Atop the Alabama Power building stands a statue of a goddess-like figure, wielding lightning bolts, cast in bronze and covered in gold leaf. The glistening figure was dubbed Electra, and the Alabama Power Company wished for her to be a metaphor representing "the state of Alabama rising triumphantly in her electrical progress".
Since her placement overlooking 18th Street North in 1926, Electra, along with the state of Alabama, have witnessed more than electrical progress. Since that time, there has been social, economic, and political changes; unfortunately not all of these changes can be looked back upon as progress. Perhaps it is no coincidence that a statue representing both light and progress is featured in Birmingham, a city known for the large role it played in the fight for civil rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr. famously once said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”. As we continue to grow as a city and a state in all aspects, one hopes that the luminescent Electra can be a metaphor for more than just electrical growth - may she also be a metaphor for the people of Birmingham driving out darkness and hate, just as Dr. King called for decades ago.
Since her placement overlooking 18th Street North in 1926, Electra, along with the state of Alabama, have witnessed more than electrical progress. Since that time, there has been social, economic, and political changes; unfortunately not all of these changes can be looked back upon as progress. Perhaps it is no coincidence that a statue representing both light and progress is featured in Birmingham, a city known for the large role it played in the fight for civil rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr. famously once said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”. As we continue to grow as a city and a state in all aspects, one hopes that the luminescent Electra can be a metaphor for more than just electrical growth - may she also be a metaphor for the people of Birmingham driving out darkness and hate, just as Dr. King called for decades ago.
