Theo Edwards-Butler
Birmingham
Founder at The Modern Green Book
Age 25
I am originally from Louisville, Kentucky. I came to Birmingham to pursue a BFA in musical theatre from Samford University. During my tenure at Samford, I became very active in our Black Student Union Organization and in my sorority of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., fully igniting my interest and passion for Black history, culture and business. I graduated in 2020 (the dreaded pandemic year) and found myself without a job because all of the theaters were closed. I am not the type to just sit and wait, so I wanted to do something with my time and my energy. When the murder or George Floyd and Breona Taylor happened, I knew what I needed to do to fill my free time with purpose and intentionality. I started The Modern Green Book to help connect consumers to Black brands because I knew that that was the best way for the Black community to gain equity in America. Fast forward to now, I am back doing theatre again, performing in shows with Red Mountain Theatre and Birmingham Children's Theatre. The Modern Green Book has grown tremendously over the past three years and now we are growing our nonprofit side of the company to ensure a vibrant legacy is build for the Black community to look back on with pride. I spend my days working on MGB and my evenings singing and dancing on the stage.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
I am the most proud of putting together our Culture & Community Festival. By using social media and our other digital platforms, I have been able to grow this festival bigger each year. We are in the third (Aug. 26, 2023), and have been able to build a thriving community both online and in real life. This festival has turned into our biggest fundraising event, and each year I strive to find fun and innovative ways to bring the community together through Black culture, history and business.
How can we get more young people involved in tech and innovation in Birmingham?
I think the best way is to go into the communities and schools. They need more programming and hands-on experiences with people that look like them. It isn't enough to just see now is the time to get active with them and show them that we can meet them where they are and invest time and energy into their fun ideas.
