Birmingham is always finding new ways to support its locals. The city is supporting Birmingham-based comedian Jermaine “FunnyMaine” Johnson as he takes a new stage—the library. Keeping reading to learn how our favorite funny guy landed a seat with the Birmingham Public Library board.

The newest member

bpl — Giving Birmingham Public libraries a boost. (Matthew Niblett / Bham Now)

The Birmingham City Council’s education committee, who oversees the Birmingham Public Library system, appointed seats to six new potential members including comedian FunnyMaine. The committee voted unanimously to recommend his appointment and the final vote was made by the city council this morning.

According to Birmingham City Councilor Clinton Woods, the council was looking for new perspectives when choosing appointees to the library board—especially surrounding the controversy of four closing Birmingham libraries. Those libraries include:

North Avondale
Ensley
East Ensley
Titusville

“I appreciate all the hard work that our board members have done in the past and I look forward to working with the new board members. I expect to have good support and vision for leading our library forward.”
Janine Langston, Executive Director, Birmingham Public Library board

Making The Magic City chuckle

downtown bham — The Magic City. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

FunnyMaine has been the source of laughs in Birmingham and beyond since 2005. He is a writer, comedian, actor and radio personality. FunnyMaine gained an audience in Birmingham, but reached a wider range with his comedic videos about college football. In fact, one of his videos gained over 2 million views in under two weeks in 2016.

He was even listed as one of the 100 most influential Black people in the country by The Root in 2020, so there’s no mystery to why he now has a seat on the board.

FUN FACT: According to his website, FunnyMaine received a standing ovation after his first performance at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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Expect several new faces to the board

Like I mentioned before, the committee appointed seats to six potential members that include:

Yolanda Hardy, a library system veteran
John Lyons, Huffman High School principal
Willie Davis
Yawntreshia Coleman
Rodney Davis

What do you think about comedian FunnyMaine being a part of the Birmingham library board? Tag us @BhamNow and let us know. Don’t forget to sign up for our FREE newsletter.