Journalist Javacia Harris Bowser will be guest editor of The Times’s Women’s History Edition, available March 6, 2025, around Birmingham. (Provided)
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Editor’s Note
Recently on Instagram – perhaps on TikTok too but this elder millennial doesn’t spend much time there – content creators have been posting Reels in which they imagine what it would be like to have lunch with their younger selves. Inspired, I hopped on this trend and made a Reel of my own.
But even after my post, I couldn’t stop thinking about this concept. I couldn’t stop thinking about how my younger self would be so excited to know that I’ve had the honor of serving as the guest editor of this week’s 2025 Women’s History Month issue of The Birmingham Times. I had my first byline 25 years ago at the age of 19 in The Birmingham Times. So what a full-circle moment this has been! When Executive Editor Barnett Wright approached me about the opportunity, I cried tears of joy.
While we may not actually be able to have lunch with our younger selves, we can sometimes find ourselves seated across from a person who gives us a glimpse of our future self, a reminder of our past self, or the courage to be confident in the person we are right now. The women who are a part of the Momentum Works leadership development program, the focus of this week’s centerpiece story, have had the opportunity to sit with other women who show them what’s possible.
Melanie Bridgeforth, who’s profiled in this issue, has spent the last six years doing work that could help women make their younger selves proud. As CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, Bridgeforth grew the organization from the former Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham to a philanthropic powerhouse and statewide influencer advancing women’s economic power. As she steps down from this role, she vows to continue to be a catalyst for change and, as you’ll see in her profile, still has the excitement of a girl dreaming of who she wants to be when she grows up.
If Marie Sutton could have lunch with her younger self, they certainly would have a lot to discuss – starting with her recent book deal. Sutton was one of six writers chosen for the debut roster of authors for Storehouse Voices, a new imprint of Penguin Random House dedicated to elevating Black authors. Sutton, whose book is about her grandmother Jimmie Lee Elliott, is making history by sharing the history of the family that made her the woman she is today. I hope you enjoy reading more of Sutton’s and Jimmie Lee’s stories.
This issue celebrates several women of Birmingham who are making history today whether that be through economic development, entrepreneurship, servant leadership or storytelling. I’m certain if any of these women could have lunch with their younger selves, those girls would be so proud of the women they’ve become.
So please grab your copy of the March 6, 2025, edition of the Birmingham Times and celebrate with me the past, present and future work of women. May this issue be a reminder to honor who you are, who you were, and who you have the potential to become.
Javacia Harris Bowser,
Guest Editor, The Birmingham Times
Founder of See Jane Write
