WORDS Brent Rosen
If you are reading this and you’re are under 35 years old, congratulations: you are one of Montgomery’s leaders. That’s not to say there are no leaders over 35 -- there are many. Just not enough. The limited number of leaders over 35 results from the fact that until a few years ago, there were few compelling reasons to stay in Montgomery after you turned 18. Think about all of the people you know who grew up in Montgomery that live in Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville, or New York, or California. They didn’t stick around because there weren’t many opportunities for entrepreneurial, creative, and engaged people to thrive in this town. Montgomery has a generational gap, because so much of the young population left Montgomery in the bad old days, choosing to live in places that were thriving.
Now, Montgomery is in position to thrive. The Old Guard that made progress so frustratingly slow has, for the most part, exited the scene. Fortunately, they’ve left the city with a parting gift: opportunity. Many of this city’s oldest institutions are run by people of retirement age, and there is no one in their 40’s ready to take over. If you, under 35 year old, don’t think this is an incredible opportunity, you’ve never talked to someone trying to make a difference in a city like Birmingham or Atlanta. In those cities, unless you have a lot of money or a deep network of connections with city elites (which, in all honestly, means you have a lot of money), there is no hope for securing a position with a civic organization, or starting a new city-wide event from scratch. There are too many incumbents using those organizations’ resources for their own pet projects. In those cities, you have to earn you way into a leadership position.
Contrast that situation with Montgomery. This city is begging young people to take leadership roles. There is no organization in Montgomery that does not want to get younger. None. Ask, I promise. Not only that, but the decisions you make right now -- where you eat, where you shop, where you play -- will directly impact Montgomery’s future.
No one will deny that in the past five years Montgomery has come a long way; there are more city-wide events, more bars and restaurants, more national touring acts playing, and more development of abandoned properties than ever before. However, Montgomery’s young people will decide whether Montgomery fulfills the potential it has shown over the last few years. If you decide to do what has always been done, then Montgomery will be the same place it has always been -- maybe a little bit better at the margins. If you decide to break with tradition, try new things and get behind the New Montgomery, you will not only help Montgomery continue to develop, but your actions will help shape the direction that development takes. That is what makes you one of Montomgery’s leaders. Don’t take your responsibility lightly.