“We’re All in this Together”
From across the state, women (and men!) gathered for the League of Women Voters of Alabama State Convention 2019. The convention, held at Embassy Suites by Hilton in Tuscaloosa, immersed the League in relevant information and urgent environmental action needed in regards to our local governments. ”Environmental Justice: It's About Democracy" was the theme of the convention with speakers including our very own Stephen Stetson, Senior Campaign Representative, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, along with, familiar faces including Executive Director of Alabama Rivers Alliance, Cindy Lowry (also a LWVAL member), and our Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Nelson Brooke. Other panelists included Yohance Owens, Executive Director, Village Creek Human and Environmental Justice Society, Inc., Charlie Powell, President, People Against Neighborhood Industrial Contamination (PANIC), Ramsey Sprague, President, Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition (MEJAC), along with other dedicated activists around the state. The keynote presentation included a viewing of the Southern Exposure Film, THE ACCIDENTAL ENVIRONMENTALIST: CATHERINE FLOWERS and a speech by Catherine Coleman Flowers, Senior Fellow in Environmental Justice & Civic Engagement with the Center for Earth Ethics and Rural Development Manager with the Equal Justice Initiative.
The League of Women Voters mission involves learning about legal issues, using citizen’s power to vote, and promoting democratic action within local communities and across the nation. Let us, as Sierrans, acknowledge the necessity of collaboration. We are surrounded by individuals and groups who have similar concerns and passions-we are all in this together! The stronger our voice, the more likely we will be heard!