Newsletters

Special session(s) ahead? How Arise is preparing By Chris Sanders, communications director Alabama Arise’s work for equity, justice and opportunity persisted after the Legislature’s regular session ended. We’ll renew our commitment to those principles when Arise members choose 2022 issue priorities after the Sept. 25 annual meeting. And we’ll keep up the drumbeat when lawmakers [...]

Arise advances justice in a pandemic session By Chris Sanders, communications director Advocacy barriers for Alabama Arise members were extraordinarily high during the Legislature’s 2021 regular session. The COVID-19 pandemic limited physical access to the State House and made a difficult policy landscape even rockier. But Arise members were undeterred. They spoke out forcefully and [...]

American Rescue Plan Act offers path to recovery By Chris Sanders, communications director As vaccinations continue across Alabama, COVID-19’s viselike grip on our lives is loosening. The pandemic has caused immense physical, emotional and economic suffering, and those aftereffects will not fade quickly. But the American Rescue Plan Act – the federal relief package that [...]

How Arise is working to build a brighter future after the pandemic By Chris Sanders, communications director After a year of darkness, the light at the end of the tunnel is finally in sight. Promising vaccine news offers hope that public health officials can rein in COVID-19 in the coming months. And as our state [...]

Town Hall Tuesdays keeping Arise connected By Presdelane Harris, organizing director Listening is often an underdeveloped skill, yet it is critical for mutual understanding and working together for meaningful change. That’s why Arise is committed to listening to our members, to our allies and most importantly, to those directly affected by the work we do [...]

Alabama must tear down the legacies of slavery and segregation By Chris Sanders, communications director In Birmingham, Mobile and cities across the country, officials are taking down monuments that “honored” a violent rebellion that sought to protect the enslavement of human beings. Removing these symbols of slavery and segregation is an important step toward healing [...]

Arise 2020: Our vision for a better Alabama By Chris Sanders, communications director Alabama Arise members have worked for more than three decades to build a brighter, more inclusive future. And we see real opportunities to advance that vision during the Legislature’s 2020 regular session, which began Feb. 4. [caption id="attachment_3618" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Alabama [...]

Why Medicaid expansion is a must for prison reform By Jim Carnes, policy director Against a backdrop of human tragedy, Gov. Kay Ivey’s Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy is working toward a January deadline for its recommendations to the Legislature. The U.S. Department of Justice in April issued a sobering overview of the Alabama [...]

Alabama can lead the nation in addressing the inequities of our past By Robyn Hyden, executive director The Alabama Arise annual meeting is my favorite day of the year. It’s the day we invite members to present new issue proposals and select legislative priorities. This year, more than 200 people gathered in Montgomery on Sept. [...]

We must stand up for dignity, equity and justice By Robyn Hyden, executive director People are hurting because of racial prejudice and white supremacy. The injury isn’t new, but violence and threats toward people of color, immigrants and other vulnerable communities are escalating. We denounce white supremacy and white nationalism. And we stand with our [...]