I can only speak for one group. We are the children of the Now-Middle-Aged-Broke-ass Pseudo-Hippies, who hide amongst the backwoods of Mobile County. I speak for myself, much of my family, and many of my young friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Many of us are native Mobilians, and many of us have ancestors here since the early 19th century. Our parents grew up as the cultural hippie movement slowly (kind of) made its way to Mobile (perhaps years behind the rest of the country). We were raised in Mobile with parents who taught us to be questioning, tolerant, and open-minded. Many of our parents did not appear have significant cultural influence in the city. This is mostly because they were broke-asses from a long line of other broke-asses. And they were used to things never changing around these parts. Also, many were just too stoned at the time to get involved. Nonetheless, I think they will ultimately prove to be culturally influential.

Some of them were “tuned out” musicians, writers, would-be activists, ect. Most of them were working class folks just trying to get by. And they were the children of the “provincial” type that you mentioned. They were, perhaps, not highly inclined toward politics, outward social reform, or the like. They were simply tired of the crap that they were taught. Many of them preferred discussing their new ideas over beer and ribs in the back yard. People like my parents and my friends’ parents did not push their new values on the elders of Mobile. They found solace in small sub-communities. But they were quietly raising children with attitudes that are very different from “Old Mobile.”

We are a large group of mostly late bloomers. This is because when you teach children that it is ok to question everything while, simultaneously, teachers and preachers say otherwise, it takes them a little while to figure things out AND because some of our parents were on so many drugs when we were conceived, our brains are slightly bogged down. We are finishing up our educations, and many of us have had to go away to meet our educational needs and early career needs. Also, many of us needed to see the world first. But we are coming back. Slowly but surely. We are entering the workforce in Mobile. We are starting businesses in Mobile. We are teaching at the colleges in Mobile. We are artists, musicians, writers, and (mostly) fans. We are scattered all about the city and its outskirts. And we are starting to breed and raise like-minded children.

We don’t necessary speak up in public forums as much as we should. But we stand up for what we believe in. We practice tolerance and progressive ideas in our own homes, our neighborhoods, our jobs, our children’s schools, and, if we have them, our churches.

We are certainly among the “best, brightest, and most creative.” We are starting to come back home. This is party because many of us do have that old-school southern pride. We love it here, and to the extent that it is not already a great place to live, culturally, we intend to make it so. We are calling our friends in Atlanta and Birmingham and elsewhere, and we are saying, “Come home. We miss you, and Mobile needs you.” And slowly, maybe even one at a time, they are listening. I see this happening in my own circles.

It is up to Mobilians to change our city. Many of us young Mobilians always welcome new people with new perspectives. However, have some faith in young Mobile natives as well. Many of us are still here, and we are growing and progressing from behind the scenes. No economic investment will ever change who we are as a city. But we can, and we will. We leave it up to you artsy people to inspire us. We are busy. And we don’t always go to cultural events or write to newspapers with our opinions. But we are listening to you guys. I promise you.

Keep up the good work. All of you.