmingham City Schools Students Born in 1963 Celebrate Life After Segregation Six Decades Later at BCRI Event

Story and Photos by Reginald Allen

Sixty-three years after Birmingham became the epicenter of the American Civil Rights Movement, Birmingham City Schools alums born in 1963 participated in a special commemorative gathering on Saturday, September 19, 2026, for a once-in-a-lifetime conversation on growing up during the Civil Rights movement.

The event, held at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, reunited former students for a morning of fellowship, celebration and reflection. The theme “Embracing Birmingham’s Civil Rights Legacy, Thriving with the Joy of the Future” served as a homecoming for students born the year Alabama began integrating higher learning and public schools.

Comedian Deno Posey hosted the two-hour event, which featured remarks from Birmingham’s first Black Mayor, Richard Arrington Jr. The program concluded with an intimate salon session with columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Archibald and actor-producer Erich McMillan-McCall. Veteran journalist Sherrel Stewart moderated the chat.

The gathering was organized in partnership with Brother Let’s Talk and gave guests a chance to hear accounts from McMillan-McCall and Archibald, both born in 1963, and to share their experiences growing up and how they shaped their future. Brunch was provided by the Toasted Yolk Egg Cafe.

Posey recalled growing up in an era when his peers were the first to attend college, work white-collar jobs and vote. However, he added being raised in the early 60s and late 70s “made us who we are.”

Posey acknowledged that those opportunities came about because of the sacrifices of those who risked their lives protesting for freedom.

“A lot of things we had the opportunity to enjoy were illegal just a few years ago in the year that we were born,” Posey said in his opening remarks. “And I’m excited that you [classmates] are all here.”

Though the event was meant to celebrate those born in 1963, the commemoration was also a testament to tenacity.

McMillan-McCall, who moved to New York in the late 1980s, said he, like childhood friend Posey, experienced opportunities his ancestors and parents weren’t afforded. Recounting his youth, the actor-producer reminisced about inquisitive conversations with his mother. While his family wasn’t on the front lines with foot soldiers in Selma, his mother reminded him that the work started at home to ensure her children were accounted for.

McMillan-McCall reminded the crowd that not much time has passed since institutions became desegregated. He said there is still much work to do, but that doesn’t mean the last six decades were in vain and declared, “We have 63 years of desegregation, 63 years of excellence and 63 years of togetherness. When you put it in the numerical context, when you realize that you’ve only been desegregated for 63 years, it really puts things into a real perspective for you.” McMillan-McCall went on to say, “We are the immediate beneficiaries of ultimate sacrifices by people of all colors, all backgrounds. And we can live in a world that our parents and people that came before could only dream about.”

For this reason, attendees born in 1963 were asked to wear yellow as an act of resistance, resilience and reclamation. Ultimately, the Empire State resident said the event was a celebration of Black joy.

“This is about the joy of existence,” McMillan-McCall said, “and I want you to understand that in the midst of trauma, there’s always joy.”