Pioneering female attorney celebrated in film
Nina Miglionico, a pioneer in Alabama law, Birmingham politics, civil rights and women's rights, is the subject of a new documentary showing on Alabama Public Television. (APT)
Alabama Public Television is presenting a new documentary this month that remembers the achievements of attorney Nina Miglionico, a crusader for civil rights and women’s rights in Alabama for decades.
The film, “Stand Up, Speak Out,” produced by Birmingham attorney Jenna Bedsole, will broadcast Sunday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. on APT.
One of Alabama’s first female lawyers – and the longest-practicing female lawyer in the state when she died in 2009 – Miglionico was elected to the Birmingham City Council in 1963, the year the city transitioned from the commissioner-based system. Miglionico would serve on the council for 22 years, despite hate mail and death threats linked to her civil rights advocacy. She was even the target of a failed bombing attempt in 1965.
A major cause for Miglionico was the right for women to serve on juries. Women in Alabama could become attorneys and even judges before they could be jurors. That right was finally granted in 1975.
Another important issue for Miglionico was the poll tax. The cost of this tax kept many low-income Alabamians from voting, and had a larger impact on women than men. If families didn’t have enough money to pay for two to vote, husbands did the voting and their wives stayed home.
“Stand Up, Speak Out” tells the story of Miglionico’s life, and of the inspiration she gave to women leaders in Alabama who have followed.
Bedsole began researching the story of Miglionico for a three-minute tribute video for a private event, but soon realized this legend in Birmingham’s legal community deserved to have her story told to a larger audience. Bedsole, who leads the Labor and Employment Practice Group for Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, teamed up with longtime Birmingham-based filmmaker Ted Speaker for help to complete the project.
