Legacy of B.B. Comer
In assessing the totality of B.B. Comer’s legacy in the year 2020, a preponderance of scholarship indicates that the progressive nature of his reforms, relative to the era and location in which they were pursued, and the century-long pattern of support for education that has been carried on under the Comer banner.
In assessing the totality of B.B. Comer’s legacy in the year 2020, a preponderance of scholarship indicates that the progressive nature of his reforms, relative to the era and location in which they were pursued, and the century-long pattern of support for education that has been carried on under the Comer banner.
Comer is remembered today by scholars across the historiographical spectrum as a strong voice for the progressive movement. There is a reason the Comer name does not adorn skyscrapers, office parks, or shopping malls, but instead is found on urban elementary schools, rural county high schools, and halls at our state’s colleges and universities: the name Comer is, and has been, synonymous with the criticality of education at all levels and all ethnicities in the state of Alabama.
Avondale Mills remained one of the only manufacturing concerns in the Deep South to offer identical access to amenities for both black and white employees. These amenities included:
- Profit-sharing
- Home ownership
- Scholarships for higher education
- Paid and paid-for vacations at multiple company-owned retreats
- Millions of dollars given to the University of Alabama System
