Alabama Heritage welcomes Caroline Gazzara-McKenzie to its team as its new marketing and digital media manager, replacing Rebecca Todd Minder who was promoted to director of the magazine. Caroline earned her bachelor's degree in sports journalism in 2016 and master's in international journalism in 2019 from The University of Alabama. She has worked for several publications, including UA's Alumni magazine; several newspapers, including The Tuscaloosa News; and most recently was a communications specialist for The University of Alabama's Strategic Communications division. As a self-proclaimed "military brat," Caroline states that she has moved more times than she can count, but each experience has left an impression. She fell in love with the state of Alabama after seeing the community come together after the April 2011 tornado during her college visit in May 2011. Caroline has lived in Tuscaloosa for 10 years and is deeply invested in learning more about the history of Alabama. 

Alabama Heritage has faced many changes recently, with the retirement of two key team members, promotions of the three of us who remain on staff, and a physical move of our offices back to the University of Alabama’s main campus. As we step into our new roles, we are mindful of and grateful for the opportunities before us, including our treasured relationship with you. Though all three of us have worked for the magazine for many years (more than 40 years combined), we still appreciate the enormous responsibility of bringing stories of Alabama’s history to you each quarter. Every issue allows all of us to open ourselves up to new ideas, reflect on the past, and, as a result, imagine a new possible future for our state.

​Born in 1914 into a family of sharecroppers on Buckalew Mountain in Chambers County, Alabama, Joe Louis Barrow went on to become one of the world’s most celebrated boxers. Acclaimed storyteller Dot Moore looks past the gloves and reveals the storied life of a man born to a humble family, served during World War II, recalls the time the family faced the Ku Klux Klan. More than one hundred years after his birth, Chambers County commemorated its storied son by commissioning, installing, and dedicating a statue of him on the courthouse lawn.

By the time you read this letter, I will be enjoying my shady porch at old Fort McClellan, having done the unthinkable. I will have retired. My nineteen years with Alabama Heritage seem to have passed in a flash—a glorious, wonderful, valuable, unforgettable flash. But as I dig into the memories, I realize just how much has been packed into those years, and I am grateful.

The Fall 2021 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine covers the life of short-story writer Mary Ward Brown who cultivated a worldwide literary reputation from the rich soil of Alabama’s Black Belt. Born in 1917, Brown was a literary late bloomer, publishing her first story at the age of thirty-eight, and her first short-story collection, Tongues of Flame, in 1986 at age sixty-nine. Mary struggled throughout life with the racially stereotyped words of her culture, which emotionally coincided with her memory but in time were discarded as part of the nation’s racist past.

​After serving in the leadership role for nearly twenty years, Editor Donna Cox Baker is putting down her red pen and picking up her family tree. Baker’s retirement will go into effect September 30, 2021, after which she plans to focus more on her genealogical pursuits.

Baker joined Alabama Heritage in 2001 and brought with her a keen business focus that helped the magazine grow in a variety of areas previously untouched or underdeveloped. Under Baker’s leadership, the magazine team created a strong connection with the Alabama history community and the magazine was open to a wider range of authors, encouraging diverse topics. Baker also sought a way for Alabama Heritage to be involved in public history, including with genealogy groups. One of the greatest accomplishments for Baker was creating a digital media position to digitize previously unavailable back issues and enhance the magazine's presence to newer audiences.
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Baker and husband Mac will reside in Anniston with their two affectionate cats, Priscilla and Bootz.

The Summer 2021 issue of Alabama Heritage features a cover story on Chief Calvin McGhee and the Poarch Creek Renaissance. In the mid-twentieth century, Chief Calvin McGhee worked tirelessly to bring change to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians as he transformed the lives of his people in Escambia County, Alabama. Seminal victories came in 1949 in the form of a school bus and a new public school for Indian children, though they still faced the inequality of segregated schools. McGhee made many trips to the nation’s capital, and in 1962 met with President Kennedy to present “The Declaration of Indian Purpose.”
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“It is such an honor to have award-winning author and historian Frye Gaillard's article about Poarch Creek Chief Calvin McGhee in our summer issue,” states Editor Susan E. Reynolds. “McGhee's legacy is an important one for all Alabamians to recognize. His tireless efforts to help his community brought about lasting change that lives on today.”

The Spring 2021 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine uncovers previously unpublished photomurals of the Chattahoochee Valley taken by one of America’s best-known photographers, Margaret Bourke-White. Authors Robin Watson and Frances Osborn Robb document the pioneering photographer’s visit to East Alabama in 1936 and how she left behind six towering photomurals of its thriving textile industry. Looking at these photos, it is easy to understand why and how she made her great photographic achievements: an innovator of photojournalism and the photo essay; a female photographer whose photos appeared in the first issues of Fortune and LIFE magazines; the first Westerner to photograph in the Soviet Union; one of the first female war correspondents; and one of the most famous women of her era.