About Us

MB Listens is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, grassroots organization founded by Mountain Brook residents who are committed to making our community a safe and welcoming place for everyone to live, work, and visit. Mountain Brook is home to a top ranked school system, wonderful local shops and businesses, a vibrant religious community, and engaged residents. While celebrating these attributes, we also recognize that we lack diversity across the spectrum of Social Identities in our community.

MB Listens appreciates everything Mountain Brook has to offer, while acknowledging that no place and nobody is perfect. We also understand that if we are privileged enough to live in a place like Mountain Brook, then we have to be open, honest, and introspective enough to examine all the attributes of our community. MB Listens is trying to do just that by taking a closer look at Mountain Brook’s history and listening to stories told by residents and visitors. What we’re finding is at times obvious to see, while at other times swept out of sight and out of mind.

MB Listens understands confronting hard realities in a community is never easy. Asking how a lack of broader diversity in Mountain Brook impacts those who live here or visit – or who avoid Mountain Brook altogether – is especially challenging. However, we’ve begun our process of listening, and what we’re hearing is that not only could our community be more diverse, but it also could be more inclusive. We’ve been told by many who live in or visit Mountain Brook that they don't feel accepted, welcomed, or treated equally by our community. And unfortunately, this has too often been due to acts of racism, bigotry, or prejudice; committed at times overtly and other times more subtly. Whether this reality causes, or is the result of, a less diverse community – most likely both – we need to own it and do something about it.

Our Vision

Everyone, regardless of ability, age, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status; will be accepted, welcomed, and treated equally in Mountain Brook.

Our Mission

MB Listens is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization committed to advancing diversity, inclusion, and equality; and interrupting racism, bigotry, and prejudice in Mountain Brook.

MB Listens is committed to an ongoing, nonpartisan, unbiased, and unabashed exploration of who we are as a community. For a better understanding of how the history of Mountain Brook has played a role in shaping our community, please check out the "Mountain Brook" and "Resources" pages of this website. We’re also gathering oral histories of our community in the "Your Stories" section.

See What We're Doing at MB Listens to make everyone feel accepted, welcomed, and treated equally in Mountain Brook. There is no doubt this journey will be hard, but we can do hard things, and the benefits far outweigh the cost. Join Us to help Mountain Brook achieve our Vision and help us fulfill our Mission.