Mike Diccicco

Mike Diccicco

Mike Diccicco left Birmingham after his high school graduation in 1967. He attended La Salle University in Philadelphia, earned a degree in English, and went on to a lifelong career in the advertising and public relations business. In 2022, Mike published his first novel, Beyond All Sense and Reason. The story takes place in Birmingham, 1963-64. He lives in Doylestown, PA.

Broke free from the pack

I grew up in Birmingham with nine brothers and sisters, went to St. Barnabas and John Carroll, graduated 8th grade and entered high school in 1963. But my most striking memory of that era had to have happened later, probably after the Civil Rights bill was signed on July 2, 1964.

I used to ride public transportation home from basketball practice, travelling from the Southside to East Lake. I had to transfer from one bus to another in downtown Birmingham, getting on a bus whose route had already taken it through areas of the city mostly inhabited by African Americans. At some point (not sure exactly when), the bus company had been required to remove the signs that read “Colored to the Rear.”