There is still plenty of industry alive and well in Birmingham.

We went by Bluestone Coke, which manufactures one of the components of producing steel. Coke is a carbon substance created by heating coal in an airtight furnace that removes impurities. The coke that is left behind burns extremely hot, perfect for smelting iron.

It is also absolutely filthy. Bluestone, or whatever it’s called this week, is a horrible, horrible polluter. I can’t even keep track of it all. It violated clean air laws for a decade, for instance.

But hey, look at the good mural they have celebrating Birmingham they have!

Below is an image of what historic coke ovens would look like.

We went and looked at the neighborhood around the coke plant, and there are block after block of vacant lots and abandoned houses, interspersed with a few occupied homes.

It’s another example of injustice, inflicted on the poorest residents of Birmingham. Perhaps St. Louis can breath a sigh of relief that we don’t have a coking plant nearby.