Biography

The Birmingham City Council appointed Councilor Crystal N. Smitherman to the vacant District 6 seat on January 2, 2019.

In 2019, Smitherman earned her Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Alabama School of Law and graduated from Hampton University with honors in 2015. She has worked extensively as a Legal Intern for several law firms in the City of Birmingham and served as an Outreach Education Contractor for Girls Inc.  Councilor Smitherman was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in the fall of 2019.  She currently practices with her father at Smitherman Law Office, LLC.

Coming from a strong lineage of public servants, Councilor Smitherman has always looked up to her father, State Senator Roger Smitherman and mother, Judge Carole Smitherman for guidance on how to serve the public. Smitherman brings her own brand of leadership to District 6. As she states “My family has lived in Titusville for generations. Growing up, my siblings and I remember when West End and Titusville were vibrant communities. We would go to Leonard’s Bar BQ and Burger Hut to get my favorite pork chop dinner. We would go to Robert’s Cuisine for Sunday dinner. Entrepreneurs with locally-owned businesses served the community to include barbershops, car and shoe repair shops, and local meat markets. Growing up you never had to leave inner-city Birmingham, unless you were going out of town for services. There was hardly any crime. We would ride our bikes to the grocery store in the Heritage Town Center without fear of harm coming to us. We would dribble our basketballs from our house to the park and play pick-up games until the streetlights came on.

Now when we walk out the door, we hear gunshots, trash is constantly present on the streets, abandoned and fragile houses are on every corner. Open prostitution continues to plague certain streets. The same problems that existed under former City Councilors; my mother and Sheila Tyson still exists today, but it is time to break the cycle and find workable solutions to these problems.

District 6 will concentrate on three immediate areas of relief for the citizens: the 3 E’s; “Environment, Education and Economy”.

District 6 plans are to continue to improve neighborhoods for good, productive citizens by removing dilapidated houses, overgrown lots, reducing crime, increasing affordable housing, and renovating public housing. Working hard, being prepared and creating meaningful partnerships will be the cornerstone of this administration.

I will work hard to make the Council, especially the community and my mother proud of my commitment to District 6. Representing the millennial generation is a task that I do not take lightly. There has to be a closing of the gap between the young and older generations. As young adults, we have to stand on the shoulders of those with more wisdom and experience who came before us. We are all one city, no matter the age.

LEARN MORE ABOUT COUNCILOR CRYSTAL SMITHERMAN’S ROLE WITH THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES.