What brought you to Alabama?

“My father was military. Army. Back in 2011, he retired in Huntsville as a lieutenant colonel. I was around 15 when we landed here. I had moved 18 times before we had settled down. He really is instrumental in everything I do. He was really impactful in making sure that I was following what I wanted to do because I always had these dreams of going to the big city. We always moved from big city to big city. I happened to wind up in Jacksonville and life started to pick up and carry itself away. It’s a small town. I like going to the grocery store and seeing people that I know. I like to see students who come to us on campus, but then also be able to say hello when you see them in their normal life and for them to see me just living my life and you don’t get that in big cities. It’s a beautiful thing and I really, really enjoy it.” – Jacob Phillips of Jacksonville

Phillips works at Jacksonville State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

“Embrace mutual respect because it opens bridges of communication. Our office teaches mutual respect, and I think that’s the most important thing that I’ve learned in my life because when you teach people how to break down their biases and their prejudices, it opens the way of building beautiful relationships that otherwise wouldn’t exist and couldn’t exist. So far, that’s probably the most meaningful thing I’ve learned.”

Jacob Phillips loves putting together clothes for specific people. (Tamika Moore / People of Alabama)

“I have always wanted to model. I’ve never done it. I love fashion. I love accessorizing, love shopping for the correct outfits. I’m actually sewing stuff now, maybe in the future have a fashion show. I love evening attire, so I’d probably start with that. I like making elegant pieces that make people feel confident in themselves. Regardless of shapes, sizes, ethnicity, that sort of thing, I just want to embrace that particular person. The clothing I want to make, I always want to make sure that it’s catered to the person. So if I have a particular model in mind, I’d make clothing for that model. Alexander McQueen did a really interesting fashion show, rather his line, where it’s about perfectly tailored clothing and that entire line pretty much just focused on the beauty of the individual and having a perfect piece made for that individual. That kind of inspired my passion and my drive to learn how to sew.”

These are the faces and stories of people from all walks of life who call Alabama home. People of Alabama is a Red Clay Media and Alabama News Center partnership.