The following is a eulogy given by Guy McCullough on April 25, 2025
For 43 years, George McMillan Jr. made a habit of giving me the toughest writing assignments of my life. None of them can compare to this one.
My version of the George McMillan story begins in the Fall of 1981, at the offices of The Crimson White—the student-run community newspaper for the University of Alabama.
The editorial board was interviewing candidates for statewide office—a predictably disheartening experience.
Suddenly, like a white-hot bolt of lightning, a lanky, well-dressed George McMillan bounded through the door, shaking hands and introducing himself all around.
What drew me to George that day was his incredible gift for politics, surpassing anything I’ve ever seen, before or since.
But what made me want to remain his close friend and colleague for the next 40 plus years, was the caring heart behind the political mastery.
There was a time when it was nearly impossible to win a scholarship… make the honor roll… get a high-profile promotion… or even grow the largest turnip at the county fair without getting a laminated newspaper clipping and a nice note from George.
But the thing most people didn’t realize—or perhaps deep down they did—was that those letters had almost nothing to do with George’s political ambitions…
…And everything to do with his genuine excitement at seeing you succeed.
Because George McMillan never pursued power for its own sake. He didn’t climb just to rise—he climbed to lift others up.
While many office holders went for the easy win, George reached for the hard truth.
He listened where others shouted, and in doing so, he convinced us that politics could still work, if we all just showed up and tackled the job together.
And no one could bring people together for a common purpose like our George.
When politics didn’t deliver, he turned to music as the great uniter, founding City Stages—Birmingham’s world-class music festival.
For one magical weekend each year, the workaday divisions that kept people apart were dissolved in a kind of musical Brigadoon.
Thanks to George’s tireless leadership, City Stages helped Birmingham believe in itself.
As ten-time Grammy winner Carlos Santana said, “City Stages is like acupuncture. It opens up the flow of consciousness.”
George McMillan opened up the flow of consciousness in all of us.
Through the decades, he showed me what leadership and friendship should look like—gracious, steady, generous, honest, unselfish.
George McMillan Jr made this state better…
He made this city better.
He made me better.
Thank you, dear George.
I will miss you every day, but I’ll carry you with me always.
