As a project of Alabama Forward, which is nearing the end of its second full year of operations, we’d like to pause to reflect on the work of our broader organization this past year.
As a state-based 501(c)3 coordinating table committed to realizing an Alabama where every person can engage in the democratic process, we believe that growing the strength of the pro-democracy movement in Alabama is critical to the survival of democracy in the U.S. as a whole. Our membership has now grown to 31 civic engagement groups, and we will be celebrating our first annual Spirit of Democracy awards this month by honoring Tari Williams, Ronald Truss, and Amanda Cherry at Greater Birmingham Ministries, Micaela Oer at ¡HICA!, Kathleen Kirkpatrick and Zephyr Scalzetti at Hometown Organizing Project, Dr. Adia Winfrey at Transform Alabama, and Angela Curry at United Women of Color. Thanks to the support of not only organizations and advocates who are part of our table members and partners, but also individuals and community members throughout the state, region, and country, our work and the work of our network has continued to grow.
Power on the Line
Ahead of the oral argument in front of the U.S Supreme Court in Milligan v. Merrill on October 4, 2022, community members and organizations from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and beyond rode on buses to DC to attend Democracy Day 1 and a series of other Power on the Line events. Power on the Line offers a unique opportunity for coalitions of civic engagement organizations — at the local, state, regional, and national levels — to work together on public education efforts that can demystify the electoral process and make civic engagement more approachable to the average person.
Shake the Field
In September, we launched our Trap Democracy project, which hosted a series of shows across Alabama, including Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, and Talladega. These shows provided an opportunity to fuse various aspects of Black culture with information and resources about the importance of civic engagement. Through this project, the Alabama Forward team has been able to establish relationships with rappers, creatives, and entrepreneurs who are influencers and trusted voices with the trap, hip hop, and R&B communities across the state.
In 2023…
We’ll continue to develop outreach initiatives through the Shake the Field umbrella, building on the relationships we’ve begun through the Trap Democracy shows in order to reach out to, converse with, and mobilize younger Black Alabamians who are not typically represented within the state’s electoral process.
We’ll also be hosting town halls at cities across Alabama to share information and resources so people can get involved in the Power on the Line movement.
Save the date for Democracy Day 2 in Montgomery on April 6-8, 2023, and sign up for updates at bit.ly/PledgeOurPower.
